Beautiful butterflies

With the weather warming up and the days getting longer, now is a great time to take a stroll down to your local woods to try and capture images of the many butterflies that are on the wing. There are many different species, all flying at different times of the year, so a little guide book will help you with their identification and the best places to look for them. Best times to photograph are first thing in the morning or later on in the evening when it's a bit cooler and the butterflies are less active and likely to be resting. Try and get in close and use a tripod if you can, this will help in capturing sharp images and the subject will fill a large part of the frame. Wider shots, taking in the immediate surroundings of the subject can also work really well, and shooting towards the sun can give glorious results, as the light provides a halo effect around the insects wings.     

Common Blue

A glorious male Common Blue butterfly at rest. Getting in close and using a macro lens and tripod helped me isolate the subject from the cluttered background. It was vital that the butterfly was parallel to the camera's sensor to ensure a pin sharp image. The slightest breeze would have ruined the shot so patience is key. I find that a cable release is also an essential piece of kit.

Marsh Fritillary

This beautiful Marsh Fritillary was at rest on a long piece of grass. It's quite difficult to believe that the subject was surrounded by a great deal of clutter, bits of grass sticking up everywhere. A macro lens can help isolate a subject and allow you to capture a really striking image. It just needs a bit of patience and lightness of movement getting yourself and your gear in to position, otherwise you risk scaring the subject. Shots like the two above are great images to have in your portfolio as identification guides and magazines are always on the lookout for pictures like these. 

Meadow brown

This shot of a Meadow Brown beautifully backlit by the sun was taken hand held. As I was a bit further away from the subject, capturing a pin sharp image was much easier, depth of field being less of a problem. Unlike the other two photographs, the grasses in this image help enhance the subject, showing the butterfly off in it's natural environment. It has been used in magazines across double page spreads and has been a good seller for me.    

All images Nikon D200 with Nikkor 105mm F2.8 macro lens.