The Moth

Shot this one yesterday at a local city garden.

Gorgeous shot Joseph!

Very nice! Were you using a flash to get the glow on the edge of the wings?

Oh this is gorgeous!! ....... I need to read up what are the differences in moths and butterflys..I would have immediately assumed this was a butterfly because of the beautiful colors... Great shot... I know the little buggers can be hard to get sometimes!

I noticed you're in Atlanta... My home is north of Atlanta.. Rome and the surrounding area of Chattooga county.

Thanks for the comments. It is a moth. The EXIF data is: f/8, 1/50, ISO 200, focal length 260mm, Lens 70-300 AF-S VR. No flash. I did use a CPL filter to take out the fuzzy look most moths have to bring out the color. CPL filters do wonders for intensifying colors. Also note this was shot at 1/50 sec. with a focal length of 260mm and was hand held. For hand held shots the old rule was a shutter speed of 1/xx the focal length. In this case I would have had to have a shutter speed of at least 1/260 sec. to get the shot. With VR, vibration reduction, substantially lower speeds can be used. In this case what you see is the shot I got. The CPL did the in camera color work and all I did was sharpen it up and added a bit of black point. No other PP was done.

Karlyh - I live in East Cobb County which is North West of atlanta.

You must have some surgical-ready steadiness to shoot something like this @ 1/50 and 260mm!

This is a great shot with some nice background blur that lets us zero in on the vibrant colors, well done. You've mentioned the filters you use in a few different posts now. I wonder if you would mind writing up a short tutorial for all of us on which filters you use, under what conditions, and why. It would make a nice addition to the forums!

Anthony - Thanks for the kind words. Actually I don't have a large repertoire of filters. I use, have several different grades of neutral density and a CPL. As for having surgical steadiness, that's not the case. At 70 years old I lost that years ago. And that's why when I got the D90 and new lens set I got the ones with VRII. It really makes a difference. It's also the reason I'm a big fan of tripods and monopods. If you think it will be of benefit to the community I can put in writing my objectives in using filters.

Happy shooting
Joseph

Beautiful image, Joseph. It really pops. The 70-300 VR was my first "real" lens. Great Bokeh, too.

Gene - Thanks for the kind word. It's appreciated.

Happy shooting,
Joseph

Beautiful BG and lots of details on your subject.

Thanks OZ. It's appreciated.

Joseph, from the looks of your avatar, you certainly don't look 70!

Great shot, by the way. I love the impact of the colours and the great bokeh. Beautifully done.

Thank you Fotojack. Your comments are appreciated. Actually that is a two year old grisly shot in Yellowstone. My wife says it fits my personality when I get up in the morning, a grouchy bear.

I love the color, it almost seems to glow. It is so bright for a moth, what a beautiful find Joseph. Nice work!

Thank's I appreciate the comment. The color comes from using a CPL filter. Also the moth was back lighted so the light is coming through the wings making it look brighter. The problem with using a CPL is reseting it when you move to the next shot or in my case remembering to reset it.