Although I saw some small butterflies earlier, the first monarch butterfly visited our front yard yesterday. Although the Bird Watching HQ Web site indicates they arrive in mid to late June, judging by my previous posts, July seems to be their passage over us.
As I was sitting in my chair, I noticed the monarch flying over the tall Liatris stems. There are quite a few stalks, but only a small number are in bloom. The monarch was hopping from one purple flower to the next, occasionally making a larger loop and coming back.
I used the Canon R7 with its RF-S 18-150 mm lens. The gear behaved well, and I captured quite a few frames. I will say that I am sharing a small number of them not bore you! But the real reason is that I dumped many of them as my timing was off. If it returns today, I will try a feature on the camera that grabs a bunch of images a split second before releasing the shutter. That may help. Here are the official portraits of the First Monarch of the 2023 Season!
Click on the images to see them larger, uncropped, and read their titles.
Dinner and WaterFire With Mina
Haluk Atamal
Great shots, Cemal. Once you start with butterflies, you may not be able to stop.
Why don’t you use a proper macro of 105 or 150 mm. instead of the superzoom with compromised quality?
Thanks for sharing. Take care and best regards,
Halum
A. Cemal Ekin
I am not much of a nature photographer, Haluk, but butterflies get my attention for some reason. The main reason I don’t use the lenses you suggest is not owning one of them! This lens is much better than the first round, I am getting sharp images. The fun must continue! Take care,
Cemal
Aaron Usher
Another nice, fun series of photos, Cemal! That’s the way to get out there and make images.
A. Cemal Ekin
Exactly the point, Aaron. Take care,
Cemal
Dennis Goulet
Very nice and a great opportunity with a perfect subject. Many of the butterflies I’ve been seeing are approaching end of life, with bits of the wing missing. I think you will enjoy the pre-capture feature of the Canon. i believe it is similar to the pro-capture mode in my Olympus.
A. Cemal Ekin
This one might have been the perfect specimen around here, Dennis. Not like the swallow tail I photographed a few years ago with a good part of its wing missing. I quickly tried that feature, RAW burst they call it. It takes a while to write them to the card. I will try it outside as well. Take care,
Cemal
ömer baybars tek
Excellent Cemal, congrats.
A. Cemal Ekin
Thanks, Baybars. Take care,
Cemal
RAMAZAN KAMARI
Really stunning photos. All of them are lovely. I read Andreas Feininger’s Roots of Art: The Sketchbook of a Photographer book last month. The part about butterflies in the context of colors and patterns was interesting. As Haluk said, a macro lens may be more suitable for conveying your artistic expression.
Kind regards.
A. Cemal Ekin
Ramazan, good to hear from you. Photographing these flittering beauties is a challenge for me as they move so fast and I cannot get too close to them. We’ll see when it will come back again. Take care,
Cemal
TOM BACKMAN
BEAUTIFUL SHOT CEMAL
A. Cemal Ekin
Thanks, Tom. Take care,
Cemal