Hauhechel-Bläulinge in Marais d'Harchies- Bernissart
Jan, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
It was an a trip around my homecountry Belgium, in a nature reserve next to Bernissart. It is known for it's rich bird-fauna wich is attracted by the large ponds and reed bed.Time
On the evening, spending the afternoon in the reserve, I saw those two butterflies mating. At that time (around 5:30 pm) on a rainy day they are not so active like on a hot summerdayLighting
It was just a snapshot I made in the evening on a cloudy, rainy day, so I had to rise the ISO. Not the best day to capture makros or fast moving objects, so these "Common blue's" at mating and not moving was a better choice to shot a picture of the species.Equipment
The equipment I use for makros is my Canon 70D, a Sigma 150-500mm 5,6/6 with a full set of extension tubes (65mm). The Sigma has a minimal focal-distance about 2,2m so the extension tubes give me the chance to get closer to my subjects, around 30-40cm. It was a inexpensive option at the beginning, and I've not changed it since then. Settings were f6,3 at a speed of 1/100 of a second and a focal length of 174mm, ISO 800Inspiration
I was covering all of the life in the nature reserve so this species had to be photographed too. And I never found this situation before. I'm more an nature observer than photographer. And I must say that it's not my favorite picture :)Editing
Because of the light situation and the equipment, I had to post-process the picture a lot. The noise at ISO 800 on a 70D is not that beautiful so I had to minimize that. The white balance was originally way lower but I like this golden look an the picture so I had to rise it.In my camera bag
At that time (July 2015, I started to shoot with DSLR's in January 2015) I just had the Canon 70D with The Sigma 150-500mm f5,6-6 and a Canon 10-18mm 4,5-5 with me and some little helper like a set of Extension tubes, a starter tripod, ND filter and a remote with cable. Right now it' a bit more diverse When I'm shooting wildlife: Canon 70d with Sigma 150-500mm f5.6-6 and the extension tubes if I'm searching for insects Landscapes and Long-exposures: Sony a6000 with Samyang 12mm f2.0, Hoya CPL, Haida ND1000 and a Cullmann Nanomax 460 tripod. I was recently in Iceland with this set-up and fell in love with the small Sony a6000. It saves so much weight instead of the Canon 5D, It was a hard decision wich one to take for that trip but it was the right choice. The only problem on this cam is the battery life! Stars: Canon 5Dmark2 with Samyang 14mm f2.8 and the Cullmann Nanomax 460Feedback
If you want to get close with butterflies go to a field where many flowers grow, such as marshlands, borders of ponds or nature reserves. The best time is late afternoon, the light is nicer than at noon but strong enough to capture this fast moving insects. The Common blue shown at the picture is a very active and small species so you have to act fast and have the right settings before you even see them. I recommend a makrolens with a bigger focal-lenght because they wan't get close with you. My set-up is not so common, but I'm adapted to it now. So I take a testshot from something in a similiar situation in the field and then search for insects in the area. If you start doing that you don't see much, but with a little training your eyes start seeing interesting objects everywhere. A simple fly can be included in a great composition.
