Butterflies
A Gulf Fritillary stands his ground on mistflower as a Queen approaches.
A Gulf Fritillary stands his ground on mistflower as a Queen approaches.
Read less
Read less
Dec, 2013Views
1246
Likes
Awards
Action Award
Chatter Award
Zenith Award
Legendary Award
Contest Finalist in Butterflies Photo Contest
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Jaw Dropping
Peer Award
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
Exceptional Contrast
Genius
All Star
Virtuoso
Emotions
Impressed
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rank
Top 30 rankTop 20 rank week 1
Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
I shot this photo at the National Butterfly Center located in Mission, TX near the Rio Grande River. Unfortunately this haven for butterflies, birds and other wildlife is currently being threatened by the border wall which will be built through the middle of this property leaving half of the preserve on the Mexico side. Read more about it on their website, www.nationalbutterflycenter.org.Time
I normally like to take butterfly photos in the mid-morning to early afternoon hours. This one was taken at 1:30 in the afternoon just before I was going to quit for the day.Lighting
I prefer using natural light for my nature photography. The morning and late afternoon hours are my favorite times of day as the light is softer with warm tones.Equipment
I used a Canon EOS 7D with a EF70-300mm F/4-5.6L IS USM Canon Lens.Inspiration
There was a bit of serendipity involved in the capture of this image. This particular patch of Mistflower was covered in butterflies. I had identified this Gulf fritillary sitting on the flower and I took the shot. As my eyes were focused on the Gulf Fritillary I did not notice the Queen Butterfly come into my frame. When I checked my image I was thrilled to see that the Queen appeared and it made a wonderful photo.Editing
I believed I had a very nice image straight out of the camera but I did do some cropping and made some basic adjustments to light, shadows and sharpness in Adobe Lightroom.In my camera bag
I'm a minimalist when it comes to my equipment. All my photos are taken with my Canon 7D and my 70-300 Lens. I also have an old Manfrotto tripod that a friend gave me that I used from time to time. I have recently had my eye on a portrait lens as I have wanted to start doing some portrait work.Feedback
To date, this image has been one of my most viewed photos. One could say this was purely a lucky shot but that would negate the countless hours spent in the field taking hundreds upon hundreds of photos. I like to say that luck is when preparation meets opportunity. Expensive equipment is great but nothing beats just getting out there and taking pictures with whatever equipment you have.
