The annual Meijer Gardens butterfly display is now open in Grand Rapids. Great fun to escape from the cold and snow for a bit of tropical paradise.
This fellow was nice enough to sit still for me. The lighting is a challenge at times there, as is often the case, the dreary weather outside keeps it dim inside as well, and flash is needed. I try to maintain some sense of background, which was palm fronds here.
D300 Sigma 180 macro at f/11 SB800 with Lightsphere for flash diffusion.
Post: Slight curves, Nik Dfine on background.
I liked the perch, and the fronds in the background.
Neat composition, nice and natural colours.
It is the BG with the green stripes that makes the image for me. Nice seeing Randy.
Might sharpen the upper portions of the upper wing a wee bit.
Really nice shot. I like how the b'fly is sitting on the "break" of the perch - seemingly made to show off this beauty. Great background too. Nice detail and exposure.
I love Meijer Gardens! I'm going to have to start visiting my best friend in March instead of August!
Very nice image, Randy, especially for indoors. You're right - the lighting and the BG's can be very challenging under these circumstances. You managed to find a species in good shape on a lovely perch with an interesting BG - I'd say you did quite well!
Really nice job on this one, the details are great and I like the BG. I think I would either clean up the leaf on the bottom right of the frame or even just crop the bottom to remove this part of the leaf and below the perch.
Thanks everyone for the input.
I think the image lends itself to several crops, and Nick, I did one with the perch cropped in from the right and bottom a bit. Tends to really center the subject, but does make it display a bit better. Didn't want to lose to much of the pattern in the background.
Great detail and angle Randy. I just love the way it is posed there on that leaf.:) The green in the bg has strange wave patterns in it but I don't know if it is perhaps my monitor settings that is either too light or dark.:confused:
The background effect is caused by palm fronds arcing across behind the butterfly. I must be doing something wrong if my artistic efforts make folks think they have a monitor problem:D
Sorry Randy. I think you misunderstood me. I can see the lines formed by the palm fonds and they are great. It is just that the green within those lines have some sort of a colour aberration on my screen.:)
Randy, I like this a lot! I might have been tempted to clean up the leaf in the bottom right but really it isn't necessary. The only thing that bothers me is the tip of the back antenna. The rest of the antenna blends in too well with the BG so my eye keeps being dragged to the little floating brown spot. :)
Butterfly season open in Michigan?
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