Model = NIKON D300
Exposure Time = 1/125"
F Number = F9
Exposure Program = Manual
ISO Speed Ratings = 400
Exposure Bias Value = +0.33EV
Subject Distance = 0.56m
Metering Mode = CenterWeightedAverage
Flash = Flash fired, compulsory flash mode, return light detected
Focal Length = 105mm
Sensing Method = One-chip color area sensor
White Balance = Auto white balance
Focal Length In 35mm Film = 157mm
Lens = nikkor 105mm/ F2,8 VR
HH, Strobela.
This is one of the most beautiful butterflies in Europe. Sorry about the busy BG
but it is very hard to catch these beauties with open wings, and this is the best I've got until now...
Hi Adrian, they are beautiful, aren't they? Unfortunately, the underside of the wings is dull, even black.
In addition to your own point about the busy BG, the butterfly looks a bit oversharpened (but this may also be the effect of the flash you used). Hope you get one with a cleaner background this summer!
Hi Adrian. The butterfly is beautiful and nicely done. I like the diagonal comp. As you noted, the background is detracting from the image. You might try darkening the lighter plants and cropping in even tighter to minimize the distractions.
Hey Adrian,
I always say....if that is your best.....you keep it until you can top it! The BF is exquisite!!! BG......not so much. I would consider making a version of this with all the BG cleaned up......just to inspire you in th field to capture this with a clean BG! Steves recommendation above are worth trying to minimize the distractions.
Thank you very much!
Roman, feel free to clean the BG. I am not that skilled in Photoshop to entirely remove the BG, without compromising the fine details on the edges of the butterfly's wings and body...
Hi Adrian, this is a real beauty and there's no way to pass up taking a shot of this pose, even if the butterfly was perched on a pile of garbage! Here's a quick BG blur and crop. If I had another 10 minutes or so to spend on this, I could do a better job of cleaning up the BG and the edges but you get the idea. The butterfly was selected with Photoshop's quick selection tool and then the selection was fine tuned with a quick mask. From start to finish this took about 10 minutes. There are plugins that supposedly make selecting something like this fairly easy but either way, it really isn't all that hard to do as long as the subject doesn't have intricate edges.
Jewell...
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