I love the underwing markings of this skipper, seen two days ago. The weather is warming up in Korea, and some good adult butterflies are appearing. At last!
Type of Critique Requested
Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
I should have used f13 or smaller to get that forewing tip really sharp, but I also wanted a smooth bg. The end of the branch in LLC - is it too blurry? I had to get right down on the ground, and didn’t want to stir either branch or myself.
Technical Details
D500 +105mm macro 1/400 f11 ISO 400 + Speedlight flash on camera
Cropping, Denoise, and Shadows and Highlights in PS. Burn on end of branch.
Oh what a cutie and the tiny branch makes a good perch. How nice of it to land there. Yeah, the branch in the LLC could use a little work - I’d darken it down given its blurriness. I wish those wing edges were sharp, too, but as you say, it’s a tough balance between getting that or a too-sharp and distracting background. This is a good compromise to me since the had, body, legs and most of the wings are sharp. I like how the wing tip sticks up into a slightly lighter bit.
Wonderful capture, Mike. I love how the background reflects the same colors as the butterfly. Not having master the techniques of photographing these fast little guys, I’m the last person who needs to be offering advise. I still admire your collection of butterfly photos.
I love everything about it!! Wonderful color and detail and a perfect perch. I think it would be possible to do a soft-edged burn in the LL to darken the branch a bit, but as is, it balances the lighter area in the UR.
Hi Mike,
Looks pretty good. Overall, I wish those wing tips in the line of focus. Colors are excellent and details are nice and crisp. A little more room around the subject could improve the comp. You may want to try that for sure. BG is excellent and goes well with the butterfly. Very nice indeed…Jim
Itty-bitty nit, but now my wandering eye is drawn to the lighter rectangular area in the far LL corner. Making the stem a bit wider there (toward the left) would solve the issue and not look “fixed”.
Oh, I like this little guy, Mike. Nice and hairy too! That BG really makes him stand out nicely, and compliments him. I think others have given you good advice for the branch in the LLC. Nice.
So I might try to work with butterflies more this year. Can you talk about your stalking technique? I’ve heard that cool temps work to slow them down some.
Mike, I am coming late to the party. Based on the various comments, it appears the image shown here is a repost. I cannot say that for sure because the original image is not there. Anyway, the first thing that caught my eye was the beautiful and analogous color palette in your image. Even the light URC blends in nicely with the butterfly wingtips providing an accented contrast. That is nicely done. The small blurriness on the wings does not bother me at all. It actually helps to provide a sense of depth to your image. Combined with how you obtained the image, that explains how your camera lens was placed for the image. Kudos to you.
What others have mentioned about the LLC can be distracting to some. I would have attempted to do a radial filter in that area to try to minimize the sudden contrast between what is blurred and sharp. Only when I dive into that area do I see that distraction. While in the subject of distractions, there is a tiny yellow dot next to the hairs in front of the eyes. Again, it might have gone unnoticed had I not enlarged the image to admire the tack sharpness you got here.
This is a really impressive image. I’m glad spring is coming to your neck of the woods. If this image is an indication of what’s to come, I can hardly wait for more photos you will share.
Thanks very much @EgĂdio for your detailed comments. You’re right, I didn’t post a rework. I do this when I’ve made major changes, but these were quite small - sorry if this caused any confusion. As for the LLC, I have no idea how to do a radial filter, but I guess this is in PS and I should try and find it. The tiny yellow dot is a grain of pollen. This species feeds on a small yellow flower nearby and forgot to prepare itself properly for the photoshoot! I think I’ll leave it this time. Yes, Spring is just arriving, and I hope to find one of my favourite butterfles here next week before a week looking at butterflies in Thailand!
Thanks @Kris_Smith. Stalking technique…hmm. Yes, early morning one can find bfs still sleeping, often with dew on them, especially in the fall. Then in the evening some species will settle down in accessible roosts. And if they’ve just eclosed they tend to be still, while their wings get ready for flight. But these are lucky situations where stalking is not so necessary. In this particular case above, the bf was very fresh and allowed me to approach very slowly. This was lucky, as once new males have fed for energy they tend to dash off like headless chickens in search of females (who often hatch some days later), just when you want a shot of a fresh individual. The best situation is when they are mating, but only certain species do this in easy view, and even then some can be skittish. Knowing which plant a species will lay eggs on is also very helpful when stalking a female who is ovipositing. In general terms, I try to avoid my shadow falling on the bf (unless I want it to move to a better perch, but then I risk losing it). I am very careful not to move vegetation nearby, as there are so many connecting parts to the undergrowth. It’s also handy to have my 150-600mm lens sometimes, so they can be “stalked” up high in a tree, or low down if very skittish. I can sometimes sit still by a group of flowers (especially in the garden) and wait for the bf or moth to come - but this is mostly for the more common species. The best thing I think is to have a fairly good idea of when and where a certain species will appear. For example, many of our best hairstreaks will appear in June, appearing first low down but quickly flying up high if disturbed. So at the start of June, I’ll tiptoe along a specific path where I’ve seen a species before on that date, observing the low bushes in a sunny section, and … darn, they still see me first as often as not and I lose the shot! But I can also get lucky, and approach (keeping all movements slow), taking many shots as I get closer and closer. It’s very much hit-and-miss common sense, I guess. The very best thing is to know as much as you can about a species and its behavior. But a friend of mine, a super bf photographer, said to me once: “The more I learn about butterflies, the less I understand them!” Hope this helps a bit, Kris.
It does, Mike, thanks. The part about knowing what plant(s) species lay eggs on is really important for figuring out where the might go. I’ll have to see if I can ID any plants and then see if an moth or bf species like those. My ID book for butterflies specifically gives this info for each species as well, very helpful. And yeah, they are so skittish. Thanks for your persistence in trying for them!
Mike, a gradient filter or even a brush could work, too. If you use LR, you can add those filters very easily. The suggestion I made is minor, quite frankly, and merely a personal preference when it comes to blurred areas.
