Butterfly

[Dawn Currie]

I was on an Audubon outing when my attention was turned to insects along the way. This is just one of the shots I captured. I was using ISO 400, fast shutter speed, and open aperture to limit the depth of field and to overcome movement from a strong breeze. Using my zoom telephoto instead of my macro lens let me remain at a greater distance and thus not disturb the insects.

Technical Data: Canon 450D, 27-300mm zoom at 300mm, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/800

[Jay Sheinfield]

Hi Dawn,

Couple of things of I think will get you the most out of this image. I will defer to the flash experts, since it looks like bright sun with hot whites and shadows, for sure a flash would help fill in the shadows and balance the whites. Also the flash has the advantage of freezing the action.
You might consider a slightly tighter crop leaving the BF in ROT, which is good!, and clone out some of the BG flowers and stems (which can be distracting), although I like that ghost like flower on the left side. Otherwise, the background is a nice even color, and the position of the BF in the frame is good. Keep 'em coming.............:)

[Ken Childs]

Hi Dawn, it's nice to see a shot of a Long-tailed Skipper. We supposedly get them in my area but I've never see one. My first thought when I looked at this was that there's too much in the BG that's drawing my eye away from the butterfly. My second thought was that if you'd been able to shoot from a lower angle, probably using flash, the butterfly would have presented a better view. The natural light here is rather harsh so using flash would have given you more control and might have kept those white petals from being overexposed and definitely would have brought out more detail on the butterfly. I'm guessing that since you were on an organized field trip, you didn't really have time to stop and spend time working the bugs. :)

I agree with Jay that the 'ghost flower' looks pretty cool but I think this would look better if it were cropped much tighter, concentrating on the butterfly and the stalk it is perched on.

I'm looking forward to more of your posts, especially since it's starting to get cold here and most bugs will disappear soon. You're in Florida so you should be able to provide us with bugs shots all year long! :)

[Dawn Currie]

Here's another shot from that same morning. This one was taken at a lower point of view and a different angle on the sun, resulting in a softer light effect.

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Dawn and welcome to Macro! Yes, a telephoto in the 300 mm range gives you some working distance and can make an excellent macro lens for skittish subjects like butterflies and dragonflies. I think Jay and Ken pretty well nailed the critique on your original post. Your second post is much better in many respects. The light, as you say, is softer and the bright whites are better controlled. You have a good eye-level shooting angle, a nice pose, and a clean background. I would suggest cropping from the left about half way to the skipper's wings. You could also use some NR on the background and some additional sharpening on the skipper. Was this a large crop? Keep them coming. :)

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Dawn,
Great advice above on the post so can't offer anything there. Next time out.....if you don't want to carry the external flash just remeber that the pop up flash can be a very powerful too at that working distance. With that setup you may want to consider extension tubes also....no real extra weight and it will alllow you to get a bit closer so you won't have to crop as much. Just some ideas for your next trips out!

[Dawn Currie]

If I carry my 100mm macro and ring flash I think I can get some good shots. I haven't tried this set-up outdoors before, so I'll be doing a bit of experimentation. But that's the joy of digital - no cost limitation to the number of photographs taken. I'll post the results for feedback after I try this out.