How close should I try to get to my subject? How much attention should I pay to environmental elements when composing a shot? When is the decisive moment to grab a shot when the subject is in motion? These were some of the thoughts swirling through my head when I spotted this Black Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio polyxenes) last Friday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
There are several dark swallowtails in our area, including the Spicebush Swallowtail, the Pipevine Swallowtail, the dark morph of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, and the Black Swallowtail. Sometimes it is hard to tell them apart, but in this case I spotted the black dots inside of the orange dots in the area between the wings, one of the identifying marks of a Black Swallowtail.
The first shot was one of the earliest shots that I took and I remember staying far enough away from the butterfly to be sure that I included the curl of the leaf coming out of the stalk of vegetation. I also tried to time my shot to catch the butterfly with its wings spread wide and was mostly successful.
I moved in closer and captured the second image, which shows more of the details of the butterfly. Although the camera settings remained the same, the background is more out of focus than in the first shot, because depth of field tends to get shallower when you get closer to a subject. I also tried to shoot from a slightly higher angle by standing on my tiptoes—you can see more of the vegetation over the butterflies left eye in the second image than in the first.
I chased this butterfly around as it flew about and waited patiently for it to perch again. I captured the final image when it landed on a different kind of plant. Normally a shot like this when the subject is facing away from you is not a good shot and is derisively referred to as a “butt shot” by many photographers. In this case, however, I was struck by the way that the angle of the butterfly’s wings complemented the angular shape of the plant’s leaves and I like the abstract feel of the image that I captured.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
I like those colors
It suddenly struck me that these are more or less the colors of the Pittsburgh Steelers….
Fantastic shots as always. I see what you mean about the leaves and angle of the butterfly’s wings
Thanks, Diana. I never know for sure if others will see the same things in my images as I do, which is one of the reasons why I always welcome feedback.
Nice series of images Mike! Enjoyed seeing them!
Nice set, Mike! I like the angled tilt of the butterfly in your last image, those “butt” shots don’t always work but this one does. In addition to the angles you mentioned I like the line of yellow wing dots leading to the right, they just seem to make a statement.
Thanks, Ellen. It’s always fun to try shots that seem to go against the rules, but somehow work. My usual practice is to take a lot of shots. Sometimes the resulting images are the ones I was aiming to get, but often there are some unexpected surprises. I know too that I can always delete the ones that are total failures.
Digital is a wonderful for being able to try lots of variations, no extra charge!
Beautiful shot…but maybe more Ravens-ish than Steelers. Lol.
Definitely not the Washington Football Team formerly known as the Redskins. 🙂
Important and thought-provoking questions, Mike. Thank you for this informative post about your process and these wonderful photos. Great detail!
Thanks. I never quite know what I am going to say when I sit down to write a posting, but try to make it interesting, no matter in what direction my thoughts and emotions of the moment happen to take me.
They sure are pretty! Glory to God! The earth is His and all therein!
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Amen!