Gulf Fritillary Butterfly

Shot this Gulf Fritillary butterfly on the butterfly bush in my backyard. Around here it's is the last of the butterflies for the season.

Beautiful Shot!

Beautiful image, great composition, and I love the colors. I'm not quite sure how you got the background so perfectly black *unless it's in post* but it's a really great image.
Sell one of those to the biology department at your local university!!

Thanks for the comments, Yibel and EOI, it's appreciated. The butterfly bush it was feeding on is in full bright sunlight the background is deep shaded woods. I exposed for the butterfly and the background dropped out as black. The post processing included sharpening, some color saturation, and black point. All done with Aperture 3.

Color and expsoure are perfect. The angle/perspective of the butterfly is atypical which really works. Well done!

Thanks Eduard, your comments are appreciated.

Great shot, Joseph! I love the colors, expecially the little bit of light on the tip of the flower and in the background. Adds a little bit of "excitement" without overwhelming the pic.

Best Regards

Helene - Thanks for the kind words. I chased this butterfly around a butterfly bush for about 45 minutes and took about 184 shots to finally get this one. Which proves my philosophy of photography, "Even a blind pig can find an acorn every now and then".

"Even a blind pig can find an acorn every now and then".

Click to expand...

I love it! Been there, too, only I chase the little horned toads here in the desert! Because my macro is 60 mm, I have to get close, and those little suckers have sharp eyesight (and don't like to pose!)

Nice one, Joseph. The effect is definitely improved by the black background and the effort of chasing the butterfly for your 184 shots has been worth it. I would suggest people like you to give some details about the exposure and the lens used, so that it will be of great value for fellows like me. I understand that you have used Aperture 3 for post processing. How do you rate it against Lightroom or PS Elements? Which one would you suggest for serious amateurs?

I hope my friend Joseph Bautsch doesn't take me wrong now. I am going to be honest with my opinion. The angle of the shot doesn't attract me

premc44 - The EXIF data for the shot is: D90 Camera, Lens 70-300mm Nikor VRII, ISO 640, f/16, Shutter speed 1/50, Focal Length 230mm, Focus Distance 5.8 Feet, Color Space Adobe RGB (1998). I was able to shoot at 1/50 sec. even using 230mm focal length by using a monopod and turning the camera VRII on. The shutter speed, 1/50 sec., however was to slow. The tip of the upper wing is slightly motion blurred.

As to which is better between Lightroom or Aperture 3, I can't really say. I've used Aperture since day one and have never used Lightroom. From all the reviews on the pros and cons on both programs I have read it seems to be a matter of personal preference. I would recommend you download both for a free 30 day trial and see which one you are comfortable with. Aperture works only on a Apple computer with the Apple OSX. PS Elements is a great graphic arts program that will do a more than either Lightroom or Aperture but it is not much of a photo management program. If you need a program to manage, store, and organize your photos then use either Aperture or Lightroom. PS Elements will work with either of the two.

Joohn - You are still a good friend. I don't expect everyone to agree with the way I do a shot. That's why I post some of my shots in the Photo Critique Forum to get different opinions and ideas. It's a way I can improve my shooting. I try to be honest in my critiques and I expect people to be honest in critiquing my shots.

Thank you Joseph for posting the exif data. As for Aperture3 Vs Lightroom, your suggestion is most welcome, in fact that was my plan too. Keep shooting