iangilmour

Butterfly on Pear Tree

This butterfly spent hours in my garden feasting on verbena plants and I managed this shot as it settled on my pear tree....
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This butterfly spent hours in my garden feasting on verbena plants and I managed this shot as it settled on my pear tree.
Read less

PENTAX K-5

settings

ISO 100 Shutter 1/160 Focal Length 6500/100

upload_date

Sep, 2016

Views

439

Likes

+50

Awards

Contest Finalist in Macro Butterflies Photo Contest

Peer Award

Top Choice

Magnificent Capture

Superb Composition

Absolute Masterpiece

Superior Skill

Top Ranks

Top 10 rank

Top 10 rank week 1

Top 10 rank

Top 20 rank week 2

Top 20 rank week 1

Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was shot in my front garden.

Time

I spent most of the afternoon trying to photograph butterflies on my verbena plants but none were worth keeping it was only as the sun was going down that I spotted this on on my pear tree so I just managed to get three or four shots before it flew off.

Lighting

The lighting was natural sunlight from the late afternoon sun.

Equipment

I used a Pentax K5 to photograph this butterfly and a Manfrotto tripod. I have a Venus Laowa macro lens that is classed as 2:1 which means macro photos are twice the magnification as a normal 1:1 macro lens. I also sat on a folding stool for about three hours and took about 100 shots. Only five were worth keeping and this is one of them.

Inspiration

I have taken many close up or macro shots using a normal 1:1 macro lens but I thought I would try a 2:1 lens to double the size of the subject. Butterflies seemed like the ideal subject to choose for this project.

Editing

The only post-processing was slight tweaks to contrast and a little sharpening using the 'unsharp mask' tool in Photoshop.

In my camera bag

I usually take a Lowepro camera backpack out with me when I go walking with a waterproof cover built in. In the bag is my Pentax K3 camera, two lenses, usually a Sigma 10-20mm wide angle lens for creative landscape shots and a Tamron 18-55mm for genaral photography. I always carry a lightweight tripod attached to the bag and a right-angle view finder which I can use to get shots at ground level. Spare batteries and cards and a plastic bin bag to lie on on wet ground. For my macro work I use a Venus Laowa 65mm 2:1 macro lens and a Sigma 105mm 1:1 macro lens. Half of my shots are taken using a remote control as this keeps the camera perfectly still which is essential for macro shots.

Feedback

I think patience is one of the the most important virtues to have if you want to get into macro photography. Don't expect good results first time, or even tenth time. Sometimes I can take over 200 shots of a subject and end up deleting them. If you are taking macro photos on a windy day, then don't expect flowers or plants to keep still for you. Even the slightest breath of air on a calm day will ruin your shot unless you deliberately want the blurry movement in your shot which can sometime look great. When photographing insects then try not to get too close or you will send the scurrying away. My Sigma 105mm macro lens is ideal as it allows the photographer to shoot from 30 - 40cms away. I always use a tripod for macro work. I think it is essential for clear well focused shots. Another helpful tool is a remote control or if you don't have one then set your camera's self-timer for a few seconds delay and this will guarantee there is no camera shake.

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iangilmour

iangilmour

Butterfly on Pear Tree

This butterfly spent hours in my garden feasting on verbena plants and I managed this shot as it settled on my pear tree.... Read more

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow iangilmour

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This butterfly spent hours in my garden feasting on verbena plants and I managed this shot as it settled on my pear tree....
Read more

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes.
Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.