Butterfly on Cone Flower
Backyard garden
Backyard garden
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Aug, 2016Views
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charlesshaffer
June 29, 2018
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in my own back yard which features numerous flower beds designed to attract butterflies birds and other wildlife. I have scored numerous high quality images because of content and design of those gardens. You could call this my outdoor studio for wildlife of all types. Numerous photographs in my profile are the result of my work on this "Studio" and it is worth the effort.Time
Late afternoon at 5:32 PM on July 4. I prefer not to shoot in the harsher noon day sun.Lighting
The lighting was all natural with a bright but slightly overcast sky. The late afternoon further softened the sun while leaving me plenty of light for good choices for shutter speed and aperture.Equipment
This was shot with my Cannon 1D MK IV and a Cannon 70-200 F2.8 IS lens with the 2x extender behind it. Shutter speed was a slow 1/15 with an aperture of f8 so a tripod was also required.Inspiration
I really like taking wildlife/ nature photographs. As I mentioned above my yard is designed to promote these opportunities. On this particular day butterflies were abundant and busy, the light was good and there was no wind so I just took advantage of the opportunity. A perfect day to go take pictures was my inspiration.Editing
Yes definitely. I shoot raw therefore you have to process to get to something printable/ displayable. I'm also old school and started my journey in photography when film was your only option. I use Lightroom almost exclusively as it lets me process digital like I would film in my darkroom. 1. I'm still of the mindset that you start with a good negative. 2. Once in Lightroom I follow this simple procedure. First and foremost set white balance for the light used, daylight, indoor, flash or whatever. If this this isn't correct nothing else will be either. I also crop at this time. It's a carry over from my film days where I was taught that you shoot loose and then crop in the lab. a. Set your black point to where it's just starting to clip. b. Set you white point to where it's just starting to clip as well. Now you've set your dynamic range. c. Now adjust your highlight and shadow values to what looks natural for the scene. Once I have this base correct then you start to manipulate with tools like burn and dodge to correct portions that may need it. Artistic manipulations are permitted in photography. Many are as old as photography itself even composites where allowed then and should be allowed now. I don't like to materially change the content though.In my camera bag
My equipment list is extensive at this point and I definitely can't carry it all, so as a default grab and go system I keep my Mk IV on the ready the 70-200 F2.8 and usually a shorter zoom and my main flash. After that it depends on the mission. I have variety of zooms, primes, Macros, flashes, tripods and accessories t choose from. Especially when hiking all day a heavy camera bag starts to take away the fun of it.Feedback
Planning for any shoot is important. I'm lucky enough to be able to build the gardens for this type of shooting but I still go out elsewhere as well. Know your quarry and plan accordingly. If you're after butterflies there are probably nice gardens or parks that are a easily accessible. I've never really "lucked" into a shoot, and though an unplanned opportunity may have presented itself it was still the planning that allowed me to be prepared to take advantage of it.
