They're back and doing their thing to keep the species going: Spied my first monarch this morning depositing eggs on the milkweed

[Bohdan]

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[Cleanimage]

Bob - Fabulous shots. I really appreciate the detail, exposure, and colors in your shots! Thank for posting.

 

[Bohdan]

Bob - Fabulous shots. I really appreciate the detail, exposure, and colors in your shots! Thank for posting.

Thank you John for commenting. I appreciate your feedback and I'm happy that you liked the shots. These were quick " grab the camera there's a monarch" shots so I'm pleased how they turned out

 

[Luis R. Lebron]

Great series. Really nice detail.

 

[Bohdan]

Great series. Really nice detail.

Thank you Luis.

 

[F64]

These are blindingly sharp and saturated - just lovely. Could you share which lens you used for this? Any post-processing?

 

[Bohdan]

These are blindingly sharp and saturated - just lovely. Could you share which lens you used for this? Any post-processing?

Thank you. I used the Nikon 300 pf on the D6 here, I've often used that focal length for capturing pseudo-macros. Post processing: cropped image; removed some clutter in the background; sharpened in Lightroom; kicked up the vibrance a tad (10 or 12)

 

[F64]

Thank you. I used the Nikon 300 pf on the D6 here, I've often used that focal length for capturing pseudo-macros. Post processing: cropped image; removed some clutter in the background; sharpened in Lightroom; kicked up the vibrance a tad (10 or 12)

Ah - awesome - that explains everything I see here - well done!

 

[Commodorefirst]

Just featured a BW image that was nominated and then one minute later had a note in my box about your image. I think they make a nice pair so placed them both today Instead of spacing.


great capture!

 

[Richard_M]

What a wonderful set Bob. Lovely colour and detail

I haven’t seen monarch butterflies since leaving New Zealand. Your photos bring back so many happy memories of them. Thank you for sharing them!

 

[Bohdan]

What a wonderful set Bob. Lovely colour and detail

I haven’t seen monarch butterflies since leaving New Zealand. Your photos bring back so many happy memories of them. Thank you for sharing them!

thank you Richard . Happy to have brought back good memories for you.

 

[Louis Champan]

Wonderful job with these Bob.

 

[drr1531]

Nice ones, Bob. The detail in that second shot is awesome. I take it milkweed is a particular favorite of theirs? Saw something about monarchs and milkweed in another forum. Or was that you with a different persona?

 

[Bohdan]

Wonderful job with these Bob.

Thanks Louis

Nice ones, Bob. The detail in that second shot is awesome. I take it milkweed is a particular favorite of theirs? Saw something about monarchs and milkweed in another forum. Or was that you with a different persona?

Thanks Dan...yes milkweed is their food. They lay their eggs on the underside of the leaves, when the caterpillars emerge they feast on the plant. And...they poop a lot! We try to get the cats into a safe container with plenty of leaves that we supply 2-3 times a day and watch the wonder as they continue their metamorphosis towards the next generation Monarch Butterfly.

 

[drr1531]

...We try to get the cats into a safe container with plenty of leaves that we supply 2-3 times a day and watch the wonder as they continue their metamorphosis towards the next generation Monarch Butterfly.

You threw me with the cats comment. I thought you meant to keep them away from the caterpillars. Finally twigged it when I kept reading the post So whodda thunkit? Bob the bug farmer

 

[drr1531]

So do you have a tiny little shovel?

 

[Bohdan]

You threw me with the cats comment. I thought you meant to keep them away from the caterpillars. Finally twigged it when I kept reading the post So whodda thunkit? Bob the bug farmer

So do you have a tiny little shovel?

LOL..no we just pick them up along with a stalk of milkweed and put them into a container covered with a cheese cloth so they can breathe, bring them inside away from predator. We had 15-20 caterpillars in the nursery last year. we line the container with paper towels so wrap up their droppings hygienically enough - a couple of times a day Beautiful when they emerge as monarchs, they cling to your finger when we are set to release them on their journey back to Mexico.

 

[gnagel]

Wow...great job with these!

Glenn

 

[Pa]

Wonderful light, and you took full advantage of it.

 

[Bohdan]

Wow...great job with these!

Glenn

Thanks Glenn. I've often used the 300 pf with my DSLR cameras for pseudo macro images. It appears to work well with the D6

Wonderful light, and you took full advantage of it.

Light was great, helped a bit with Lightroom using CEP