Common Blue

The first pic of a Common Blue was taken around 6 am. Flash and a shutter speed of 160, ISO 200 and aperture of 5.6 in order to include ambient light and avoid a dark background. Low viewpoint in order to include sky. The result hints at both earth and sky by diffusing the background and providing an uncluttered backdrop to butterfly.

The second pic was taken around 7 pm. TV250, ISO 200, AV 4.5 and FEC -1. Notice how in preparation for the night, the Common Blue is now resting with head facing down.

Lovely set Alex.

Lovely shots Alex.

You beauty!

Bas, Lester and Snowy, thanks and I'm pleased you like them.

very nice alex

great ones Alex

I think your composition places the background on a favorable position so you can close the aperture a bit more to provide complete DOF on the butterfly.

good light/detail

Thank you all for your comments. Paulo, I did a series of shots ranging from AV4.5 to AV11. The higher apertures gave sharper detail but at the expense of darker backgrounds. After analysing the shots I think that the AV 4.5 and 5.6 (which allowed more ambient light) gave more pleasant lighting/background than the higher apertures. The perfect solution would have been to have used a tripod and relied entirely on natural light so that a long exposure at AV 11 could be used. However, this wasn't really an option as all the shots were hand-held.

I do understand your decision, a color background adds very much to the image.

BUT you could bump your ISO a bit

Your 40D has the same sensor as my 450D, so I know they both suck at higher ISOs either way, I usually feel safe to go up to ISO400 giving a proper PP after.

But yes, the tripod would be better then the ISO bump, but I find it too cumbersome. When I finish adjusting it, the bug is gone.

Very nice shots, Alex.

Paulo, thanks for your reply and constructive comments. Ishrani, glad you like the shots.

Lovely images!

Wonderful shots

Matthew and John, thank you for your positive comments. Much appreciated.