Swallowtail & one more pose (in addition to the 2) & 1 more repost at the very bottom!

I saw a bunch of thistles and started photographing them because they looked so neat and then this butterfly came and flew around, landing and drinking from all the thistles!

Specific Feedback Requested

Which pose do you like best? Anything else…

Technical Details

Is this a composite: No
Nikon D3400
300 mm
1/1250
f/8
ISO 1600
11x8 crop, did slight adjustments with highlights, exposure, sharpened.

apani.hill

Very nice, Vanessa. That was wonderful for this Tiger Swallowtail to come and pose for you while you were all set up taking photos of the thistle. Wonderful smooth background in each of them. I think if I had to pick, it would probably be the first one. I like how he is turning towards you. Also like that you have the position of the other thistle in that image. The other one has only the top portion of that thistle, and seems to take away from the image rather than add. Nice capture.

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Thanks @Shirley_Freeman , I liked that one better too, but while we’re on the subject of him looking at me , I have a better one for that! I just didn’t post it as I thought it didn’t show the wings very well, but I’m curious what you think, it’s one of my favorites out of the at least 100 shots of him!….

Oh, I like this too, but the first one is the best, for the reason you mentioned, that his wings show up better.

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The plant is a teasel (Dipsacus sp.). It’s considered an invasive in parts of Europe, but I do love how its nectar attracts butterflies and moths to good poses like this. Like Shirley, I go for the first one. Go back there, Vanessa, and you may well find more great species.

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Thanks @Mike_Friel! Yeah, I definitely will be stopping by there again! It’s on one of my bike routes. I’ve heard of teasel before as an herb, is this different? Is it in the thistle family?

It does look like a thistle, but it’s a different family. I think teasels are still used to raise the nap of tennis balls, so Wimbledon wouldn’t be the same without this humble but beautiful plant!

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Hi Vanessa, nice catch of this swallowtail. I think the second image is my favorite. With the right software, you could even remove the extra vegetation on the sides of the image. Still a very nice frame.

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Thanks @Allen_Sparks ! I have another one, it’s a bit further away, but I think I understand that you mainly want a clean background, kind of like this?….

2 Likes

@Vanessa_Hill , yes ideally I’d prefer the butterfly not be intersected by plants in the background even though these are all nice images.