Different lit butterflies

doenoe · Nov 16, 2008

Since i just got the Cactus flash trigger i thought i would play with something different lighting in the butterfly garden of Amsterdam zoo. I had the camera in one hand and the flash in the other hand. Wasnt too easy sometimes and i probably looked like an idiot when taking some of these shots, but i dont care :mrgreen:
Anyways, here are some of the results of the different light test on butterflies
#1 This is a butterfly wing lit from the back, thought it looked pretty cool

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10

I think the test was a succes

Thanks for looking and if you want to see more, you can go to my site (www.daanschouwe.nl)
Greetz Daan

TwoRails · Nov 16, 2008

Very nice work! I like them all. I like the shot angle as well as the lighting angle. Creative.

Plymer · Nov 16, 2008

Very nice! I especially love the silhouette in #9, and the clarity of #10. Fantastic work! #1 is also amazing, the detail in those wings really makes you respect the billions of insects around us... Love the composition in these shots too!

outlandishogle · Nov 16, 2008

how did you do the black background and what lense are you using? very cool stuff

Josh66 · Nov 16, 2008

:thumbup::thumbup: Nice.

Do'Urden's Eyes · Nov 17, 2008

outlandishogle said:
how did you do the black background and what lense are you using? very cool stuff

I believe he uses a sigma 105mm

matt-l · Nov 17, 2008

Nice work, Daan. The third one looks grumpy. really like #9. nice lighting.

Flower Child · Nov 17, 2008

#3 just took my breath away. cant say ive ever seen a butterfly up that close and personal. and you can literally see the dust on its wings

TCimages · Nov 17, 2008

The great work continues! Keep it up

doenoe · Nov 18, 2008

TwoRails said:
Very nice work! I like them all. I like the shot angle as well as the lighting angle. Creative.

That was the plan, to get some creative lighting on butterflies

Thanks for the reply

Plymer said:
Very nice! I especially love the silhouette in #9, and the clarity of #10. Fantastic work! #1 is also amazing, the detail in those wings really makes you respect the billions of insects around us... Love the composition in these shots too!

Yeah, bugs can look beautiful when you take the time to look at them. And i just like to give people the chance too see that

Thanks for the comment

outlandishogle said:
how did you do the black background and what lense are you using? very cool stuff

Cheers. I use a flash and the camera is set up with 1/200 ISO100 and F14. If i didnt use a flash, the pic would come out dark. So the flash helps to expose your subject. You just have to make sure there is nothing behind your subject, like a leave or twig. Then you get the black background. And i use a Sigma 105 2.8 Macro and a speedlite 430EX

O|||||||O said:
:thumbup::thumbup: Nice.

Thanks

Do'Udren's Eyes said:
I believe he uses a sigma 105mm

Correct

matt-l said:
Nice work, Daan. The third one looks grumpy. really like #9. nice lighting.

Thanks Matt

Flower Child said:
#3 just took my breath away. cant say ive ever seen a butterfly up that close and personal. and you can literally see the dust on its wings

Thanks for the compliment

TCimages said:
The great work continues! Keep it up

Thanks TC. Good too hear from you again. Havent seen alot of your work lately.........but that's also because im rather busy too and dont look at all the galleries anymore

eminart · Nov 18, 2008

Very well done. They're all winners, but my favs are 5 and 8.

A macro lens is high on my priority list.

eon_blue · Nov 18, 2008

I managed to sneak up on a butterfly today with my macro lens, but these put me to shame!

We've all seen butterfly shots, but these definitely feel unique and original. For me, the moody shadows and patterns created by the lighting (especially #7 and $9, wow!) really make these stand out.