Colour-Splash Butterfly
A monarch butterfly feeds on a cone flower in the early light in the Government Gardens this morning. The early morning sunlight shines through its bright orang...
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A monarch butterfly feeds on a cone flower in the early light in the Government Gardens this morning. The early morning sunlight shines through its bright orange wings, reminding me of stained glass. It was sunny , cloudless and the air was so still - just perfect for butterfly photos
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Feb, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This Photo was taken in March at the end of last summer, during my early Sunday morning walk around the Government Gardens, in my hometown of Rotorua. New Zealand. This was the last of the few monarch butterflies we had seen that summer.Time
The best time of day is morning for photographing butterflies, while they are feeding on the nectar. This was shot mid-morning around 10am, it was cloudy and the light was soft and muted, bringing out the bright colours of the cone flowers and butterflies wingsLighting
The best lighting for photographing butterflies, bees, and flowers is cloudy or misty days as the light is soft and muted, with no harsh shadows, I use natural light as I like to get close to the butterflies and flowers, a flash can be too harsh.Equipment
I just use my trusty Nikon 5300 with a 105mm lens so I can stand back as this butterfly was high up on a two-meter high coneflower bush, I don't generally use a tripod as insects, butterflies and bees are constantly on the move, and a tripod can be too restrictive. I had to walk over the garden and stand just near enough to get a reasonably close shot, so as to capture the details of the wings and spots on the butterflyInspiration
I noticed looking around on my regular Sunday morning walks through the Government Gardens the butterflies had been scarce that year, so to see a monarch was a real treat, I love monarchs and the beautiful wings looked like stained glass colours. This butterfly was a picture of summer for me, so this was an end of summer photo before autumn arrivedEditing
I ran the photo through photoshop and made the background black and white so as to make the colours stand out, and also just lightened it up a bit - other than that the muted light bought out most of the colours. I thought it didnt need to much processing as you can overdo it.In my camera bag
I always take my trusty Nikon 5300, my favourite 35mm lens, as well as my 40mm Macro. I always take my 105mm telephoto - good for photographing fast moving birds, and butterflies, bees, as well as my graduating filters, and my small LED Speedlight- it's very light and easy to use and doesn't make your camera feel too heavy and awkward, and my smartphone as I can use the Nikon camera remote and light meter apps on it. I have a backpack for my camera gear, it is very light and comfortable to wear. It has lots of pockets inside for spare batteries, a rain cover for the camera and smartphone etc.Feedback
Go out early in the morning when the butterflies are out and feeding on the nectar in the flowers, the best light is soft muted cloudy day, but be patient, just walk slowly around and just observe what flowers are in bloom, are the bees out, has it been raining overnight as butterflies like to drink the water in the flowers. Have your camera in your hand and be ready to shot quickly, it is best to put your camera on quick burst mode or manual- shutter speed 1/120 -140, F8, ISO 200, as the butterflies never stay in one place for long so you have to do a few test shots to get it right, - the best advice I can give is join your local camera club, I belong to the Rotorua Camera Club and have learnt so much from other experienced members, and practice, go out and shot just for the fun of it - get to know your camera even if it is in your backyard at home you can still get great shots.
