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Monarch on a Cloudy Day
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Monarch on a Cloudy Day

by Sanjay Sundaram

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted June 4, 2014618 views6 comments
The cloudy sky provided a good backdrop to isolate the colors of this monarch. Can be sharper, but thought this unusual pose made the image.

Thanks for taking a look. Your comments are appreciated.

Sanjay

Nikon D800 1/4000 s @ f4 ISO 800

Comments

6 comments
Comment posted by John Neukirch on June 4, 2014 at 3:29 PM
A cool view of the Monarch with it's wings laid out flat. The BG is pretty blown, I might have backed down on the shutter speed some and stopped down the aperture to around f/8 or f/9 to achieve a little more DOF to get the top portion of the front wings more in focus. Perhaps bring the ISO down to 400. :toast:
Registered on July 9, 2012, 207 Posts, 1476 Comments
Comment posted by scott lanz on June 4, 2014 at 8:28 PM
I agree, Sanjay, that the pose is unique for a monarch. The bg doesn't bother me, but I agree that more dof on the subject's wings would have been this even better.
Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments
Comment posted by Sanjay Sundaram on June 6, 2014 at 3:00 PM
Thanks for the comments and suggestions everyone.

Hi Howard: I had setup the camera to shoot handheld in the shade and when this butterfly showed up at that branch (which was quite bright), I took the shot. It is also spot metered for the butterfly and so blew out the sky, which I don't mind; the extra speed allowed me to freeze the motion, but I lost the dof.

Sanjay
Registered on April 9, 2013, 107 Posts, 725 Comments
Comment posted by Ellen deBoer on June 7, 2014 at 5:39 AM
I like the image a lot, Sanjay! The comp works very well and I don't mind the bright sky. :wavey:
Registered on March 16, 2006, 419 Posts, 2076 Comments
Comment posted by Randy Runtsch on June 7, 2014 at 9:26 AM
Hi Sanjay! Nice composition. As others state, a tad more DOF would have sharpened the tops of the wings. Nice image altogether, though. :smile:
Registered on October 30, 2013, 50 Posts, 445 Comments
Comment posted by Ian Wolfenden on June 7, 2014 at 10:28 AM
Light and airy composition, Sanjay - very nicely done ! Agree with others about the dof but a nice image as is.
Registered on May 18, 2007, 1108 Posts, 7647 Comments