Frustration in Norfolk

Dave Mac · Post by **Dave Mac** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 9:31 am

I've just spent a couple of days in Norfolk and saw about ten swallowtails, one in the garden of the farmhouse we stopped in. However they were a bit skittish and it was not easy to get a good picture, I had to settle for this one. I would have liked it to have had a natural background but in the end I was very pleased to get anything at all

Cheers
Dave

IAC · Post by **IAC** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 2:25 pm

Dave...You would be a whole lot more frustrated if you lived in South east Scotland, there are no swallowtails here...at all..!!!, and never likely to be..!!! ,however your picture and others I have seen inspire me to travel South to see these fantastic creatures..one day, it wont be this year...You are very lucky ,so I dont have too wish you good luck on your next attempt. ..cheers IAC.

Dave Mac · Post by **Dave Mac** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 8:21 am

I've succumed to temptation and dropped a new background onto the swallowtail to make it look better on my website.

Is this cheating?

Dave

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 11:41 am

I'm against photoshopping from a purist, 'photography' point of view, but if your aim is to demonstrate how the butterfly might look in it's natural habitat, feeding on it's larval foodplant, then why not?!

Dave McCormick · Post by **Dave McCormick** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 12:45 pm

Looks fine to me, I am also against it too, but why not, just this once?

IAC · Post by **IAC** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 1:28 pm

Dave...Dave....Dave...!!!!! Thats just wrong!!!!!.......however, you have made a very good job of it. Never turn frustration into desperation!!!!
Cheers IAC

Jack Harrison · Post by **Jack Harrison** » Fri Jun 15, 2007 7:34 pm

Of course it's cheating but provided that is made perfectly clear, I see no problems with producing an aesthetic picture.

How did you do it (technically) ? I would like to try to do similar.

Jack

Dave Mac · Post by **Dave Mac** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 7:46 am

Hi Jack
It was done using Photoshop. You put the background image on the background layer and the butterfly image on the layer above it. A cut out is made around the outside edge of the butterfly using the lasso tool with a one pixel feather edge. The area outside the cut out is deleted and its done.
I hope this helps but if you want a more detailed explanation let me know
Cheers
Dave

Dave McCormick · Post by **Dave McCormick** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 11:18 am

Thats helps, though I won't be doing it much anyway. Only if I say its been done.