Lepphotos' photostream  

I'm a Butterfly photographer with a bias for science rather than art.

As I see it the perfect butterfly photo contains perfection in 4 areas.

1) Light -- perfect light on the subject.

2) Composition -- follows rules of composition.

3) Focus -- has the right areas of the subject in focus.

4) Subject -- requires a perfect specimen.

As for light most of our subjects fly in the heat of the day when there is the most light. This is great in that we have a lot of light but often times the light is harsh so my flash is always attached to the camera. I'm learning that natural sunlight renders yellow and blue butterflies better than artificial light while fill flash is best for capturing the detail in orange, brown and black butterflies. I always try to maneuver myself so that the sun is behind me. If the subject is cooperative I try as many combinations as possible. I've also learned that on cool or lightly cloudy days many butterflies that normally close their wings may leave them open when they land in an attempt to capture some warmth. For this reason I don't give up when a cloud comes between the earth and the sun or on cooler days.

For composition I've learned that photos with the butterflies head pointed up or 45 degrees to either side look better than photos with the head pointed down or to the side. If the subject is cooperative I always try shooting from several different angles. I'm usually concentrating so hard on the subject that composition comes as the last priority while I'm shooting but when I get home and see the photo on the computer composition becomes important. Many butterfly photos fall into the ordinary category because they are poorly composed.

Focus is relative to the activity of the butterfly. Ideally every part of a still butterfly is in focus in a photo. Since I want the butterfly as perfectly in focus as possible I limit the aperature range to f stops between 7.1 and 10 which is where most lenses perform their best. Even in that range the challenge confronting us with large butterflies is getting a photo with sharp focus from wing tip to antenae. I shoot with an effective lens of 320mm so I always keep the shutter to at least 320 and use a shoulder brace to try and control movement. Most of my photos end up with shutter speeds below 600 because I keep the ISO as low as possible in attempts to gain ultimate sharpness.

Lastly I've learned that butterflies deteriorate quickly. Most butterflies only look perfect for a day or two. Even common species can have a beautiful sheen the 1st day that disappears within a day or two. If I find a perfect specimen I'm learning to concentrate on him and shoot as many pictures as possible because invariably if I move on looking for another I'll discover later that I should have captured more shots of him. Many photos where the other 3 areas were perfectly managed become ordinary because the specimen has defects.

So -- I've never shot a photo that I didn't think could be improved. I'm still trying to bring these 4 elements together in a perfect photo.

My purpose -- Because God created the universe, including the plants and animals, and declared that it was good, it pleases Him for me to enjoy and photograph butterflies. We should all enjoy His creation -- it pleases Him for us to do that! Revelation 4:11 "Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of thy will they existed, and were created."