Eight Dozen for the Autumn

Image Critiques Macro/Close-up Critiques
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Eight Dozen for the Autumn
Eight Dozen for the Autumn1475×2000 490 KB

This Dragon Swallowtail (Sericinus montela) just wouldn’t stop laying her eggs yesterday. I can’t wait to see the next brood in autumn. There are at least 80 males and 10 females at this site very near the house. I’ve never seen them there before, but the rain this year has led to the growth of plenty of wild grasses, where they like to hang out. So it’s a good year for this beautiful species. I’ll post more shots later.

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All comments welcome.

Technical Details

D500 + 105mm macro. 1/500 f11 ISO 800

Topaz Denoise and Shadows, Highlights and Curves in PS.

5 Likes
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Wow!! Stunning image with great sharpness in the subject and a lovely soft BG, and those eggs are amazing!! Hope to see some portraits of the next generation!

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Mike, how wonderful to even witness such a thing, much less be able to photograph them! Excellent shot. Really nice details in the BF as well as the eggs. Looks like a whole new generation is on their way. So glad that it is near your home too, so you can go back and shoot again and again. Nice!

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Really nice catch, Mike. Anytime one can get a clutch of butterfly eggs like that, it’s a huge plus. Good details, too. Nice one.

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What a wonderful intimate image.

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Superb photo. Hopefully the first in a series.

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Mike, a great catch, with both the BF and her eggs nice and sharp. Those long tails are quite striking and I assume they get worn down quickly as she ages, so she’s fresh.

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Nice Mike… unless you’ve shot butterflies no one know how hard they are to do properly I’m not too good at it. This is exceptional!-JG

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Fantastic image that tells a great story. Really nice. Congratulations!

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Amazing photo, Mike. Hope we will be seeing more of your butterflies this year. Congratulations!

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Thank you, @J_Fritz_Rumpf !

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Thank you @linda_mellor - you’re sure to see more this year!

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Hi Mike! Congrats on the Year End Editor’s Pick! I enjoy the composition of this shot. Its also a nice companion piece to Diane’s photo in this category. Its an insect circle of life.

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Many thanks, @Cameron_Wilcox . Companion pieces? Now that’s an idea! Some of us collaborating to build up series of shots on NPN even.

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Looks good Mike–love the details, colors, and all those eggs for future caterpillar shots…Jim

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Thanks, @Jim_Zablotny. I hope the adults come back in numbers again next year.

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Very nice, Mike. A lovely macro shot with a great balance of colour between the Swallowtail and it’s eggs. The clarity of the latter really makes this one for me. Well done and congratulations for the yearly pick. Cheers.

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Many thanks. @Phil_G.