Excellent photo.

It's hard to grasp that inside that outer casing some complicated biochemistry and fluid dynamics is creating a butterfly. Or even that it's actually a living thing - it does look rather like a fossil!

Steve

Thanks folks.
She did - had to prod her to get her out of the way.

So did the tiny spider whose web she ran into. It came out hiding to the source of the shaking, saw a spider 10 times bigger and ran back as fast as its little legs would take it.

So that's what they look like. Heard about 'em but never knowingly seen one.

Thank goodness I prodded with a stick and not a finger!!

Steve

What's coming...??




THIS!!
(A magnificant creature - any idea what variety?)




Perhaps I should have left it to Halloween...

Steve

Sometime everything comes together - light, sky, composition, opportunity - and this is one of those times.

For me, what lifts the picture to another level is the tree that protrudes above the horizon to right of centre. And thank goodness the bales hadn't been wrapped in black plastic!

Steve

Having options is always best - eyesight varies so much (and so do monitors!) that one-size-fits-all does not apply. People I've known with severe sight impairment have found light text on dark background easiest (printed as well as screen), something to do with the brightness of the background. Even Microsoft provides a 'high contrast' option for Windows (left SHIFT, left ALT, PRINT SCREEN is the shortcut in 8.1), which gives white text on black background but doesn't affect these forum pages.

Of course font size also comes into play. It can be hard to admit, but sometimes just enlarging the text (zooming in or using magnifying software) is what is needed to read it comfortably. And now it's all done by software, there's no need to use a magnifying glass and advertise to the world that your eyes aren't as good as they used to be!

Steve

Superb sunset, superb location, superb photograph, everything looks right.

Surely far better to return from holiday with one picture like that than any number of lesser pictures.

Steve

Weird, wonderful and well shot. A sign of good weather to come or a warning of impending trouble?

Steve

The DA*300 and K3ii are OK for butterflies and I've got good pictures without the 1.4 TC. Minimum focus distance is 1.4m so you'll end up cropping if you want the butterfly to be big in the picture (unless you're photographing big tropical species!). The lens is plenty sharp enough and the camera has plenty enough pixels for that. What the 1.4TC gives that cropping can't is a bigger image of the butterfly in the viewfinder. I find that helpful for focus and composition, particularly for smaller species. But perhaps your eyesight is better than mine!

Try shooting both with and without the TC and see what suits you best.

Steve

Willow sends her regards to Ripley on International Dog Day. Or rather, she would do if she could be bothered to open her eyes for anything other than food or a walk (or a cat in her territory :twisted.

When is International Dog-owners Day?




Steve

Is that you saying it or the bug saying it??

Superb picture. And please thank the bug for posing so nicely.

Steve