Georges Dormoy
February 2021 - Happy Hour Drinking
About the Image(s)
I took this photo in the greenhouse of the botanical garden of Montreal, Quebec. Each year, around April, we can access a space where butterflies can evolve freely among people. I found one which drunk orange juice and found that great for shooting a photo. I was equipped with my Nikon D800 with Macro Nikkor lens 60mm f/2.8 and speed of 1/60 at f/32. I used a Nikon macro flash R1 C1 which has 2 flashes mounted on the lens. This is great for having the correct light and at the same time a very small aperture to increase the depth of field. I used ISO 200. In fact the flash light was not directed to the butterfly but on the orange slice so as to use a reflection of this light on the butterfly and this gives a relatively soft light to it.
It was important that I make the focus on the butterfly’s eyes, because the eyes are quite exceptional. The advantage of using f/32 aperture is that the background becomes dark and prevent from having things which can distract our attention.
8 comments posted
Thank you for posting this butterfly macro.
I find the crisp details in this image lovely and think that bouncing the flash off the surface of the orange to bathe the butterfly in soft light is very clever. Also seeing this natural behavior enhances my interest in this capture.
The sharpness of the proboscis draws my eye, as the contrast also appears to be the greatest in this part of the image. I think this is good because it highlights the behavior. Is that what you intended? I'm asking because you mentioned that you were focusing on the eyes. Posted: 02/10/2021 17:00:47
I had to make a trading between getting the whole butterfly with no cropping or focus on a portion of it, at the expense of not showing thie entire animal. If I had the entire animal, I would not be able to have so much detail outlined of the head and the legs. Posted: 02/10/2021 17:52:32
What a great shot with great detail and color. I really like the crop showing detail in the eyes and love the detail in the hairs, especially the ones in top of the head. Interesting color patterns in the wings. Great lighting and composition. Great image. Posted: 02/10/2021 20:06:57
Glad you submitted something this month! Amazing image!
Spent a lot of time studying all the details and even looked up information about the hairs on the legs learning how they detect sounds,smells and tastes, etc...
Especially liked the way you showed the difference between the legs and the proboscis sucking tube. Also noticed how the coloring of the eyes is the same as that of the wings. What a great scientific study!
(Also enjoyed seeing the equipment used.)
Janet Posted: 02/12/2021 08:26:37