www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Ian Pratt wrote:Rarely do I see butterflies with loads of empty space behind them but next year I will have to find a few butterflies on sticks!

Early morning and roosting time might be an opportune moment to look for butterflies 'on sticks' as might relatively cool weather.

Fair play to these guys, a lot of those shots take huge amounts of patience.

Answering Ian's question,most if not all of my butterfly images are taken very early in the morning,if you are at the known sites of your chosen butterfly your chance of finding a roosting subject is increased enormously,Nigel Kiteley and i have left home as early as 3am to get to certain sites for first light,it's all about what effort you put in to get the results you want,as for copulating shots these can be found around mid-morning or earlier if it's warm like the summer we had this year,

John.

Another method is that if the weather is alternating between sun and cloud and you can see that the cloud will soon cover the sun, watch where the subject lands and wait for it to close up.

I find the reverse situation slightly better in that if a subject is roosting in overcast conditions and you can see that the cloud will soon pass over, I set up the tripod/camera on the subject and get the shot as the sun comes out. The butterfly will stay closed for a few brief moments when the sun comes out and in those moments the light will be much better.

I spend a lot of time waiting, it is true. But in the Var in the far south of France, it is usually constant hot sun and there are limited opportunities for photography while they are hyperactive. A bit of cloud is usually welcome.

Roger Gibbons wrote:I spend a lot of time waiting

Sounds ridicules, but I've actually waited 4 hours for a shot before.

Regards Gruditch

Thanks for all the helpful comments.
Ian

Don't you just learn alot from peoples posting's I think a photography work shop is what I need Goldie

Goldie M wrote:Don't you just learn alot from peoples posting's I think a photography work shop is what I need Goldie

What a good idea! This forum should run one next year

Thanks to all the judges for putting in time to judge the entries, there were some absolutely stunning shots this so congratulations to all who entered. My own faves were Rodoranger's Swallowtail and Pete Wither's Chequered Blue. I also very much liked the Large White larvae photo by Mark Horton and the Spotted Fritillary mating photo by The Annoying Czech (one of my favourite species to look out for on holiday).

Well done all and thanks again for all the effort behind the scenes.

Regards

Bill