Janet Pieper
March 2025 - Chrysalis
About the Image(s)
I took this picture at the LI Aquarium in the Butterfly Exhibit room. I used the iPhone 16 pro.
I thought that the rows of Chrysalides (I had to look up the plural of Chrysalis) was an interesting pattern.
This was shot through glass, so I had to remove some glare. I did that with cloning.
I denoised, sharpened, and added some vibrance to the Chrysalides.
I also added a little texture to the background.
I thought it needed a little something to make it more interesting. I had a picture of a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis that I had taken at a different butterfly garden. I masked it and layered it into the photo. I flattened the layers and added a very slight vignette.
I used On1 software for all of the editing.
9 comments posted
The explanation fills a lot of knowledge gaps I have about chrysalides and the emerging butterfly breaks the pattern nicely. Perhaps a tighter square or 4x5 crop would help draw the eye to the emerging butterfly? Very interesting subject and challenging photo through glass. Well done. Posted: 03/07/2025 12:29:09
Janet Pieper
I tried the tighter crop and I think you are right. I did two, one just cropped, and one that I cloned out the top right one to give it balance. Thoughts? Posted: 03/08/2025 17:24:05
Janet Pieper
Here's the second one. Posted: 03/08/2025 17:24:37
When I first saw the thumbnail, I thought it was a really cool shot of peppers. But wow, was I wrong! After looking at the bigger image and before reading your details, I actually noticed that the peppers I saw are butterfly chrysalides. My eye immediately went to the immersing butterfly. Thanks for explaining how you captured and processed this image. It's such a fun project! When I look at other people's images, I always wonder what I would do if I were the one taking it. I can't think of anything but like the comments Richard Camp gave you. Thanks for sharing, Janet! Posted: 03/07/2025 14:06:48
Hi Barbara. You said: When I look at other people's images, I always wonder what I would do if I were the one taking it. To me. You are not just my photography guru. You are my inspiration of wisdom. Thanks Barbara. Posted: 03/16/2025 22:05:11
Janet, as I was struggling with DD90 while traveling I commented on you photo. I don't know where it went but it didn't end up in DD90@!
I love the clarity and the light reflected back by the chrysalides. Nice to show the next step in the process with the hatching! Posted: 03/08/2025 13:57:36
I love the clarity and the light reflected back by the chrysalides. Nice to show the next step in the process with the hatching! Posted: 03/08/2025 13:57:36
Hi Janet. What a unique image. Like Barbara. My first impression this was an image of chillies. I just realized this was rows of Chrysalides after reading your explanations. You mentioned abou adding a little texture to the background and a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis from another image. I think this is more as composite or altered reality image rather than nature plus. The issue of composite images is always smooth edges between elements and background. To make it looks integral rathe than cut and paste elements. Posted: 03/16/2025 22:37:02
Nice color and detail. It is amazing how much can be done with an iPhone. We are fortunate to have a couple of butterfly exhibits in my area to see these hatcheries. Posted: 03/23/2025 17:00:29
When they mature you will have a lot of butterflies. Posted: 03/26/2025 21:33:00