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FollowA Giant Swallowtail enjoying some Purple Coneflower.
A Giant Swallowtail enjoying some Purple Coneflower.
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Awards
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Contest Finalist in Insects and Flowers Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Butterflies Photo Contest
Superb Composition
Peer Award
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Superior Skill
Outstanding Creativity
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Jaw Dropping
Exceptional Contrast
Genius
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LauraKimberlyPhotography
March 13, 2014
Congratulations on being a contest finalist! Beautiful photo!
Me_n_my_Pix
March 14, 2014
Wow! Absolutely Stunning! If I just read the caption and never got to enjoy looking at this photo?........I would be imagining something completely different......like some bird on a sack of flour! Too funny huh? Im a dork but i know this picture is awesome!!! Good job, well done.
Cecirene
March 14, 2014
Outstanding capture! The neutral b/g really makes the subject Pop!! Nicely done! Kudos on being among the finalists!!
Mogul416
January 29, 2015
Great lines - the butterfly's wings are up and the flowers petals are facing downwards.
jeffriedegg
January 30, 2015
Great photo well captured shot, congratulation on your
butterflies finilist
butterflies finilist
Moorthy
March 17, 2015
Wonderful exposure! It is my TOP CHOICE. Eish you all the best.
Regards,
Moorthy
Regards,
Moorthy
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in our backyard garden. Years ago we started planting butterfly and hummingbird-friendly flowering plants. The Swallowtails particularly like these Purple Coneflowers. In the Spring and Summer, our garden is full of Swallowtails, Monarchs, Queens, Sulphurs, Red Admirals and Gulf Fritillarys, just to name a few. The rock pathway in the garden lends itself to a wonderful blurred and muted background.Time
My favorite time to shoot butterflies is early morning and late afternoon. This particular image was taken at 1:50 PM, but I had a very cloudy, but somewhat bright sky, which is another of my favorite conditions tin which to shoot.Lighting
The lighting was totally natural, somewhat muted by a cloudy sky.Equipment
The camera used in this shot was a Sony DSLR A200. The lens was a Sony 4.5-5.6/75-300, my go-to lens when shooting butterflies. Focal length was 300, F6.3, Exposure 1/500 and ISO 100. I shot off-hand and no flash was used.Inspiration
Butterflies inspire and intrigue me. Since we have so many butterflies in the garden, I usually stand motionless on the pathway and wait for a butterfly to land on a particular flower which has great color and a good background. I was focused in on the Coneflowers and luckily this beautiful Swallowtail landed exactly where I wanted him!Editing
I am pretty much a minimalist when it comes to post-processing. On this image, I slightly adjusted the exposure, contrast, vibrancy and used a bit of smart-sharpening in Photoshop.In my camera bag
I have recently purchased a new Sony 77II. This is in my camera bag, along with my 75/300 lens, a Sony 3.5-5.6/18-70 lens and a Sony 2.8/100 macro lens. Also in my bag is a circular polarizer filter, which improves color saturation on my flower and butterfly shots, and I always have two extra fully-charged batteries.Feedback
I think the key to getting these kind of shots is patience....and a bit of luck! When you see a butterfly, don't just start shooting willy nilly. Wait for the opportune time for the perfect shot. That would be, for the most part, a butterfly that has alit and is not fluttering, which many times will cause motion blur if your settings are not correct. Also, stake out a spot that you like and, if you have numerous butterflies, one will eventually land in your ideal shooting location. Tripods will work well in this situation where you have staked out a prime location. Happy shooting!