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Prairie Surprise

Discussion

15 replies
Posted by Wayne Rhodus on July 14, 2009 at 11:31 PM
Prairie Surprise
On our (my) last stop Sunday morning Bill and I visited a nice prairie set on rolling hills. The main portion of the prairie had been hayed but a small section remained where among other things a few Royal Catchfly plants were blooming.

Just after I finished shooting this plant and moved on to another subject a Pipeline Swallowtail (correct me if the ID is wrong) showed up and flitted around the blooms gathering nectar. I was able to get off a number of grab shots and this was one of the better ones. The bg is problemmatic but I still like having this one in the "bag". Thanks for looking.

50D, 100-400L @ 400 (640 equiv), 1/90 @ f/8, ISO 200, AF

p.s. I had to desaturate the red blooms quite a bit to keep them from oversaturating during the conversion to sRGB
Posted by Scott Bean on July 15, 2009 at 12:05 AM
Very striking Wayne! What don't you like about the bg? Looks good to me, but if you don't like it could you darken it some?
Posted by Rob Graham on July 15, 2009 at 12:12 AM
nice capture Wayne, I agree the background isn't a major issue for me, and everything that should be sharp appears to be
Posted by Lon Sharp on July 15, 2009 at 1:03 AM
Nice job, Wayne!
Posted by Daniel Loomis on July 15, 2009 at 7:49 AM
According to the National Wildlife Federation Field Guide, it is a Pipevine Swallowtail. Close enough for me! Lovely specimen in a fully natural setting. Do you have a little tighter shot or crop of the butterfly? BG is a little busy, but that is part of its natural environment.
Posted by Cheyenne Howell on July 15, 2009 at 7:54 AM
great catch, Wayne. Love the background as is.
Posted by Merle Cook on July 15, 2009 at 8:27 AM
Great shot Wayne. The bg looks good to me and the colors on the Swallowtail are sharp and well defined. I would be very happy to have this one on my wall...
Posted by Bill Dark on July 15, 2009 at 9:48 AM
Looks great to me Wayne. Nice color and detail where it needs to be.
Posted by Larry Daniel on July 15, 2009 at 10:14 AM
Excellent Wayne!
Posted by Randy Wilson on July 15, 2009 at 11:17 AM
A bright, cheery, and colorful shot. I was looking at different things that might be done with the background and came to the conclusion that it wasn't the background so much as the crop that you might take a look at. To my eye the image is stronger with some of the bottom and the right cropped. Anyhow, it's something you might try. Regardless, a lovely shot.
Posted by Ed Cooley on July 15, 2009 at 12:29 PM
Very pretty image Wayne. I really like the feel and color in this image.

Posted by Aaron Szabo on July 15, 2009 at 1:32 PM
I think this is a great shot! The background is fine.
Posted by Tom Kennon on July 15, 2009 at 10:30 PM
I really like you catch, Wayne!
Posted by Gale Rainwater on July 16, 2009 at 12:34 AM
Nice catch Wayne, a beautiful shot. I always wanted to shoot butterflies but never taken the time. Glad to see you got some good ones from your trip.
Posted by Karla Hall on July 16, 2009 at 8:54 AM
Lovely shot Wayne..I like your idea about the red saturation. The desat really helps draw the eye to the butterfly. Nice job :smile:
Posted by Brian Schrayer on July 16, 2009 at 8:07 PM
Beautiful shot, Wayne. A little less depth of field might be nice to help with the background, but this is still a great shot as is.