No idea what it is. Found it while looking for dragonflies. Canon 7D2, 100-400 II at 400, ISO 400, 1/1600 at f/8. Handheld. Getting the wings more in the plane of focus ruined the BG. Several attempts at getting focus on the wingtips (for a focus stack) by rocking back and forth didn't succeed. Neither did going vertical to include more of the grass. I was in an awkward position on a gravel slope and didn't care to go for a swim.
Hi Diane,
Very pretty subject - maybe some kind of checkered Skipper but I am not sure. Skippers are tough to catch with open wing so I think you did pretty well here albeit the right wing is not completely sharp. Pretty BG.
Nice Diane! I like the subtle colors on the body and a nice pose and perch. I might try to clone out the OOF threads below the butterfly, I'm fine with the threads above that are in focus.
Looks like a skipper to me we have chequered skippers but the wing pattern is different to this. I like the image the right wing tip is a bit out but I am more than compensated by the natural looking appearance of the image.
But it doesn't have to be the real world these days! I could easily remove that grass head.... And now I'm wondering if my attempts to shoot a vertical gave me material to composite more of the grass head at the top. It's not that great an image but I may play with it after Osprey season. I'm obsessed just now.
Yup, a Skipper. (small, short wings, fat bodies) I agree with Allen - this looks like one of the Checkered Skippers (Pyrgus sp.). My reference book says there are 8 species in the U.S. and they are hard to tell apart. Good suggestions above, already. I would vote to evict the OOF grass in the background plus the thread-like material - and maybe consider a vertical comp.
Thanks, Steve! I've keyworded this with the ID, and pulled it into my "For Work" collection in Lightroom and will play with it asap. (I love the Collections feature -- so convenient.) I got a halfway nice composition with a vertical that includes all the grass stalk, but with a burst I got some both wingtips in focus but not a sharp body. That was a poor substitute for a tripod in this case.