RIP beautiful butterfly :(

[JeffieLove]

Well, we had a casualty today

My daughter has been trying all summer to catch a REAL beautiful butterfly (rather than a moth) and she finally caught one... Unfortunately, it was under the wrong circumstances. My son (her little bother, typo on purpose lol) accidentally ran the butterfly over on his bike. Butterfly's wings were torn a little, and some of her legs weren't functioning

So we brought Butterfly in and took some pictures of her (at this point she is still alive, but can't walk, stand, or fly) and then laid her to rest in one of my mom's flower gardens. Here's the best of the set (not perfect, I know). I had a hard time nailing the focus and exposure. If anyone has suggestions for nailing focus on a macro shot, I'm open LOL

Handheld
ISO 400
f/13 (because I wanted the whole thing in focus, wasn't looking for a shallow DOF)
1/80 SS
Shot with Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 APO DG Macro (which is also for sale, $200)

 

[JeffieLove]

Hmmm, 2 1/2 hours, almost 50 views, no replies?

Must be perfect LOL

 

[sanderso]

Everyone is giving a moment of silence for the poor butterfly....

 

[JeffieLove]

Ahhh, that's what it is LOL Thanks

I'm sure Butterfly (that's her name lol, how creative, right?) appreciates it

 

[Geaux]

This is exactly what I want to be done to me on my death bed. As I lay there helpless and scared, giants pick me up, lay me on white paper and snap shots off at my mangled body with the flash blinding me.



...the shadowing in front of the subject is distracting, the composition isn't that great, half the butterfly is cut out of the shot. It's a pretty pedestrian shot that does nothing for me.

 

[JeffieLove]

I didn't use flash... I had a window behind it... My daughter wanted pictures to "remember" the butterfly...

 

[JeffieLove]

Oh, and I also didn't ask for "general" CC... I asked for a specific type of suggestion....

If anyone has suggestions for nailing focus on a macro shot, I'm open LOL

 

[Geaux]

Well, ok then. Shadow would still be distracting in the macro shot.

Also, I don't really consider this a true macro, subject is too far away.

 

[Overread]

Butterflies actually have rather tricky eyes to work with (since most of the time its the eyes you want in focus) because they have a considerable amount of hairs growing out of their eye structure - this gives them a slightly fuzzy appearance which can take some time to get used to focusing upon them.

In addition even for 1:2 magnification I'd use manual focusing - you don't need AF for this kind of shot and AF in itself can sometimes have problems - so slip to manual focusing and be in control - set the magnification and then rock yourself back and forward to get the focus 0 remember to also squeeze the shutter gently, not hit it fast (as that will rock your hold of the camera) it will take time - and you will get lots of slight and major slipped focusing - but over time you'll increase you hit rate and can then focus more easily on content and composition.

 

[Matt24138]

That sigma lens is only 160.00 brand new. So getting 200 used might be tough. Just as a heads up.

 

[JeffieLove]

Where'd you see it for $160 brand new??? Adorama has it for $239 :/

Correction: They've lowered their price in the last week....

http://www.adorama.com/SG70300DAEOS.html

And I'm still not seeing it anywhere for $160....

http://www.google.com/#q=Sigma+70-3...gc.r_pw.&fp=c4588fcd0d40b454&biw=1280&bih=685

 

[JeffieLove]

Thank you Over for your helpful reply

Geaux, it was shot with a macro lens that has a 1:2 ratio. So this is about as good as macro gets with this specific lens... However, I also didn't ask if anyone considered this macro or not...

 

[Overread]

Jeffie - it might be that Matt has caught sight of the price of the original version of this lens rather than the APO version which carries a higher price.

As for what counts as macro - in the strictest of speaking only 1:1 or greater magnifications count as true macro photos - however most general communities count 1:2 as a close up/macro subject. In addition its often based on subjects - fullbodied dragonflies or butterflies are often listed in macro sections even though the magnifiaction itself isn't anywhere near 1:1

 

[Matt24138]

Maybe the old version. Hee is the apo for 209http://www.newworldvideodirect.com/productdetail.asp?productid=2819&refid=froogle

 

[mrpink]

I think it is perfect... the heavy shadow really lends to the mood you were trying to convey in the photo. Very well done.






p!nK