At this time of year my BWS starts to play up badly. That’s Butterfly Withdrawal Syndrome, and it’s led me to posting a shot from back in June 2016. On a visit to relatives in Raleigh, NC, this little Phyciodes tharos, wingspan about an inch, was a frequent visitor to their garden.
Specific Feedback Requested
I’d like to have got the wing-tips a bit sharper, but there you go. I desaturated the flower and BG as they were competing too much with the butterfly for attention. I only cropped a small bit from the right; maybe I should have got the whole flower in when takng this, but it doesn’t bother me. What do you think?
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
D7100 + 105 f2.8 macro - f13, 1/200. ISO 800, hand-held
Mike, this is a fine look at this Pearl Crescent and an excellent color match with the Black-eyed Susan. Getting the entire flower would mean a smaller butterfly…always a trade off. In this case, you could crop some from the left, deliberately cutting off the petal tips over there to make the bf even larger in the frame. The wing tips are acceptable as presented, although going to f/18 or even f/22 might have gotten them sharp.
Mike, I live in NC about an hour from Raleigh, so very much familiar with these little guys. I too am looking forward to their return (got the BWS myself). Very nice shot of him. You are right, they are pretty small. I like your shot as presented, but I do believe that @Mark_Seaver has a good suggestion as well. You did a fine job getting in that close with a 105 mm macro lens. They tend to fly away for me. Hopefully it won’t be too much longer and we will be back out shooting butterflies and bees.
That’s cool, @Shirley_Freeman. I was lucky that my only visit there coincided with a great month for bfs. June is the best month for them in South Korea too.
Thanks @Mark_Seaver. I used to always strive for symmetry in the shot as a whole to match that of the bf; now I realize this can look much less interesting than the off-centre look.
My suggestion would be to crop a bit from the left so that the tips of the three petals are chopped off and, if possible, add some green on the right and at the top. Nevertheless I like it very much because of its simplicity and colour harmony. Your subtle desaturation of flower and background nicely isolates the butterfly.
Thanks for the repost. Imo the emphasis is now much more on the butterfly. Only now I see the shadow of the bf’s head on the flower, which is a nice detail.
Mike: I do like the original and think the repost is a small improvement on an already fine image. I especially like the lighting and the play of shadows. Top notch shot. >=))>
