The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
The largest butterfly native to North America, the Giant Swallowtail can sport a wingspan just shy of 7-1/2 inches. It’s caterpillars, known as “orange dogs” in southern states, feed on citrus crops and can become a pest. In my yard in Oklahoma, they lay their eggs on Wafer Ash, also called Hop Tree, a member of the citrus family.
Specific Feedback
No
Technical Details
Canon RF 100-500mm, handheld, processed in ACR and PSE 2020 for exposure and cropping, Topaz DeNoise
Terry, he’s a beauty. I didn’t realize they were that large. Thanks for sharing the info. I also didn’t know that the caterpillars feed on citrus crops. I can image that could be an issue for the farmer.
I really like how the light is shining through his wings. Nice details in the BF, and it stands out nicely against the BG.
A great shot of an amazing butterfly Terry, the wonderful contrast between the wings and the background, and the light through the wings really serve to emphasise the beauty of the Swallowtail
Hi Terry, nice catch! These guys’ wings always seem to be fluttering when I see one so nice to see these so well. The light coming through the wings is really nice. I notice what seems to be a selection artifact between the body and wing of the butterfly. Nice frame.
Very sharp and just a hint of motion blur is OK too. The ironweed adds some additional color to the scene. BG is perfect. I think that you did a good job capturing this not very small butterfly. As a side note, I have some Citrus trees that spend their summers outside and I always get a few orange dogs eating the leaves…Jim
Terry, both the lighting and the comp. are very good here. When I go the the largest view, everything looks just a tiny bit soft, which has me wondering about hand holding this much lens (800mm equivalent with the R7’s 1.6 crop factor). The smaller views look good and the mix of colors is very attractive.
Thanks @Mark_Seaver. I have found that, IF one’s technique is perfect and IF you don’t hold too long, handholding is doable with this lens. However, if one must hold the lens too long, as I suspect I did here waiting for the butterfly to be still, one is probably inviting a bit of motion blur, or being the tiniest bit off in focus.
I missed this one earlier – glad I found it because it is gorgeous!! I’m so taken with the subject that I don’t notice any softness. The DOF is even more than I would expect with this much magnification at f/8. The BG is lovely and any NR you did looks excellent.
I could see cropping a little from the right to remove the brightest leaves. They compete with the butterfly a little. Or darken and desaturate them a bit.
