Emperors on Parade

Image Critiques Macro/Close-up Critiques
1

Schrenck's 1.jpg
Schrenck's 1.jpg2000×1667 1.04 MB

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

This large and attractive butterfly, Schrenck’s Emperor, was out in force today after the rain. I found 8 of them, all except one feeding on a narrow forest path. Some butterflies look very different with the wings closed. This species is a good example, so I’ll also post a lateral view after this. Can you spot one here too?

Specific Feedback

Does the “bonus butterfly” distract? Did I crop in too tightly?

Technical Details

D500 + 105mm macro 1/125 f20 ISO 2500

After cropping, Blacks and Whites and Denoise in Lightroom, touched up the tonalities and added contrast in Photoshop - final minor sharpening with Noiseware.

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1 Like
2

Very cool, Mike. Judging by the one with the wings closed, it does look like they have a completely different pattern on the underside, though that’s a pretty acute angle of vision to judge it. Very nice detail in the two with open wings and I like the variation in their markings.

3

Lovely species, with good detail. Getting a good image with them perched on the ground is difficult, with the inevitable distracting BG, but you subdued this one nicely without it looking too low in contrast. Nice work!

4

Mike: The widely disparate wing patterns on these remind me of the radical difference seen on gulf fritillaries. I like the “where’s Waldo” look at the third butterfly. Nicely done. >=))>

1 Like
5

Thanks @Bill_Fach. Sizes of the males (and females) are widely disparate too, another reason for liking this species.