Checkered-Skipper on Aster pilosus

[Ken Childs]

Canon EOS REBEL T1i
Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS @ 400mm
Manual mode
1/1000"
F13
ISO 200
Canon 430EX with homemade extender: On, Fired
HH
ACR & CS5

The white Asters are blooming in west Tennessee and on warm, sunny days they are covered with many species of butterflies. I can't say for sure which species of Checkered-Skipper this is because we get Whites and Commons here but both species look virtually identical to each other. Microscopic examination of their genitalia or DNA testing is needed to determine which species they are.

It was typically windy which accounts for the fast SS. Rotated CCW, cropped, cloned out some flowers to the left and below the butterfly, contrast, high pass and selective sharpening. I just noticed a tiny white spot on the tip of the leaf near the center that I should have removed. :e3

[Allen Sparks]

Hi Ken, I really like the composition on this one! Nice placement of the stem, flowers and butterfly in the frame. Exposure looks good to me and the sharpness too. Well done.

[Jerry van Dijk]

Hi Ken, you really outdid yourself this time! Excellent composition, almost looks like you glued the butterfly in place. Very well done! I might be inclined to clone out the petals sticking out from under the BF (if you're OK with that kind of image manipulation), although it will be tough to do it nicely.

[Brendan Dozier]

Very nicely composed, Ken! Great looking BFly, nice exposure and sharpness. Like the black BG, almost looks like a painting. Well done!

[Dave Leroy]

Lovely image Ken. I really like the repeating pattern aspect of the photo and nice simple diagonal approach. BG is lovely as well.

[Julie Kenward]

I agree about cloning out those tiny petals beneath the bf's wings. Everything else is super...and would think this might make an incredible black and white image as well...

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Ken. This is very cool! It looks as though you spent time carefully setting this up in a studio - the fact that this was taken outdoors on a windy day makes it all the more impressive! Everything has come together on this one - comp, background, sharpness, placement of the flowers, and a perfect pose by the skipper. :cheers:

[Madhav Jois]

Wow, absolutely gorgeous. Those flowers and the butterfly really pop out of the dark BG. I also liked the diagonal composition, goes really well here IMO. Great DOF too.. Congrats.

[Ken Childs]

Thanks everyone!

Jerry, I kept going back and forth on the petals sticking out from behind the butterfly's behind. I finally decided to keep them but after reading yours and Jules' comments, I cloned them out and I agree that it looks better.

[OvidiuCavasdan]

Excellent image! Well composed, sharpness and DOF are great. BF and flowers look very good against the dark BG.

[Ravi Hirekatur]

Great image! very nive composition, sharpness, right on. Dark background brings out the subject very well. Flowers add a great deal to the composition and lead up to the butterfly.

[Anita Bower]

A strong composition. Love that butterfly posing as a flower. Excellent details and light.

[RohanThakur]

Very well composed! The dark background really makes this great.

[Bob Miller]

Ken...this image is stunning!....the composition is right on and the sharpness is amazing. I was glad to hear you cloned out the petals under the bfly.