It’s seldom that I can get a butterfly wing with a smooth BG; this one suggested an experimental take on the usual perched insect. Wingspan about 6cm.
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I used the birding lens (telephoto) as this butterfly is quite skittish. I think it would have been sharper using the macro lens, but then the BG would have been more busy.
Technical Details
D500 + Tamron 150-600 (@550mm) 1/125 f20 ISO 2500 flash
Topaz Sharpen applied to greatly cropped image. Then added more contrast in PS. Cloned out small scratches on butterfly wing.
I like the bold crop choice to emphasize the shape of the wings. And I think the upward curve of the plant works pretty well with it. Even though your crop is very tight on the left side near the wing, I feel like it’s even tighter on the right next to the plant, and that that part of the frame especially is a crowding the edges. A tick more breathing room on either side might help, without losing any emphasis on the shapes you’re highlighting here.
I really like it, Mike! It’s kind of abstract. I was thinking if you cropped out the whole body and flipped it 180, and add some canvas on 2 sides like @Max_Waugh said it could look more abstract if that’s what you want! Nice capture!
Mike, it’s a dramatic crop, that’s clearly a fun experiment. Your focus on the wing, enhanced by the curving flower raceme and the antennae with it’s orange tip looks very good. It would be interesting to compare this with a slightly looser crop, although adding more body may be distracting…
Thank you @Max_Waugh@Vanessa_Hill@Norma_Tareila-Matley@Mark_Seaver. Yes, I agree the original is too tightly cropped. So I’ve posted a rework above with more space. I wasn’t aiming at an abstract here so much as trying to get the viewer to really focus on the beauty of the wing. I find that the symmetry of butterflies sometimes distracts rather than attracts my eye. I mean that, while the open-winged insect is pretty, I sometimes fail to really observe the intricate details of a single wing, because instead I’m looking at the fascinating symmetry, if that makes sense.
Mike, not sure how I missed this one. but it is an excellent juxtaposition and I love the comp with just part of each subject. The rework does provide a bit more breathing room. A real winner in my view.
Very interesting! The re-work nicely resolved the tension created by the tight crop. The body being cut in two is still a source of visual tension for me, and I think it could be mitigated a bit by a careful gradient burn.
The repost is less crowded and I think the re-cropping worked quite well. The wings have excellent detail and color. Awesome look at this butterfly…Jim
Nice capture!