more butterflies

[threelions usa]

looked at some more over the weekend and cropped them only ~ no photo shop ~ kinda tough as i haven't figured it out yet.

:blush2: :blush2:

[GB1]

3L - Hmm. Not bad. Looks like the second-string came into the game compared to your previous batch, though (I think it was yours, ya?). You shoot these pups at the Houston Zoo? I remember that they had a kick-butt fenced half dome with about 3000 butterflies flying all over the place ......

G

[threelions usa]

thanks gb

managed to download all of them over the weekend. actually these ended up looking better than the others i chose. could be one of those you know on any different day for example ~ beatles songs ~ you can pick a different top 10 as each day goes by. oops am i dating myself now.



no actually i went to the museum of science they have the cockerell (misspelled it earlier) butterfly exhibit. they have so many butterflies there. i think that they "grow" them and release them daily. of course they have such a short life span there are dead bodies all over the place. hence four birds and this gigantic iguana. got pictures but not good ones. as i said it is more an "experience" ~ butterflies land on you, it's like an alfred hitchcok movie as times. come lunch time there are literally hundreds "feeding" in a frenzy. they have all kinds of fruit, feeders and so many nectar plants that they constantly are all over the place. tough to ask the little buggers to sit still. i lucked out with some "movement" shots.

i have some that i need advice on because the photos are very fuzzy as if i shot them out of focus, but both through the view finder and on the camera they looked okay. uploaded them and there were out of focus.

as stated they now have a exotic snakes and lizards exhibit for about 4 months and i am going to take my new exercise there.

looks like it could be a decent exhibit.

thanks again.

i am really trying to improve my technique, but it's difficult.

as an advice, would you suggest that anyone new, so to speak "specialize ?"

or keep experimenting until one finds one "niche" or love ?

i am torn between taking "pictures" and "photos."

is that a normal dilemma ?

[gahspidy]

Your first shot is well framed.It is blurry though and the lighting is not bringing it out. I also like the full up framing of the third. Watch your backgrounds, and foregropunds and make sure there is not too much going on besides the subjects themselves. Try to find the angle where the light hits them just right to get them to stand out nicely and show off their colors and textures.
I think it is fine to specialize in a certain type of subject. . .or theme. It allows you to focus and get good at the one type of subject and in turn it will get you more familiar with the techniques and skills that will get the good shots. These same skills will carry over into other types of subjects as well. If you get bored of a subject, you will move on. Whatever drives you is the key to getting you out there and doing it in the first place.
Eventually, after shooting different types of scenes and subjects you may find you are especially good at one thing and feel strongly about it and that may be your niche.
Keep at it and follow your passions.

[GB1]

3L - There's nothing wrong with either specializing or being more of generalist. It all depends on what you want to do. I sort of do "all of the above" with photography - specialize on certain things but dabble in most everything.

Good pts by Gary. Backgrounds are almost as important as the subject.

Note that any shot on a small screen will look sharper than if it is displayed on a larger screen. Shooting with a faster shutter speed may help (use a higher ISO if needed).

Also, speaking for myself I sometimes want to try to get classic photos, others times I just want to take pictures, esp at social events. I just do what I want to do as I'm not working for anyone or am under any pressure to produce certain types of shots by any deadline. I seriously try to get certain shots and improve my technique, but there's nothing wrong with having fun with photography either.

GB

[threelions usa]

thanks very much both gary and gb.

with to the first shot, the butterfly is actually "hovering" which is why the blur.

the third i really concentrated on getting the picture "right' and only cropped it a little.

for the second i will take a look at the original again and see what perhaps i could have done to make it either more interesting or less busy. i actually took about 4-5 shots as there were numerous types of butterflies on the same plant. i did actually try to make something from that shot while i was there.

a question arises. perhaps although giving a lot of opportunities to take shots the lighting is very difficult. actually i remembered some advise someone gave a week or so back with respect to reflection of light and i tried to cast a shadow over the subject to try to control the light but the little bugger didn't wait around long enough for me to get the shot.

the entire building is glass. it is built obviously for the benefit of the butterflies so that people can take advantage of the situation but it don't think it helps the novice photographer. i don't quite know how to take advantage of available light or to try to find how to cut down on glare.

experience i would guess.

thank you both for your words of encouragement. i actually have my first sunday off this week (we normally work weekend for the entire season), so hopefully the weather will be good enough for me to visit the zoo, or failing that to take in the reptile exhibit.

at least reading this forum and trying to heed the advice i actually planned out my trip last week instead of just going and hoping for the best.

so again a plan is my first priority. then composition. hopefully i can start putting the pieces of the jigsaw together exercise by exercise.

thanks again folks.

:thumbsup: