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Sean Schwoerer
{K:268} 8/12/2005
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Martin,
This is great feedback and I greatly appreciate it. I was not using AutoFocus at the time, but they were flying everwhere and don't sit for long. Your advice will be helpful for my next visit.
Thank you
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Martin Halley
{K:580} 8/11/2005
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The attachment didn't connect for some reason, so here it is.
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![](http://thumbs.imageopolis.com/CritiqueImages/3/4/6/8/3468/887906-TN.jpg)
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Martin Halley
{K:580} 8/11/2005
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I think that this image could be absolutely breath-taking but for a couple of minor technical faults.
Were you using auto focus? If so the camera was fooled by the high-contrast of the white marking on the wing and has focused on those resulting in a depth of field that spills over into the void in front of the creature rather than taking in the full depth of the wing. You can see that the tips of the antennae are still sharp but the hind wing is very blurred. Had the focus been about 1 cm closer the whole butterfly would have been sharp yet the leaf would have still be going out of focus thus preserving the central strength.
As a suggestion try using the continuous shot mode and force the focus initially to lock onto the furthest part of the object that needs to be sharp and then back away slowly holding the focus locked as you fire off three or four shots. You can then select the one with the best focus range and use the discarded images to enhance the final choice where necessary. For example the best body/wing focus might leave the antennae completely blurred but by blending in the in-focus antennae from another image you will end up with an apparent depth of field beyond that possible even at f8. You could also use the same ?trick? to keep the leaf completely blurred under the pin sharp wing edge. Easy does it though, or it can end up looking rather artificial.
I feel that the positioning of the butterfly within the frame has left it nowhere to go. It is hard up against the top of the frame and so seems to be ?trapped?. You can shave off the bulk of the leaf below as this does not add to the dynamics of the image as whole. Had the framing been about 20% higher I think the strength of the image would have been hugely improved. See the attached as an example. Hopefully, you will agree that the image now feels as though something is about to happen rather than a static insect posing for a photo. It might be even better if there were a bit more space to the left as the insect is angled slightly in that direction.
I hope you find my comments useful. Kind regards.
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Dave Stacey
{K:150877} 8/11/2005
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You caught the markings very well, Sean! I've found I have to take lots of shots to get a few usable ones! Dave.
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Roberto Arcari Farinetti
{K:209486} 8/11/2005
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congrats for the front page sean.. ciao roby
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Roberto Arcari Farinetti
{K:209486} 8/5/2005
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Impressive, magic and magific colors-composition in the butterfly close-up! cheers roby
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Erik Shea
{K:1600} 7/28/2005
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Great photo, I don't get many attempts at a butterfly sitting still like that. Great focus and beautiful butterly. Now that you took a great shot, what type of butterfly is it :)
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Sean Schwoerer
{K:268} 7/28/2005
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Issue here was not Aperture in my opinion. I manual focus and don't use the auto focus as it is very annoying in certain cases.
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Rob Graziano
{K:6678} 7/28/2005
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Again excellent composition! Your selective focus is off for these kind of shot I think...Erik has the same camera and I am not sure how you all change your focus...I had to change mine to focus on what I want...it really has made all the difference in the world! :) I need to visit that place with you friend and get some great shot together!
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Sean Schwoerer
{K:268} 7/28/2005
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Thanks for the great comments!
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Joe Plocki
{K:779} 7/28/2005
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I think it's a great butterfly. I've never been able to shoot one, myself... how'd you get him to sit still like that? The last time I tried, I ended up chasing the little guy all over the yard before I was thwarted by a chain-link fence.
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Robert Lewis
{K:491} 7/28/2005
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Excellent capture....It has beautiful colors and a good focal point...good composition...great job
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Gustavo Scheverin
{K:164501} 7/28/2005
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Excelente macro. Extraordinaria toma. Felicitaciones!
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