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by Tim Butler

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted October 13, 2012225 views12 comments
Taken at the Cockrell Butterfly Center at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Following is a quote from their website:

Julia....

"A relative of the longwing butterflies, the Julia, Dryas iulia, also has elongated wings and a slow, fluttering flight. You will typically see lots of these bright orange butterflies in the Center, because it is one of the three species we raise on site.

Males can be distinguished from females if you look closely: females have a rim of black on the wings, males are almost completely orange. In the Center you will often see pairs in courtship, the male hovering for what seems like hours a few inches above a female, the latter usually perched with her wings spread open."

Focal Length: 100mm Macro
Aperture: f/7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/25
ISO: 640

I will appreciate any constructive thoughts anyone wishes to share. Thanks!

Comments

12 comments
Comment posted by Charlie Baugh on October 13, 2012 at 2:18 PM
Beautiful subject and you held great detail on these insects. I would see if there is anything I could do to tone down the relative bright rock as it steals from to wonderful butterflies. Many here are experienced in post processing and hope you get some suggestions. One fine image regardless.
Registered on April 18, 2011, 329 Posts, 1985 Comments
Comment posted by Jim Nall on October 13, 2012 at 6:59 PM
Hey Tim! Welcome to NPN!

I think these two beauties are sharp and well lit. Charlie is correct about the object they are perched on, would help to darken it. There are several ways this can be done, I am most familiar with Photoshop and I know you use Lightroom. Thing is, the object needs to be selectively darkened with usually amounts to lassoing the area and isolating it so other parts of the image aren't affected.

Overall, a wonderful post! :wink:
Registered on October 5, 2012, 45 Posts, 168 Comments
Comment posted by scott lanz on October 13, 2012 at 7:30 PM
Hi Tim, welcome to the Macro gallery. I'm happy to see you posting in Macro as well as flora. Superb image of these beautiful BFs. Excellent job getting the low perspective and both BFs aligned in the plane of focus. Top notch detail as reflected in the larger image. Thanks for sharing this one. Looking forward to seeing more of your macro work. :toast:
Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments
Comment posted by Howard Cheek on October 13, 2012 at 8:31 PM
I visited the Cockrell BF Center years ago, remember how had fits with low light that day.
Excellent POF, POV, framing, & details Tim.
Welcome :wavey:
Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments
Comment posted by Tim Butler on October 14, 2012 at 4:34 AM
Thanks for all your comments. I agree Charlie, I tried to get them to pick brown rocks or green rocks to do their business but they were having none of it. Just kidding, point taken.

Howard - Yes sir, I had the same issue as you may notice with the shutter speed. Next time I go I'll take a monopod at least. But it's still a nice way to spend a few hours.
Registered on October 12, 2012, 17 Posts, 155 Comments
Comment posted by Albert Darmo on October 14, 2012 at 9:14 PM
Hi Tim :wavey: Excellent detail for a handheld shot !! the pose and color are excellent. i would have cropped the bottom rock to the BF's antenna, to reduce the distraction :smile:
Albert Darmo
Registered on November 25, 2008, 1386 Posts, 11978 Comments
Comment posted by Bill Fach on October 15, 2012 at 10:21 PM
Tim: One of my favorite places in Houston. Really good plane of focus management. I remember when they used to allow tripods but a monopod beats nothing. Very well done.>=))>
Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments
Comment posted by Charlie Baugh on October 17, 2012 at 5:22 PM
Way to go, Tim. Congratulations on being chosen on WP.
Registered on April 18, 2011, 329 Posts, 1985 Comments
Comment posted by Gary Yeoh on October 17, 2012 at 8:42 PM
Tim:
A very image of a mating pair. Getting both eyes in sharp focus and tremendous details is a great feat at close range. Congrats on WP :toast:
Registered on September 1, 2009, 588 Posts, 8184 Comments
Comment posted by Bill Fach on October 18, 2012 at 12:32 AM
Tim: Congrats on the WP! 2 thumbs up. >=))>
Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments
Comment posted by Albert Darmo on October 18, 2012 at 10:18 PM
Hi Tim :wavey Congrats on the WP !!!!! well deserved !!! :toast: :toast:
Albert Darmo
Registered on November 25, 2008, 1386 Posts, 11978 Comments
Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on October 21, 2012 at 1:47 PM
Congrats on the WP!
Very fine detail.
Sandy
Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments