Yummm!

Butterflies are another one of my favorite photo subjects. A Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta claudia) at Holla Bend, AR in Mdi-April 06. Taken with Canon 10D, 100-400L IS lens at 400mm - ISO400, f/11 at 1/125 sec from tripod.

Wow - this is really an explosion of color and form. The butterfly is kind of like Alice in Wonderland sitting on a toadstool examining the shapes that compose her world. I really do like this image - it lets your eye wander around and find different and interesting things to observe. thanks for posting!

Hi Dick, I love the way Tim termed his response, an "explosion of color and form". That is a perfect analogy. I really like your subject and the backlight on the wings.

I have one suggestion that accomplishes two things. I'd be tempted to crop down from the top to eliminate the purple bloom. That puts your subject in the rule of thirds position and removes the only element that is more colorful than your subject. Just a thought. Great capture, thanks for sharing!

Dick,
I agree with Wayne on this one. I don't think the purple bloom adds to the photo, and the compostion would improve from the crop. Normally I wouldn't like the little bare curly twig on the left, but it mimmicks the shape and position of the butterfly so well it really adds some interest. Great post.

Many thanks for the very nice comments and suggestions. Here is the shot with the purple flower cropped out.

Thanks again,

Dick

I like this much better Dick, and it looks much better on my monitor at home! Nice work on this one!

I think this works much better too, Dick. I would still go ahead and clone out the little bit of purple that didn't get cropped. Great shot!