Swallowtail

[Adrian David]

Model = NIKON D300
Exposure Time = 1/800"
F Number = F9
Exposure Program = Aperture priority
ISO Speed Ratings = 640
Exposure Bias Value = ±0EV
Subject Distance = 1.78m
Metering Mode = CenterWeightedAverage
Flash = Off
Focal Length = 300mm
Sensing Method = One-chip color area sensor
Exposure Mode = Auto exposure
White Balance = Auto white balance
Focal Length In 35mm Film = 450mm
Lens = Nikkor 70-300mm F:4,5-5,6 VR
HH

It was a windy day, ant it took a lot of chasing and patience to finally get a photo of this beauty...

[Allen Sparks]

Wonderful focus wing tip to wing tip! great clarity. the stems in the background don't bother too much since they are a repeat of the perch and don't connect with the subject but I'd like to hear others' thoughts on that. Very nice shot...

[Don Lacy]

Wonderful color and detail and I really like the placement of the BF in the frame. Not a big fan of the stems in the BG or the ones next to the BF but since the BF is colorful and vibrant it pulls my eye back to it.

[Julie Kenward]

I also would lose the lighter stems at the base of the image - they aren't pertinent to the main subject and they are quite a bit lighter so our eyes are being tugged away from the butterfly.

As for that beautiful creature - your patience really paid off, Adrian! Crisp and colorful and a beautiful pose! I really want to reach up and touch those little hairs on his back and abdomen. Nicely done!

[Cheryl Flory]

wonderful sharp details and color in the bf. great job.

[Steve Maxson]

Love the sharpness and detail on the butterfly, Adrian. Here's another vote for cleaning up the distracting background stems. :)

[Adrian David]

Thank you very much!
I will try to clean the BG stems, but I'm not shore if I can do it ,without any visible artifacts. That's why I didn't try it from the beginning...

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Adrian,
Interesting discuasion here. I think that you nailed the swallowtail and I don't mind the darker repeating stems. You may also try just toning down the the brighter yellows(mostly near the lower frame edge).....that may also work to just minimize their impact.

[Anita Bower]

A beautiful image of a beautiful butterfly. The angle is just right to show off the colors and markings on the wings. Really nice composition. You can probably clone out the light area in LLC. I understand about not feeling up to eliminating all the light stems. Some people are really good at it, but I'm not one of them. Perhaps darkening them a bit with the brush tool using a green color and low opacity would do the trick. They are not a big problem for me. The image seems just a bit dark to me. Very nicely done.