took a "field trip" today to the museum of science and the cotterell butterfly section.

i know the lighting isn't superb but unfortunetely the whole place is glass and shadows. also when i asked the butterfiles to remain still for a photo shoot only some obliged.

acutally it's a bit like shooting ducks in a barrel because fruit, feeders and all sorts of sweet nectar flowers are included. if you are patient (and there are not too many little boys running around trying to squish the things) you can get some wonderful photos.

this was my first exercise.

i have some problem photos that i will upload tomorrow as it seems that the lens is out of focus a lot of the time.

perhaps some techies can tell me what the problem is. seems like at the end of the range either i am still too close up or the focus doesn't go well at the limit. they are the zuiko lenses that come with the e-500.

anyway at least some of the colours are absolutely fantastic. i have done nothing except crop and resize so all pohots are untouched.

critique welcome (and expected :D )

thanks

I really like the first one.....the motion makes it special.
Maybe you had too long a shutter speed on the ones that seem out of focus?
I don't know.

seemed to happen irrespective ~ tried it on auto, shutter priority etc. looked okay in the camera but when i uploaded them noticed some had blurred edges, some just not in focus different things.

i will post tomorrow and perhaps someone can figure out the problem (cheaper than a camera shop ~ but buyer beware ~ you get what you pay for :p )

i actually got very lucky in the first one. am not sure if it just this particualr species of butterly or the flower itself but most landed to "eat' but these never did ~ more like humming birds.

the lighting is a nightmare really though. all glass and chrome, trees and bushes (and a nice waterfall making the place like a flipping sauna) so you move 6" or so and the lighting to completely different.

still i really enjoyed the exercise itself.

they have a snake and lizard exhibit that i am going to try next. all sorts of exotics. so there should be some great colour. and as i said previously, only 20 minutes from the house. and best of all this time of year at 9 ish in the a.m. hardly anyone there !!

except pesky little kids and nannies with strollers !!

:eek: :eek:

threelions,

Sorry I have not weighed in on this series. I have been out of town and out of the website loop. I am flattered that you would make reference to my butterfly series of a couple weeks back. I really like these examples, the butterflies are magnificent. I really like the first two shots, the movement in the first shot and the color of the second. I would like to see the second shot cropped as much as possible keeping the black butterfly and red blooms. That would make for a terrific shot. Thanks again for the reference, very kind of you.

CF

au contraire, thank YOU. :D

after seeing your shots i remembered that we do in fact have a butterfly exhibit about 20 minutes from where i live.

so instead of thinking poor me, look at all of these great shots people get, i figured that not many shots were going to come to me so i went out in search of them.

i have made a list of the things that we actually have here. a zoo. the museum of science which has the butterflies. they also have a snake and lizard exhibit here for 4 months.

we have a downtown with some fantastic architecture. a water wall. i am not too far from the coast.

so instead of bemoaning the fact that we don't have mountains etc. i figured out what we DO have and now am planning more "field trips" to take photo ops and try to get better.

About a year ago I Googled "digital camera clubs in San Diego" and found a real nice group of people. There is no "club" per se but the on-line members meet once a month at predetermined shoot location. We have met all over the San Diego region over the past year, some really interesting places, places I had never been and I have lived here 30 years. These shoots get you out on a regular basis, forces me to shoot things that may not be of my particular interest or specialty and really stretches the imagination. I have really enjoyed it. Perhaps there is something similar in your town. Best of luck.

CF