Weekly #574 - The Glorious Butterfly Competition

Eventually, I have decided on a winner...
as you will see from my comments.... that wasn't easy...
now to choose the other two podia.
Back in a while!!

Just spotted I've won so thanks for that, the comp and judging. Can't congratulate the other podium spots yet as they've yet to be announced. In any event a great selection of photos even if the odd invalid moth entry or two flew in through the open door! It's the warm weather that does it.
I'll get this weeks competition up and running shortly.

Given the subject, a disappointing number of entries.... still, that almosts makes my job easier!
Or so I thought....!!
That was written Sunday afternoon....
it has actually taken all morning to compare and contrast all these excellent shots..
So, here are my thoughts, comments, etc.


Green Banded Swallowtail & Rusty-tipped Page by johnriley

Two faded beauties, the Rusty-tipped showing distinct signs of wear....
some wear and a missing tail on the Green-banded.
There is an awful lot of "noise" on the wings of the latter....
not camera "noise", but part of the camoflage, making it difficult for predators to target.
Lovely arrangement... sharp as a bell on the green one...definite signs of the glory.


Wall Butterfly by tyronet2000

Again, some wear on this specimen... as Stan says the vernacular name is Wall butterfly, also The Wall, and Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera)...
unique here, in France, in that it has vernacular names for each sex... le Satyre for the male and la Mégère for the female...
Nice close-up, showing all the detail needed for identification, although the rather beautiful underwings are also quite distinctive.
Slight blurring of the whole picture, but 1/125th at 440mm focal length it is to be expected.
A nice record shot of a pretty butterfly that has become increasingly localised in recent years.


Peacock Butterfly by Nigelk

Smashing shot of probably the most easily recognised of the European butterflies... and going on the colour, recently emerged. These hibernate over winter, in dark corners.... and the wonderful, black underwing helps it vanish.... but, look closely at that black underwing... especially in sunlight.... it is marbled in shades of black, green, dark brown and gold... just as wonderful as this side.
Yes, maximum for glory with this fresh specimen, its colour set off by the Buddleia it is on....
Crazily sharp on both front and hind wings until the point where the hind wings dip downwards.
A pleasing vertical/diagonal arrangement with the bokeh showing another, distant flower spike.


Butterfly on Lavender by vic cross

Another vanishing butterfly... another fresh specimen... and another of my favourites.
Once common, loss of habitat and gardens that are not insect friendly have helped towards the decline of this once very common beauty.
Sharp, but not quite... but that could be down to the 3200ISO... the shutter speed and focal length are the correct way around ths time....
or it could be the lens itself.
Nice too, to see it on lavender rather than Bud! Like this a lot...


Hummingbird Hawkmoth by pipinmels

A moth, dayflying, rather than a butterfly but from a country where no distinction is made in language...
nectaring on soapwort... or about to... the tongue uncurling as it approaches...
nice/fortuitous choice of shutter speed... not quite enough to freeze the wings.
Frozen wings in flight make the subject look totaly un-natural....
I have to at times for things like dragonflies because the wing details are sometimes necessary for identification.... but I find the shots totally unlivable-with.
Whereas, I could happily live with this on my wall!
The bokeh from a doorway? and a shadow? do not actually detract because they are the correct way around... and match the colours of the subject.


Large skipper on a bramble flower by davidwozhere

Wow! A crackin' shot... crystal sharp, even down to a grain of pollen on the eye...
this male Large Skipper is caught nectaring... beautiful... nice letterbox composition, too.
It also shows the glory of a strage little butterfly...
I like skippers because all of them are odd in some way or another.


unknown species by Lancashire Lad

Nice shot of an exotic species...
slightly "fogged" at the tip of the forewing by some foreground foliage...
I wonder what this looks like with the wings open.
Composition is a bit centrist, but countered well by the waves on the sea of green...
a contender.


