Ready for takeoff
Nov, 2011Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in the flower garden at my home. That year the butterflies were so plentiful and the flowers were beautiful. I would wait for the butterflies to land and hope they would pose for me. Some were too quick, and would only land for an instant and then fly off. This particular butterfly just sat there and luckily was on a good looking flower and facing the camera.Time
It was on a Saturday in August about 1:00. With the sun just past noon there was plenty of light and not much shadowing.Lighting
The sun was directly overhead at that time which was like a big spot light on the flowers and butterflies. If I had shot later in the afternoon or earlier morning I would have had to raise the ISO or slow the shutter speed down and may have made for a less dramatic photo. Though using a telephoto lens, this is similar to macro photography where you need lots of light and don't really want a lot of shadows.Equipment
I was using a Canon T2i with a EF-S55-250 lens set at 225mm, ISO 200 and shutter speed was 1/250. The long lens helped me stay far enough away that I wouldn't scare away the butterflies.Inspiration
The butterflies were so prolific that year and I would see them flying about each day and just had to capture them in photos as there are not always this many or so beautiful.Editing
I framed the photo in the camera so I only needed to crop a little in post processing.In my camera bag
Since my beginning in photography my camera and lenses have grown. On vacation trips I will take my large Canon bag with the Canon 70D, 18-250mm, 10-24mm, 60mm, 8mm, and 200-500mm. I also bring my tripod and monopod and remote shooting adapter. Sometime I will use all the lenses on a trip and sometimes they are not taken out of the bag. I don't like to come home and wish I had taken a certain lens and missed a great shot because I did not bring what I needed.Feedback
Take more than one picture. Don't trust the little LCD on your camera for details. Use a histogram if it has one. Many photo ops don't last long. Seasons change quickly; flowers wilt or a storm will damage some of the beauty. The butterflies are just passing through, so you have to capture them while they are in your area. With butterflies, patience is needed as they fly slow and don't always land on the flower you want them too. Study there movements to help you determine the next shot. Watch how they land and then they move their wings down and back to vertical after landing. It can help you to get the composition you are looking for.
