In May I posted a picture of a Monarch and was quite proud that our garden attracted a Monarch. After being gone all summer, we found our garden had attracted a dozen or more butterflies. Unfortunately, these are Queen Butterflies, cousins of Monarchs, as was the one posted in May. Much more abundant in southern Arizona, probably about 100:1. Monarchs have varied colored wings and the white spots are on the edges surrounded by black. The white dots on the wings are indicative of Queens.
In spite of that, I liked getting 3 together, almost in the same plane. Any butterfly is better than no butterflies.
Specific Feedback Requested
Technical Details
Is this a composite: No
Canon R6, Sigma 150-600, ISO 3200, f/6.3,1/320 sec.,252mm. Evening and low light.
Tripod, LR, Topaz De Noise.
All comments are welcome.
What a nice find and capture, Charlie. I thought at first viewing that they were Monarchs. Thank you for sharing the difference. I am so glad that you were able to capture all 3 in one image. They all seem to be in the plane of focus. I like that they are gradually higher that the other, from right to left. I’m not sure (I rarely think to do this), flip it so that they are facing to the right. Sometimes that can help the over all composition. Great shot as presented, in my opinion.
OK. I flipped it. What do you think?
Very nice trio, Charlie. And it works either way. 
Thanks. I couldn’t tell the difference. We will see if anyone has strongeopinions.
Charlie, it didn’t do for the image what I thought it might. You just never know. I appreciate you flipping it and sharing with us though. It was just a thought.
Thanks. Doesn’t hurt to try;
A wonderful catch!! Both versions work for me.
I’d consider a crop from the top to remove the bright area. I wonder if you have done what you can with taming highlights and bringing up shadows?
I tried cropping. Now it seems a bit unbalanced to me. I appreciate your ideas. I guess I could take it into PS and darken it. Quite frankly, the picture is not that great and my real purpose was to tell the difference between Queen and Monarch. I still have lots of butterflies and I might try for a more dramatic picture.
Thanks
Nice capture and trio of these butterflies. Well done Charlie
Charlie, I enjoyed the fact that you caught three of them in the plane of focus and in a arc position. I appreciate you trying all of the different thoughts to see if it would improve it.
