by Howard Cheek
Gulf Fritillary that is
We have a couple of oak trees that keep most of the flower bed in shade until noon. The b-flies become more active and I see more of them as it gets hotter/brighter. So the light gets a bit 'top heavy' & bright by then.. To compensate I use fill flash & drive the camera bias down quite a bit, allowing for greater DOF.
On the positive side the brighter sunlight makes it easier to shoot/gain AF with my set-up...
F/22, 1/400th, ISO 640, 5DM2, 300mm f/2.8 + 2x ext. with fill flash & monopod for support @ 12:05PM.
Clear/sunny on 08-01-2015. Cropped for comp to 3849x3079
Comments
8 commentsThis is a terrific look at a beautiful butterfly, Howard. The larger view really lets the details and colors in the bf pop. The background is great as well. It's hard to imagine getting a better bf shot than this. Around here, there seems to be a temp/sunshine combination that has the most bf activity. With bright sun and temps in the mid-90s the bf's get few and far between, there's a notable increase in activity if a cloud block the sun for 10 - 15 minutes. Days with sun and temps in the mid and upper 80s have the most activity.
Gorgeous, Howard. The butterfly is beautiful as is the zinnia. In fact, both are in pristine condition. Love the way the pink colors are also in the BF's spots. I alos like the dof and the perfect BF edge to edge, and petal tip to tip, detail thanks to the f22.
This is really outstanding, so I feel somewhat stupid making a suggestion, but if this were mine (and I wish it was), I might crop a smidge off the top.
Hi Scott & thanx for the comment, much appreciated as always.
I might've taken more off the top as well.. But I always have one over-riding consideration when I compose.
I hate to 'chop' more than I absolutely have to (already at 3849x3079)
That's it in a nutshell, with the emphasis on the 'nut' part
Hi Howard
I love your butterfly presentatiions, they keep getting better all the time. love the beautiful color and detail
Albert Darmo
Canada
Excellent dof to get the butterfly and flower well in focus, Howard. As ever, your background has that nice variation in colour to set off the insect perfectly.
You've got me beat on this one, Howard. Both the BF and the Zinnia are in great condition. The detail is edge to edge sharp. The BG must have been a good long way off to get that good a bokeh.
Very beautiful, Howard! Gorgeous butterfly and flower, excellent detail. I especially like your DOF management and the sharpness in zinnia.
Sweet . . .