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Flying Monarch
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Flying Monarch

by Jim Zablotny

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted July 21, 20185,985 views5 comments
Last Sunday, I was wrapping up a session of bird photography when a male monarch butterfly was nectaring on some swamp milkweed.  The camera was set up for catching birds in flight and I fired off a series of the perched butterfly.  During the session, the butterfly took off for another flower and I managed to catch a few of him in flight.  The curve in the wings shows the power of lift generated by the down stroke.D500 600mm f4 (1/4000 sec at f6.3, Iso 1100) Curves, 20% adjustment layer for shadows & highlights, crop for com, removed dark orphaned leaf from upper left, DeNoise....................................Jim

Comments

5 comments
Comment posted by Shirley Freeman on July 21, 2018 at 11:26 AM
Wow, Jim, this is fantastic.  Great to see him in flight like that.  Normally we just capture them perched and nectoring.  It is good that you didn't change the settings.  Wonderful shot.
Registered on May 27, 2017, 77 Posts, 844 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Seaver on July 21, 2018 at 12:24 PM
Jim, a fine catch on this Monarch in flight.  The sharpness of the bf and the swamp milkweed bloom are great.  The details (scratches) in the wings show up very well in the larger view.  I'm always fascinated with how often bf in flight images create the initial impression that the bf is upside down, with the upraised abdomen and down pointing wings
Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments
Comment posted by Bill Leggett on July 21, 2018 at 5:01 PM
Nice job catching it on the wing, Jim. Their multigenerational migrations are pretty fascinating, almost legendary. This is an excellent image considering the in-flight situation.
Registered on July 21, 2004, 706 Posts, 3233 Comments
Comment posted by Kathy Barnhart on July 24, 2018 at 11:14 PM
This is a beautiful image and very timely. Sadly, the milkweed and the monarch were in the news this week regarding a high level of carbon dioxides that accumulate in milkweed and decrease the monarchs' resistance to disease: https://news.umich.edu/rising-carbon-dioxide-levels-pose-a-previously-unrecognized-threat-to-monarch-butterflies/

 
Registered on November 11, 2011, 404 Posts, 1639 Comments
Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on August 4, 2018 at 12:54 AM
Exceptional catch, demonstrating the lift. 
I really like the colour combination and BG. Sharp where it matters,, and nicely-framed.
I'd personally be tempted to get rid of all the BG twigs and leaves, to concentrate on the great butterfly and flower.
Sandy junk
Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments