Your first shot of a butterfly or moth (whichever you got)
- Dave McCormick
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Your first shot of a butterfly or moth (whichever you got)
I was looking through my pics and wondered, what was the first shot I got of either a moth or butterfly? And it was this:
Silver Y Moths feeding. I remember in 2006 there was a large number appearing in this field not far from my house and having my first digital camera, I wanted to go and try it out, it was so easy to find the moths, I kept running into hundreds as I walked past and these were a breeze to shoot, focusing was tricky as this camera won't focus close, have to shand a bit back. I remember this year well cause it was the year in Mountstewart where I live, we had influxes of large numbers of Silver Y Moths and quite a few clouded yellow and lots of painted ladies/red admirals/small tortoiseshells etc.
Taken 2 years ago with my old Vivitar 4345 point and shoot (basically its rubbish for insects and detail, but this came out well) I know that once I knew thr camera and how to use it, I could not get the same shot again, it was cruddy for insects/plants ect, only real good for people and general point and click stuff.
If anyone can post a pic or remember what the first shot was you took, might be nice to see and bring back memories.
Silver Y Moths feeding. I remember in 2006 there was a large number appearing in this field not far from my house and having my first digital camera, I wanted to go and try it out, it was so easy to find the moths, I kept running into hundreds as I walked past and these were a breeze to shoot, focusing was tricky as this camera won't focus close, have to shand a bit back. I remember this year well cause it was the year in Mountstewart where I live, we had influxes of large numbers of Silver Y Moths and quite a few clouded yellow and lots of painted ladies/red admirals/small tortoiseshells etc.
Taken 2 years ago with my old Vivitar 4345 point and shoot (basically its rubbish for insects and detail, but this came out well) I know that once I knew thr camera and how to use it, I could not get the same shot again, it was cruddy for insects/plants ect, only real good for people and general point and click stuff.
If anyone can post a pic or remember what the first shot was you took, might be nice to see and bring back memories.
Cheers all,
My Website: My new website: http://daveslepidoptera.com/ - Last Update: 11/10/2011
My Nature videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/DynamixWarePro
My Website: My new website: http://daveslepidoptera.com/ - Last Update: 11/10/2011
My Nature videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/DynamixWarePro
- Gwenhwyfar
- Stock Contributor
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Re: Your first shot of a butterfly or moth (whichever you got)
Hi Dave, I was in north Cornwall out on a windy headland,The Moules (not sure of the spelling of that) when this butterfly whizzed past. It was my first ever butterfly pic, and spent ages back home trying to identify it.
That was how it all started really!!
No laughing now !!
That was how it all started really!!
No laughing now !!
- KeynvorLogosenn
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- Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2008 8:33 pm
- Location: Hertfordshire
Re: Your first shot of a butterfly or moth (whichever you got)
Hi
Dave your silver Y moths are excellent by the way
Here is my first ever picture, Speckled Wood.
Mouse
Dave your silver Y moths are excellent by the way
Here is my first ever picture, Speckled Wood.
Mouse
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- Speckled wood - Emily Halsey - 29 July 08 small.jpg (184.46 KiB) Viewed 1367 times
Re: Your first shot of a butterfly or moth (whichever you got)
After unsuccessfully chasing a Holly Blue around the garden, I found this (huge) butterfly on the tall Buddleia at the bottom of the garden. I only had a very small compact camera, and took this at arms length trying to gage if I had it in the frame. It took a lot of shots till I got this pic which I was very proud of at the time
Painted Lady, which thanks to this site, I managed to ID all by myself, back in the days when I was a lurker!
Denise
Painted Lady, which thanks to this site, I managed to ID all by myself, back in the days when I was a lurker!
Denise
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- 7.Painted Lady (Small).JPG (43.61 KiB) Viewed 1344 times
Re: Your first shot of a butterfly or moth (whichever you got)
I presume you mean first digital shot because anything that I might have shot on film has got lost. My first digital camera was a Fuji S602Z that I bought second hand in August 2003 for around £270. It was quite advanced for its day and I loved it, because you could use single macro mode from 3-6" away using the screen to compose the image. This was my first butterfly capture, a brown argus, taken just two days after acquiring the camera. The site is now sadly overgrown with bracken.
The following day I snapped this very amenable speckled wood, by which time I thought I knew it all and that butterfly photography was dead easy. By the time I discovered that it wasn't I was already hooked on the little sods.
Incidently, the date in the exif is wrong. I had learned to take pictures before I learned how to set the date properly. - m_galathea
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Re: Your first shot of a butterfly or moth (whichever you got)
Here's my first, a Speckled Wood from May 2004 in Walberton churchyard. I wasn't really into butterflies at the time, orchids were much more my thing. I had a good knowledge of common butterflies however, as I was very interested as a child.
Camera: HP Photosmart 715
Alexander
Camera: HP Photosmart 715
Alexander
- Dave McCormick
- Posts: 2388
- Joined: Fri Mar 16, 2007 8:46 pm
- Location: Co Down, Northern Ireland
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Re: Your first shot of a butterfly or moth (whichever you got)
Just to say, nice shots and what I meant was any shot. If you cannot post it, you can just say when it was or whatever.
Cheers all,
My Website: My new website: http://daveslepidoptera.com/ - Last Update: 11/10/2011
My Nature videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/DynamixWarePro
My Website: My new website: http://daveslepidoptera.com/ - Last Update: 11/10/2011
My Nature videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/DynamixWarePro
- Pete Eeles
- Administrator & Stock Contributor
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Re: Your first shot of a butterfly or moth (whichever you got)
My first photo was of a mating pair of Puss moths - the female of which I'd reared. I must have been about 11 - so that would be 1973
I clearly remember rearing a caterpillar that I'd found, and which had built a cocoon on a piece of bark the previous summer. Using my observer's guide, I knew it would overwinter, and put the bark in the garage and forgot about it. Until, that is, one morning, when my dad woke me up to tell me that there was a "giant moth" on the outside of the garage. I rushed downstairs and found the pair of moths in cop on the garage wall. I let them be - but that event made my week (at least!). I took a photo with a camera my dad had bought me for my birthday.
It was moments like that which have turned me into the anorak I am. And here I am, 35 years later, creating websites on the same subject Some people never grow up.
Cheers,
- Pete
I clearly remember rearing a caterpillar that I'd found, and which had built a cocoon on a piece of bark the previous summer. Using my observer's guide, I knew it would overwinter, and put the bark in the garage and forgot about it. Until, that is, one morning, when my dad woke me up to tell me that there was a "giant moth" on the outside of the garage. I rushed downstairs and found the pair of moths in cop on the garage wall. I let them be - but that event made my week (at least!). I took a photo with a camera my dad had bought me for my birthday.
It was moments like that which have turned me into the anorak I am. And here I am, 35 years later, creating websites on the same subject Some people never grow up.
Cheers,
- Pete
Life Cycles of British & Irish Butterflies: http://www.butterflylifecycles.com
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- Padfield
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Re: Your first shot of a butterfly or moth (whichever you got)
I still have some of the pictures I took when I was a child, in Suffolk. This one is labelled '1978' on my website but I think I just invented that date. It could be anything from 1974-1978. My camera was a second-hand Practica Nova I 35mm SLR and it went everywhere with me until it died of old age in 2004.
(I recently reprocessed the processed image to un-sepia it, hence the graininess)
Guy
(I recently reprocessed the processed image to un-sepia it, hence the graininess)
Guy
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The Butterflies of Villars-Gryon : https://www.guypadfield.com/villarsgryonbook.html
Re: Your first shot of a butterfly or moth (whichever you got)
Fairly sure this was my first - had had my Sigma SD10 and Sigma 105mm macro lens for some time
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- SpeckledWood316a.jpg (194.41 KiB) Viewed 1101 times
Re: Your first shot of a butterfly or moth (whichever you got)
This Orange tip was my first - taken only a couple of years ago with my 400mm and a 25mm extension tube. I'd been taking pictures of our resident robin when it settled within range.
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- orangetip_8347b.jpg (201.15 KiB) Viewed 993 times