The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
The second brood of one of my favorite butterflies has emerged recently. Large Coppers used only to be seen in the north of S Korea, but now I’m finding them right down here in the south - a result I think of climate change. This female (about 1 inch across) posed for me yesterday in its usual habitat near the river. It stayed still long enough for me to realize that I wasn’t going to get her in good focus unless I did a small stack.
Specific Feedback
Any thoughts on the composition? I decided to keep that vertical blade along the left edge as a framing element. Good idea?
Technical Details
OM1 + 60mm macro 1/60 f13 ISO 400 Diffused flash 2 shots stacked in Zerene
Tonalities adjusted in LR, Denoise, Shadows and Highlights in PS, light sharpening, cropping.
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Mike, that is a gorgeous butterfly. After seeing a few reports on Monarchs as of late and actually seeing a couple Swallowtail out in the field recently it seems like the season is now open for them maybe. Out at Joshua Tree NP we’ve seen numerous caterpillars eating the foliage. I assume that is where the Swallowtails are coming from overall.
The original image is wonderful, but as always you could play around various crops for another look too. Regardless, the main image allows you various options in the end…
Very nice, Mike, a wonderful subject presented beautifully the double stack gives you crisp detail throughout t the subject. Such a great butterfly image I would lose the vertical framing leaf, even though the copper color is kind of a match.
Beautiful job on the butterfly, Mike. An excellent decision on the small stack. I’m not particularly concerned about the vertical reed on the left, but the really bright one behind the butterfly pulls my eye pretty severely. I took the liberty of opening your image in PS and doing a bit of surgery. As long as I was there, I cropped it a bit differently just for the sake of comparison.
Mike, this is a beauty. So glad they are down your way, but hate the fact that climate change may be the reason. I like what @Dennis_Plank did, especially in the crop.
A gorgeous capture!! The blade on the left bothers me more than the small one behind her. I would crop from the left and first see about softening the color of the one behind, and then maybe remove it. But @Dennis_Plank showed it can be removed without a trace.
Mike: I’m pretty much in full agreement with @Dennis_Plank regarding the crop and the bright grass behind the butterfly. For me the reed on the left looks like a mistake and doesn’t really add to the image. The capture of the butterfly itself on a great perch does carry the day. Well done. >=))>
Oh what a beauty. These tiny ones just astound me with their resilience. They seem fragile and in may ways they are, but they are also tougher than we think. The cro with the left stalk removed works for me. there might be some finesse you could apply to the wings to improve some of the contrast, but it is tough given the color so maybe this is the best it can be. And oh is it good. The crisp detail is lovely to look at and the symmetry is on full display. Really nice. Basically all of ours are gone now that we have freezing temps overnight.
