Chasing a nymph through the woods–it may sound like I was living out some fantasy as a character in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but I was only running after a butterfly, a Common Wood Nymph (Cercyonis pegala).
As is usually the case, I had never seen this “Common” butterfly before, but the large, yellow-ringed eyespots on the forewings make it pretty distinctive and I had no trouble finding it in an on-line identification guide.
I chased after the butterfly for quite some time before it finally came to a stop and perched on a tree. I am not sure why, but the butterfly chose to perch upside down. When I processed my images, I couldn’t decided if I should flip the image 180 degrees or not. Ultimately I decided that the flipped image, which is the first one, looked more “normal.”
Which one do you think works better, the flipped image, i.e. the first one, or the one with the original perspective, i.e. the second one?
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
The flipped one might appear more “normal” to us but I don’t think it really matters.
I like them both, but the upside down one adds a bit of interest in that I can’t imagine hanging upside down for very long.
Oh, no. I now have “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” playing in my head. Thanks for weighing in, Dan.
At least it isn’t “Hang on Sloopy”
Great shot. Is the question one of those psychological probes that will reveal something about our personality depending on which one we choose? Amelia
Nothing psychological intended. I am merely curious about whether you feel more comfortable viewing something in the way in which you expect to see it. WIth the original image, I found myself turning my head to try to get a “normal perspective.”
Only joking 🙂
Really nice photo Mike, seen either way. I had to laugh because I never did flip a nature photo like that, but many times wanted to because like you said it looks more natural. I wait for them to flip themselves, but most times they just fly away. I never saw one of them either that I can remember. Not common here.
I like the flipped one better, even knowing it isn’t the natural pose. My mind can settle into it faster. I loved the title. 🙂
first im age – the second attention is drawn to the lower wing and it is not as sharp
Naturally, I like them both. I lean toward the upside down one because it’s normal for them. Plus, the upside down one holds attention longer.
So here’s a geeky response. The flipped one looks more natural to me, because butterflies would have their legs under them when sitting “right side up”. Very nice macro, Mike, sharp and colorful!
lovely:-)
Great shot! Here in Illinois (in nature preserves) this is a common butterfly, and it very frequently hangs upside down so to me, the upside down one looks more “right”. I know what you mean, though, because I have painted them the “right” way, only to have people tell me I was wrong!
Thanks. I am not too familiar with this butterfly, so I am not sure how they normally position themselves. Somehow we expect butterflies to pose with their heads upright, but our expectations with bats, for example, is that they will perch with their heads facing downward. Strange how we build up our expectations.