Butterflies as promised!

O.K. here are some of the photos I took at the butterfly shoot the same day that I took the photos of the African Flower in my last post. I really like the first image because I like the abstract looking background. I also like the cool design on his wings. These images are not prize winning images by any means but I like them and I just wanted to share them with anyone who happens to be looking at my site. I wish the butterflies had been a little less skittish and would have sat still for a macro shot. Well, now that I think about it I didn't have a true macro lens when I shot these. I do now however, so next time I'll try it and see what happens.



When I was there on this particular day there were several elementary school classes there. There were elementary kids everywhere, the poor butterflies didn't stand a chance. Almost every kid there was grabbing at the butterflies trying to catch them. Most of the images that I have posted were taken with a long lens or a zoom lens as the butterflies were staying well out of reach of the kids and me. After a while things settled down a bit and the butterflies were a little better about coming close. For the most part they tended to stay as far out of reach as they could. On this next image I used a lens baby to put everything except the butterfly slightly out of focus. Did I mention that these butterflies were African butterflies? It said that the butterflies were African but they look very much like American butterflies to me. Anyway this little guy landed on a nearby carved African figure and posed for me. This is one image that was not taken with a long lens. I really like this image partly because of the background. The African figure adds a touch of culture to the image.



I also like how the butterflies antenna are so sharp in the image. It really shows just how sharp the Lens Baby 2.0 is. This next image is probably my second favorite, I am not sure why. I just really like the look of this butterfly. He looks sleek and ready for action. He is poised on the edge of the leaf ready to take to the sky. He almost looks like a guard butterfly, holding his head high and legs and wings poised for action. His wings are straight up ready for the first sign of trouble so he can leap into the air and kick some butterfly butt. I also really like his colors, the Lime Green reminds me of the 1960's era muscle cars.



I know, I don't get it either, there is nothing muscular about butterflies but I think this guys role model might just be a dragon fly. I know ,I know, it sounds silly but hey I think this guy is cool. As you can see from the shape of the wings on this next guy, the kids were really hard on the poor butterflies. If you look at the tips of his wings it looks like this guy has been in a battle or two. What I like about this image is how regal a stance the butterfly has taken. Though his wings are tattered and torn he still stands tall and proud for all to see. My favorite thing about this image is his eye. You may not be able to see it in this small image but if you were to see it in full size his eye is so very cool. His eye is as green as the leaf he is sitting on and looks like the face of an alien or something. I also like the composition of this image. The leaf he is sitting on leads you right up to the main subject and the background is out of focus enough that it doesn't compete with the butterfly. The only thing that I might have done differently would have been to try and compose this shot horizontally so that the



butterfly was at the extreme lower right third of the frame. This would have him looking into a large open space on the left side of the image. It would add a whole different dynamic to the image. Ahh... at last, we come to my favorite image. O.K. so I am a little biased, so what it's my blog. I can't help it that my beautiful daughter just happens to be in this image. What better backdrop for this lucky butterfly to have the privilege of being upon. This was a fun image that really wasn't easy to get. I know this image could be better but the model is just too cute. Its not like we had a long time to compose this image the butterfly wouldn't hang around and wait all day until I was satisfied that I had the perfect shot, we were lucky to get this shot. If we ever get another opportunity I will be sure and tell my daughter of whoever it is that is the model to try and look into the eyes of the butterfly. We were afraid for her to move too much as we were afraid the butterfly would take off. Well there you go these are some of my favorite images from the butterfly shoot in 2007. I didn't get to go to it in 2008 but it happens every February so I am planning to go in 2009. I will have to post some images if I get to go. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I do taking them. Feel free to comment on any of my images. All photographers no matter how good they are need criticism. Criticism is what makes us better photographers, at least it does when we listen and learn from it.

Photoman