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Photo Safaris In My Own Back Yard #39830
07/22/13 04:55 PM
07/22/13 04:55 PM
Joined: Mar 2005
Florida
Jim Garvie Offline OP
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Jim Garvie  Offline OP
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Joined: Mar 2005
Florida
I haven't posted anything to this forum in a while so I thought I'd share some of my latest captures. We've been busy -- spent the month of April at Purina Farms just outside of St. Louis shooting first the PennVet Working Dog Conference followed by the Dalmatian National Specialty. Got home in time to process those events and then had a wedding to shoot and process. During that heavy production period, I didn't really have much time to go out and shoot in some of my favorite places although I did visit the Orlando Wetlands Park a couple of times. But mostly, the shooting I've done has been in my own back yard and the subjects have been the many species of butterflies that come to visit us daily to sip on the Lantana that grows (almost out of control) along some of our fencing.

During this time I've also had an opportunity to experiment with my technique and to try some new things -- including a new Canon 100mm F2.8 Macro which I really love. Shooting butterflies in the "wild" with a macro isn't as easy as it sounds and I've had to develop not only more patience than I knew I had but better techniques for getting close to these darting, flitting critters.

This Gulf Fritillary was captured with my 100 macro and I used my 580 EX flash to freeze the wing movements. I liked the way the butterfly's colors mimic those in the Lantana behind it.



This Tiger Swallowtail was new to me and to the yard but he's been hanging around for the past 3 or 4 weeks and he usually gives me some great poses. This one was taken with my "standard" butterfly setup: 70-200 F4L IS with my 1.4II Teleconverter plus flash.



Another new one to me is this Zebra Swallowtail with such long tails that make it look almost bird-like in flight. Setup was the 70-200L without teleconverter and flash.



Same setup for this Gray Hairstreak which is about the size of the fingernail on my little finger. Very quick and always darting. I was very fortunate to get this capture.



And, lastly, this Spicebush Swallowtail captured with the same setup as above. We've had several of these in the yard over the years and they are really pretty and fun to stalk and photograph.



So, that's what I've been up to lately. I've read about the travels that some of you have been doing and the great places you've visited. Hopefully we'll be doing some of that once our local workload lightens up a bit in the Fall. In the meantime, enjoy my back yard safari.

Jim

Last edited by Jim Garvie; 07/22/13 07:45 PM.

Jim Garvie
www.jagphoto.biz
Re: Photo Safaris In My Own Back Yard [Re: Jim Garvie] #39831
07/23/13 01:17 PM
07/23/13 01:17 PM
Joined: Feb 2005
Manhattan, New York, New York
James Morrissey Offline
I
James Morrissey  Offline
I
Carpal Tunnel

Joined: Feb 2005
Manhattan, New York, New York
Hey Jim,

Beautiful collection of butterflies!! The 100 is a great lens...it is also surprisingly affordable, which, IMO, makes it even greater.

James

Re: Photo Safaris In My Own Back Yard [Re: James Morrissey] #39833
07/24/13 08:14 AM
07/24/13 08:14 AM
Joined: Mar 2005
Florida
Jim Garvie Offline OP
Addict
Jim Garvie  Offline OP
Addict

Joined: Mar 2005
Florida
Thanks James. I agree, the 100 is a really fun lens to use. It's not ideal for butterfly shoots because it's very hard to get that close to them but it's a lot of fun when you really want to get close to a subject. And it's a great deal.

Jim


Jim Garvie
www.jagphoto.biz

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