on the edge
Jun, 2012Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was shot at the Niagara Fall Butterfly Conservatory.Time
I like to get to the Conservatory mid to late morning on a weekday.Lighting
Within the Butterfly Greenhouse is a variety of lighting situations. You may be shooting in direct light, into the light, or under a tree. Set your camera flash to fill for the darker places.Equipment
This photo was taken with my Pentax istDL and my 80 to 320 Pentax zoom. The exposure was at f5.6 1/125 on ISO 400.Inspiration
At the Conservatory there are no bad photos of butterflies. It's simply a matter of separating the good ones from the exceptional ones. I will normally scan an area while focusing manually and once I find that one standout butterfly I will take several shots from different angles. I love this photo because he seems to be precariously perched on a thin blade of grass as if he were a tight rope walker trying to regain balance.Editing
The only post processing included a crop and a bit of sharpening.In my camera bag
I have in the past taken my entire bag into the Conservatory. This would include my Pentax camera with a couple of zooms and a fixed 100mm macro. Now when I go I will usually take my 80 to 320 Pentax zoom and my 100mm Pentax macro.Feedback
The best time to visit a butterfly exhibit is in the morning after they first open and on a day during the week. That way you avoid most of the child and tourist traffic and will have a better chance of catching that one extraordinary shot. The butterflies seem to be calmer and less likely to fly off while you are playing with your camera. I will usually set my flash to fill ahead of time for those under tree shots. I will always use manual focus and spot metering to get the detail on the butterflies.
