greeneyesclo

Blue Morpho butterfly

Another very lucky shot of a stunning beautiful butterfly

Another very lucky shot of a stunning beautiful butterfly
Read less

Canon PowerShot SX40 HS

settings

Aperture f/5.0 ISO 160 Shutter 1/200 Focal Length 56068/1000

upload_date

Mar, 2015

Views

267

Likes

+10

Awards

Zenith Award

Fall Award 2020

Absolute Masterpiece

Superb Composition

Top Choice

Outstanding Creativity

Peer Award

Top Ranks

Top 30 rank

Top 30 rank week 1

Top 20 rank

Top 30 rank

Behind The Lens

Location

This was taken at the Niagara Falls Butterfly Conservatory in Ontario Canada.

Time

My sister and my nephew and I had taken a trip up the Niagara Falls region. It was my sisters idea to go to butterfly conservatory, we are both budding photographers always looking for a good opportunity to take some great photos. There were many of these Blue Morpho butterflies flying around, but you could only see their brilliant blue coloration at its best when they sat with their wings wide open. This didn't happen very often, so we had to stay stock still and wait patiently for them to land and stay their long enough for us capture a good photo of them. I took many photos, but this was by far one of the better ones. It was early afternoon, about 1:00pm when I took this shot. I wasn't able to see just how well it turned out until I got back to my sisters place and was able to view my photos on her laptop. I was extremely pleased.

Lighting

I am a lover of natural lighting and prefer not to use a flash unless absolutely necessary. The butterfly conservatory had huge windows with lots of natural lighting available without creating any glare. I was able to get many great photos that day, but this was one of my favorites. I was so happy that the colors of this gorgeous butterfly were captured as beautifully as I saw them.

Equipment

I was travelling fairly light that light camera equipment wise that trip. All I had was my camera, a railing, and a very steady hand. I did use my zoom in instances that the butterflies were too far away or too high above me to get close without making them fly away.I am

Inspiration

I am a lover of nature and the beauty it inspires in me. I am always trying to see what I think is beautiful and share it with others so that they can appreciate what I see. I know not everyone may like what I think is beautiful, but its my outlook on what I see. I loved how the green leaf this butterfly was perched on offset the brilliant blue of his wings. I also liked the linear look of the leaves running in two different directions. I like contrast and this photo just spoke to me when I saw this little beauty.

Editing

I did crop my photo a bit to draw the focus to the butterfly. There was a lot of extra foliage around, so I just eliminated the excess. I didn't want anything to distract from the butterfly itself.

In my camera bag

I'm a beginner, so my equipment is quite simple. I have my Canon SX40, which has a very good zoom on it. I always carry a microfiber cleaning cloth to keep my lens from getting streaky, dirty or fogged up. My camera always has a lens protector on it to protect it from any possible drops or bangs. I do have some filters that I keep with me in case I need them in different situations. I have an ND filter for when I take my waterfall pics, I am getting better with that one. I have a polarizing filter as well. I find this one is good for sunny days when I want to cut back on glare. I recently purchased a mini tripod, so I can bring that for my waterfall photos, its easier to bring along then my full sized tripod. I also have a lens hood for other times when I want to cut sun glare and don't want to use my polarizing filter. I also keep and extra SD card in my bag as well, you just never know when you might need it, your current one could get filled up, or could give you errors. I wouldn't want to miss a great shot because of a faulty SD card.

Feedback

Visiting a butterfly conservatory is a wonderful way to get some beautiful shots of butterflies. Most of them seem to be used to people walking around in their habitat, so they aren't as prone to fly away as one would in the wild. The conservatory is set up with a wide variety of species of butterflies, colors and sizes. They keep the conservatories very humid and warm, so dress lightly. I could have stayed in there for at least another hour beyond the hour and a half we were there. But my nephew was getting bored. So go with someone who shares your interest. Be patient, some butterflies are very flighty and won't stay still for long, so you may need to wait a bit to get that great shot. Make sure your battery is charged up well before you go, bring extras if you have them. Bring an extra SD card its so easy to fill one up, because you may snap 7 or 8 photos of the same butterfly to hopefully get one good shot. If you wear bright colored clothing, you will attract the butterflies and they will land on you. I had one on my sweater and it was quite the experience. I loved it there and hope to go back again sometime!

See more amazing photos, follow greeneyesclo

greeneyesclo

greeneyesclo

Blue Morpho butterfly

Another very lucky shot of a stunning beautiful butterfly

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow greeneyesclo

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes. Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes.
Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.