Polydamus Swallowtail Larva

[David Gancarz]

Habitat photo of Polydamas Swallowtail larva (Battus polydamas) on on of their host plants, Dutchman's pipe. The larger one is about 2.5 inches long.

D300 / Nikkor 105mm macro
Exposure Time : 1/25
F Number : 14.0
Exposure Program : Manual
ISO : 250

Applied a warming filter to compensate for the green cast of sunlight coming through the leaves, plus held a piece of wax paper overhead to diffuse and hold down the hot spots.

[Ken Childs]

David, this is nice as a habitat photo.

Overall it looks a bit dark so I lightened it up just a bit and added some contrast. Because of the orientation of the caterpillars, I think it would look better with a vertical crop. Maybe something like this.

[David Gancarz]

I concur. The vertical crop is an improvement. Thanks.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey David,
Always tough when there are so many stems in the image......almost impossible to get a clean shot......but that's where they are! First thing I noticed was the 2 brighter upper corners which drew the eye......so Kens crop works to eliminate the URC one. I do think you need to tone down the ULC in Kens repost a touch more......but the vert is a big improvement for my tastes too. I try to stress to people that the BG is the first thing I look for in a macro image......because even with a beautiful subject......It can distract. Just keep that in mind when you are out hunting for more of these.