“Owl butterfly Macro” by Robyn Carter

excellent plane of focus keeps the entire subject sharp. getting light up under the body is well done too. i would think that the most distinguishing characteristic of this butterfly would be the eye on the wing. i hate to see the top of it cropped off. that would be my only problem with this.

Robyn – I quite like this. You’ve paralleled the subject quite nicely and it’s sharp as a result throughout the plane of focus. Lovely looking subject, my only criticism is twofold -

1. I agree with J.K York about the composition
2. Is that someones hairy arm it’s rested on? It sort of competes with the butterfly and distracts a bit from it.,

Dave

I really like this photo, but (I am no pro) I might consider cropping out a bit more of the head, it draws my eye away from the main focal point… ;-)

I love the framing and agree that its a shame the eye on the wing is clipped but its diff capturing moving subjects – my only points would be the two whitish bands running through the blue background – it draws my eye away from such a stunning critter, and the hairy base ;)

Its a great capture – amazing butterfly, but the hair and skin at the bottom of the page definitely detracks from the image. Cropping it out would mean losing the legs. Its blurred also. You could get creative with Photoshop. I think I would use the Path tool to carefully select the area of the skin and replace it with something more suitable. Then clone out the hairs.

Hi Robyn – amazing image and I love the focus on the face. I agree with the other comments here on the hairs that are in focus and it is a pity the the butterfly’s wings are cropped on the top and side. I have no doubt you were under a lot of pressure to get the shot and I think you have done a great job!

I was pretty close to the butterfly when I took this, so I must say i wasn’t concentrating on the wings, instead i was trying to get those eyes and head.

The photo was taken on someone’s arm (albeit a hair one).

Thanks for the comments – I’m going to work on it and reupload in a few days. I’ll get rid of those white bands from the tshirt, but I’m not sure what I’m going to do about the hair on the arm just yet. I do have another image simliar – so I’ll check out both and see which might be better.

Ahh. Now thats a fantastic image of my arm and that thing on it looks good too. (Just kidding my friend).

Really I consider the image as one of the best butterfly images I have ever seen. The placement and composition are more than just appealing and the lighting is absolutely perfect. However it is the contrasting colours and that wounderful control over the Depth of Field that really caught my eye.

I tried hard to find fault with the image but all I can really dislike is the hair. Superb work Robyn.

Cheers Ken

Thanks Ken – I don’t know if I can do anything with that hair. But in my opinion, it is what makes the image. you expect to see butteflies on flowers and plants, but on hair, is what makes this image unique?? Perhaps??? LOL