I Cheated Spring

[Loupey]

Perhaps just plain "cheated"

Stopped by our local conservatory which just started the annual butterfly exhibit.


In psychedelic colors too

[Loupey]

A few more. Thanks for looking.

[mjs1973]

Looks good Loupey. I have never gone to a butterfly show, but I want to. I hope I can find one in my area this year.

[paulnj]

cheater LOL

very nice!

[Canon_Bob]

Well - Let me REALLY rub it in....at least two of those species (the Julia and the Zebra Longwing) are in my back yard every day! Did I mention it was 84 degrees here today?

[BFiredup]

Beautiful shots.....enginuity (not sure I spelled that right..LOL) is not cheating...great job..
Love the colors...and different angles....

[Loupey]

Thanks for looking, everyone. And Canon_Bob, you do know how to rub it in

Those "day 1" images were with the 40D and either the 300mm or the 24-105mm f/4L IS lens (both with tubes of course).


Went back for "day 2" images armed with the 5D and only the 180mm macro lens. Wanted to concentrate only on colors, textures, details. Use a flash for some images:

[Loupey]

And the last of "day 2" images.

It really is a lot like shooting fish in a barrel


I'll wrap it up in a few days with "day 3" images. I will take the 40D with the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS to shoot in-flight images.


Hopefully the real stuff will be coming soon for the great outdoors

[mjs1973]

They area all very nice Loupey, but I love the last one.

[AgingEyes]

The last one is great!

[jgredline]

Very impressive!!!
I missed the butterfly show when it was here, but I will catch it next time...You set a very tall bench mark !, Way to go.

[BFiredup]

Beautiful.....I really like the last one too.....but all of them are beautiful....

[Loupey]

Well then, "day 3" images

As planned, shot with the 40D and the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS. Man, I do not like that lens - I remember why I haven't used it for almost a year - it doesn't have the image sharpness that the 180mm and 300mm primes boast. Oh, well.

Only the Julia's were out playing. Well actually they were the only ones easy enough to shoot. Good thing I'm working out the knots in my muscles now instead of when the real race starts

[AgingEyes]

OK, how do you shoot butterfly in flight??

Please, please

[Dylan8i]

does your b otanical gardens by chance have anything to do with the glass artist dale chihuly? he had a great exhibit at the phipps conservacy in pittsburgh all summer winter with glass pieces that look exactly like some in your pics.

[Loupey]

OK, how do you shoot butterfly in flight??

Please, please

One has to be a butterfly mind reader. I'm being serious here

Unlike birds and dragonflies which you can generally track through the viewfinder, butterflies and moths fly too erratically to use this method. Here is an old thread in which I demonstrate this technique:

Flying Insects - what works for me

It's actually easier to do this outside out in the open. The direction of flight is easier to predict (as opposed to having flowers everywhere) and the presence of wind outside can actually help (when they are flying into it - otherwise forget it ).


Thanks for asking!

[Loupey]

does your b otanical gardens by chance have anything to do with the glass artist dale chihuly? he had a great exhibit at the phipps conservacy in pittsburgh all summer winter with glass pieces that look exactly like some in your pics.

It is indeed a Chihuly exhibit. It has been on permanent display for several years now.

I use it for color in the backgrounds but I'm not a big fan of the displays. I think it is overly contradictory to the otherwise natural setting. I like my gardens to be au naturale - excuse my French.


Be advised that the cafe serves the BEST prime rib with baby swiss toasted sandwich in town - guaranteed! I cannot visit without eating one - gotta do something about that gut soon

Anyone coming through the Columbus, Ohio area can PM me if they want to be accompanied through the exhibit as the butterfly display will be open for several months (or the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium which is on the north side of Columbus). But the butterfly area is actually quite small compared to some others I have visited.

[AgingEyes]

Thanks for answering !!

One has to be a butterfly mind reader. I'm being serious here

Unlike birds and dragonflies which you can generally track through the viewfinder, butterflies and moths fly too erratically to use this method. Here is an old thread in which I demonstrate this technique:

Flying Insects - what works for me

It's actually easier to do this outside out in the open. The direction of flight is easier to predict (as opposed to having flowers everywhere) and the presence of wind outside can actually help (when they are flying into it - otherwise forget it ).


Thanks for asking!

[Loupey]

Another try.

This time with just the 85mm f/1.8 prime. Much easier than the zoom (less mass to move around and track the butterflies). Easier to manual focus a smaller/lighter ring too.

These are all free flight butterflies (no take-offs). Cropped to show detail.

[Loupey]

Very last set (I promise ).

Again with the 85mm prime. I thought it might be interesting to see a full landing sequence shot at 6.5 fps.

I wasn't able to nail the focus on all three frames but it was close enough to show the sequence I thought.


Off to shoot more with different lenses. But will keep those to myself

[AgingEyes]

Did you re-focus manually for each shot...you said you don't use auto-focus...??

[Loupey]

Did you re-focus manually for each shot...you said you don't use auto-focus...??

For free-flight bugs and birds, I'm manually focusing constantly. But the real trick is to shoot with both eyes open. The non-shooting eye sees flying things not yet in the frame so I can switch subjects quickly without taking my other eye out of the viewfinder.

After a while, knowing which way to focus and when to release the shutter becomes reflexive. The 3-shot sequence was done without thought as I started turning the focus ring towards the near end as soon as I saw the flying one enter the viewfinder. A bit of a warning though - this technique is exhausting (mentally and physically) and requires quite a bit of flexibility.

Yeah, no auto-focus for me. If you look back at the images I posted here in the N&W during the last 2 years, I probably posted no more than half a dozen images using AF.