First butterfly shots.....

[Gordon Large]

Well, maybe not the first, but certainly the first time I ever went out specifically looking for butterflies. Here are my favorites. As you can tell, I like warm, rich colors as well as butterflies, and luckily they work together. I used my 300/4, which is an incredibly versatile lens, but clearly not the lens of choice for these sorts of shots. I'm interested in butterflies, small flowers and maybe other insects, and thinking of getting a versatile macro. Which one? Why? Your feedback would be really helpful!

Thanks,
Gordon

#1

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#2

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#3

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#4

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[Lisa]

Gordon:

Those are just lovely. I don't know what it is but that 3rd one is incredible and looks almost 3D. 8) The 4th one is quite stunning as well. Very nice!

 

[sbuttrick]

Gordon, these are excellent! You need to go out specifically more often. I really love the colors you captured in #3.

 

[Gordon Large]

Gordon:

Those are just lovely. I don't know what it is but that 3rd one is incredible and looks almost 3D. 8) The 4th one is quite stunning as well. Very nice!

Thanks Lisa. I'm working on a few more to post tomorrow - if my PS skills have gotten good enough. These shots are straight from Capture.

Gordon

 

[Gordon Large]

Gordon, these are excellent! You need to go out specifically more often. I really love the colors you captured in #3.

Thanks Scott. I fully intend to keep going out for these guys, and luckily there is an arboretum that specializes in butterflies about 20 miles from home.

Gordon

 

[greyflash]

Very nice Gordon, I especially like the last one. Very colorful and bright.

 

[Flew]

Very nice shots Gordon. As you might have seen, I did a little checking into Macro lenses over the last month. I really like the Nikkor 200 f4 AF (I borrowed Patrick's, oops, I mean Leigh's), and I also like the Nikkor 70-180 (shot with Muril's). The Tamron 90 is also nice, and I've seen great shots with the Nikkor 105 and 60. I ended up getting the Tamron 180. It is a very good lens. Maybe not quite as sharp as the Nikkor 200, but I got mine for less than half what the 200 costs new.

 

[MGlennn]

Super shots...!!....nothing wrong with using that lens as a macro - look how well it isolated the subject and the backgrounds are great... I have been looking for a 300 f4 but nothing so far....have the 200 f4 micro...very nice lens..!!

 

[Kevin Scott]

Gordon, like you, I've been using my 300 to do these kind of shots, just for kicks. It's amazing how well it works. And the subject isolation and background blur is just incredible.

I really like the last shot! That blue on the back wings is just incredible. Looks like a pastel drawing. Good going!!

 

[Gordon Large]

Very nice Gordon, I especially like the last one. Very colorful and bright.

Thanks Gordon. I had a laugh this morning when I got a post addressed to Gordon L. One of us may have to change our name. Wanna volunteer?


Gordon L

 

[Gordon Large]

Very nice shots Gordon. As you might have seen, I did a little checking into Macro lenses over the last month. I really like the Nikkor 200 f4 AF (I borrowed Patrick's, oops, I mean Leigh's), and I also like the Nikkor 70-180 (shot with Muril's). The Tamron 90 is also nice, and I've seen great shots with the Nikkor 105 and 60. I ended up getting the Tamron 180. It is a very good lens. Maybe not quite as sharp as the Nikkor 200, but I got mine for less than half what the 200 costs new.

Thanks Frank! You did what I have to do - try them all! But my thinking is that the longer macros are what I need, either the Tamron 180 or the Nikon 200. All Nikon glass makes me think about a bankruptcy filing. :lol:
So I'll take a hard look at the Tamron.

Gordon

 

[Flew]

Thanks Frank! You did what I have to do - try them all! But my thinking is that the longer macros are what I need, either the Tamron 180 or the Nikon 200. All Nikon glass makes me think about a bankruptcy filing. :lol:
So I'll take a hard look at the Tamron.

Gordon

Just FYI, Steve Shive just ordered the 180 Tamron. At $679 new versus $1,350 for the Nikkor 200 it wasn't a hard decision for me. 8)

So far, I've been thrilled with the results.

 

[Gordon Large]

Super shots...!!....nothing wrong with using that lens as a macro - look how well it isolated the subject and the backgrounds are great... I have been looking for a 300 f4 but nothing so far....have the 200 f4 micro...very nice lens..!!

Thanks Mike. You are right - the 300/4 does a pretty good job on butterfly sized stuff, and it is a very versatile lens. If you are into birds at all, it is a killer flight shot lens. I'm interested in either the Nikon 200 macro or the Tamron 180, because I think it would have been easier to get those butterfly images, plus it would open up the real macro world.

Gordon

 

[greyflash]

Very nice Gordon, I especially like the last one. Very colorful and bright.

Thanks Gordon. I had a laugh this morning when I got a post addressed to Gordon L. One of us may have to change our name. Wanna volunteer?


Gordon L

Let's do it by age Gordon. The oldest one of us retains the Gordon name and the youngest tries something else, maybe "Gordo" or "GL" or "Gert" or, oh you get the idea. :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Gordon Large]

Gordon, like you, I've been using my 300 to do these kind of shots, just for kicks. It's amazing how well it works. And the subject isolation and background blur is just incredible.

I really like the last shot! That blue on the back wings is just incredible. Looks like a pastel drawing. Good going!!

Thanks Kevin -

The 300/4 is a pretty amazing lens when you consider that it's good for everything from BIF to flowers and butterflies. But maneuvering around to get butterflies that don't stay put for more than a few seconds was a bit tough, and I'm thinking a long macro would be better. Plus it would open up the real macro world and let me take pictures of spiders, little slimy things and all the other good stuff that gets posted here. :lol:

Gordon

 

[Greg]

Gordon, you put me to shame. these are great.

 

[Gordon Large]

Gordon, you put me to shame. these are great.

Thanks, Greg, but I think they are just different and each has their strengths and weaknesses. I deliberately went for color and overall impact rather than real macro detail. Except for the first image your butterflys and their backgrounds have pretty dull colors, but WOW what detail. I hope that someday I'll capture an image that combines both.

Gordon

 

[Gilles]

Gordon your butterflies and flowers are really nice, the dof with the 300 are incredible, i don't think that it would be easier to take the same shot with a long micro lens.

 

[Gordon Large]

Gordon your butterflies and flowers are really nice, the dof with the 300 are incredible, i don't think that it would be easier to take the same shot with a long micro lens.

Thanks Giles. I'm not ready to shell out any $$$ for a micro until I am satisfied (or dissatisfied) the my current kit does what I want. The combinations I'm playing with boggle the mind - at least mine. Combine the 300/4, 70-200/2.8VR, TC-14 and 17, and 12mm and 25mm Kenko extension tubes and you've got a whole lot of possibilities. The only place I would really have trouble with is the super-macro world, and I'm not sure I need or want to go there. I need to get my hands on a 200macro and play with it for comparison.

Gordon