Pastel Sunset
A twin-spot fritillary [Brenthis hecate] during a very calm and pastel colored sunset.
No image manipulation - no retouching. ...
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A twin-spot fritillary [Brenthis hecate] during a very calm and pastel colored sunset.
No image manipulation - no retouching.
Read less
No image manipulation - no retouching.
Read less
Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Aperture f/3.5 ISO 160 Shutter 1/2 Focal Length 180/1 
Croatia (Hrvatska)
Apr, 2019Views
1436
Likes
Awards
Contest Finalist in Covers Photo Contest Volume 3
Contest Finalist in Shallow Depth Photo Contest
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Superb Composition
All Star
Superior Skill
Virtuoso
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LAMONTEMA
May 25, 2019
Very impressed and happy of this memorable image. This is a special image and should be in a museum.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
I've took this photo on my vacation in Croatia in one of the many natural meadows there.Time
95% of my macro work I shoot in the morning. That means I'm on location before sunrise - which means I nead to get up at 3:30am sometimes.Lighting
The morning light is my favorite light for macro shoots. It stays soft and manageable for some hours and the butterflies still roost so you have some time to take the shot you're having in your mind.Equipment
I've used my favorite macro lens, the Sigma 180 mm F2,8 EX APO Macro OS HSM on a wooden Berlebach mini tripod with a Sirui kx-30 ball head.Inspiration
Most of the time I want to achieve a fairytale-like impression in my photos and having a nice bokeh like here contributes a lot. To get this impression I don't use filters or 'photoshopping' - I use light, an open aperture, a fast lens and a very low pov. I'm trying to get my shots against a background which contributes to the bokeh.Editing
There's not much post-processing in this photo. Most of my photos are eligible for major nature photo competitions - which means that I didn't do any retouching, use of filters or image manipulation. Basically I just did tonal correction, sharpening, de-noising, white-balancing and some work on tonal contrasts.In my camera bag
Canon 5d Mkiii, Canon 16-35/4 L IS, Sigma 85/1.4 Art, Sigma 180/2.8 macro, Sigma 120-300/2.8 Sports, Canon 400/2.8 L IS USM, bean bag, Sirui and Berlebach tripods, reflectors and diffusors, gradient filters, polarization filterFeedback
In macro photography many just want to get the subject as big as possible and as sharp as possible - in front of a uniform background. Some years ago I just wanted to do something different. I wanted to use the negative space to contribute to the overall impact of the photo and fill it with an abstract bokeh representation of the subjects habitat. I wanted to that without the use of Photoshop and found techniques like using the available light, pov, using long tele macros and open apertures to achieve what I want. I know that this isn't the taste of everybody - but the experience shows that many people like the view on nature I'm showing and it means that some negative feedback shouldn't hinder you from developing your own style and vision.
