Wilhelmina
Wilhelmina
Swallowtail butterfly caterpillar on my fennel

Swallowtail butterfly caterpillar on my fennel



I found this chap upon my Florence Fennel one morning whilst attending to the veggie patch. I was fascinated by its colours. I have only just identified it as a...
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I found this chap upon my Florence Fennel one morning whilst attending to the veggie patch. I was fascinated by its colours. I have only just identified it as a Swallowtail butterfly caterpillar but was pleased to share my fennel with it as they are such beautiful butterflies.
I tried to take photos from many angles to get the best view of the caterpillar which was not an easy task as the veggie patch was full to bursting and it was difficult keeping my footing in order not to stand upon anything growing and still keep a steady hand to take the shot.
I used my Panasonic FZ200 at f-4, 108mm, the sun was also quite bright so I had to ensure that the angle was right in order to keep as much glare out as possible, the runner beans helped to shade the area a little.
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cameraDMC-FZ200

settings Aperture f/4.0 ISO 100 Shutter 10/1600 

upload_dateAug, 2014

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7 Comments | Report
JDLifeshots
 
JDLifeshots November 25, 2014
Great capture! Congrats.
Wilhelmina
Wilhelmina November 25, 2014
Thank you for your lovely comment
annharris
 
annharris November 25, 2014
Wow! Stunning capture, well done :)
Wilhelmina
Wilhelmina November 25, 2014
Thank you for your super comment
p_eileenbaltz
 
p_eileenbaltz December 08, 2014
GORGEOUS!!! Congratulations on being chosen a finalist.:)
Wilhelmina
Wilhelmina December 10, 2014
Thank you for your very kind comment.
Drales
 
Drales December 23, 2014
Perfect composition!
Wilhelmina
Wilhelmina December 24, 2014
Thank you Drales for your super comment
btcphotography
 
btcphotography April 14, 2015
Amazing shot!
Wilhelmina
Wilhelmina April 14, 2015
Thank you for your lovely comment
Coshooter PRO+
 
Coshooter May 12, 2015
Love it!!! Congrats!
Wilhelmina
Wilhelmina June 11, 2015
Thank you so much
Wilhelmina
 
Wilhelmina January 12, 2020
Thank you to everyone who has left such great feedback, it is very much appreciated.

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Behind The Lens

Location
This photo was taken in the veggie patch of my French house.
Time
It was taken at 1639hrs on 26 August 2014.
Lighting
I had a bit of trouble trying to get the right shot where the sun was not shining on the caterpillar creating too much glare, so I tried to get it into the shadow a little just to mute it a bit. Although it was later in the day the sun was still quite bright so it took me a while to get the right angle. It was also quite a feat trying to avoid stepping on all the other growing veggies in order to get the shot.
Equipment
I used a Panasonic FZ200 camera, hand held whilst stretching over the fennel, it would not have been possible to use the tripod as I kept moving around and wanted to get as close as possible. I absolutely love this camera having upgraded from the Panasonic FZ50.
Inspiration
I had never seen one of these caterpillars before and was fascinated by its colouring. I also liked the contrast between the colours in the caterpillar and the fennel. From later research I discovered that it was a swallowtail butterfly caterpillar. I will be planting more fennel this year to ensure that they come back.
Editing
There was no post-processing.
In my camera bag
At the moment, I only carry the FZ200 camera in my bag which is a small rucksack type handbag and there is not much room so it is not possible to carry anything else other than the lens cloth in a small pocket.
Feedback
You never know when you are going to come across a scene, animal or colour that captivates your eye, so no matter what type of camera you have, make sure that you take it with you everywhere. You will never regret not having it with you and like a fisherman rue the one that got away. Happy snapping.

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