Small Tortoiseshell by noelm

Shot 15 years ago on Velvia and scanned....
is the slight double exposure on the left antenna a result of scanning, or on the original slide.
t has held up well, this analogue era photo... I have been comparing it with the one submitted by vic cross....
yes, you can see the differences, but this is still a quality photograph and a "then" competition contender.
Also nice to see that Velvia is still available in 35mm format....
I am very tempted to get a roll or two and the the K2 a test run against the K-1!!
I have two identical 50mms.....hmmm, have I the time?
Love the composition of this, the butterfly on a diagonal to the vertical...
colours are as I remember from my use of Fujichrome, strong and vibrant.
Like it!


Comma Butterfly by JAK

Well, what can one say about this amazing picture... is it down to the equipment?
Perhaps, but I feel that John would look for this quality from his 35mm cameras.
And he has had to reduce the image to be able to submit it!!
Whilst that has the effect of sharpening a picture, it doesn't alter the angle of the light...
here, John has chosen a shallow angle of light against the Comma, showing the wing veins and their shadow side in contrast...
and this has had the effect of pulling the picture towards the audience.
The purple, green, dark purple and the two bits of branch create one diagonal, the butterfly, the opposite.
Lovely bit of work.


Butterfly by Noelcmn

This South African species looks quite exotic... especially with the transparent wingtips.
It is again nectaring on the ubiquitous Buddleia... possible a variety native to S.A. where a lot of out flowers originate [But not Bud... Japan for the one we are used to!]
A nice double diagonal arrangement with the Bud going left right and the butterfly wings right left.
Nice and sharp, too.

Soldiers Butterfly by johnjm
Lovely sharp foreground and neatly oof background... I would have cropped this portrait to emphasise the butterflies... both real and mimic....
this Red Admiral has got to be a recent hatching, I don't think that I have ever seen the two lower wing "eye" spots looking so blue.
But a crop to remove most of the unoccupied space on the right, would make this a better picture.


OK... the winner is Comma Butterfly by JAK
Second... only just (which is what has taken the time since the last posting....) is Large skipper on a bramble flower by davidwozhere
which only just scraped past Peacock Butterfly by Nigelk....
HCs.... the rest of you... so over to John to set and judge!!

Congratulations to the Winner and other places. Thanks to drofmit for the interesting subject the juding and comprhensive comments

A tough one to judge as they were all so well captured, well done JAK, a deserved 1st.

''is the slight double exposure on the left antenna a result of scanning, or on the original slide. ''
On the original slide. The antenna must have move during the exposure.

Thanks to drofmit for good subject and his very comprehensive comments, they showed a wealth of knowledge on the subject.
Congratulations to JAK for his cracking image, to the other podium places and to all my fellow HC's

Excellent winning shot, Congrats JAK Worthy winner in a stiff competition. And extended to Davidwozhere and Nigelk. Wonderful challenge, thanks are in order to Dromfit for the comments and critiques. And there I thought Moths were points deductible . Would have entered one if I had thought otherwise.

Thank you Tim for the competition, the judging and my bronze medal. Well done JAK on your victory with a cracking image. All good shots so, well done to everyone.

Points were deducted... it only got an HC for a brilliant flight shot!
I knew people would enter moths if not from the Anglophone world... so points deducted, yes, but not ignored.
The rest of the world, and the scientific community, treat them as one... perhaps we should...
I have just been emptying my mothtrap and looking at the beauty therein.... perhaps I ought to post some of the ones I photograph in the gallery!!
It all boils down to time.... and there are some, like the Burnished Brass [Diachrysia chrysitis, form juncta]....
that I have only been able to catch the brassiness of by using video!!
But, you could look here where I have blogged about them!
Moth Mondays - Hunk of Burnished Brass....

You weren't kidding about it being hard to judge. Well done for the comprehensiveness of your comments and to JAK for a really lovely study of that Comma. Thank you for the 2nd place - it's the best place to be

Did anyone notice that, other than a pair of tortoiseshells, every image was of a different species?