“As summer wears on, it’s effects start to show” – Ed Lehming

I was sitting on my porch a few days ago, and the gardens were filled with hungry butterflies. After a few attempts with my iPhone, I was reminded of some of the limitations that phone cameras, no matter how current, still have. One of those limitations is that I cannot effectively control the aperture; the phone does all the thinking, and I ended up with a bunch of photos where only a small portion of the butterfly was actually in focus—less than ideal for what I wanted.

So, I stepped inside and grabbed my trusty Nikon D800 and fitted it with my Tamron AF90 f/2.8 macro lens. I set my aperture to f/7.1 to ensure that my depth of field was sufficient and snapped this shot before the butterfly darted off to the next garden. This is one of the things I have found is hard to teach: the knowledge of how to shoot when a specific situation presents itself and knowing why, learned by me through trial and error (lots of trials and lots of errors). I also knew that since the butterfly was on the move, I had limited time, so the thought of focus stacking was never a consideration. It had to be a single shot at a moderate depth of field (aperture).

I was happy with the result, and it was not until I got to the editing stage that I noticed how beat up the butterfly was, with tatters and tears in its wings but still flying well. I suppose that a season filled with wind, rain, predators, and thorny branches must have an effect over time. The butterfly is much like many gardens this time of year, getting a bit weather-worn. It’s just another step in the cycle of the seasons. As I write this, there are fewer and fewer butterflies; the evenings are starting to cool, and the days are shortening. So, I’m happy for the moments that present themselves and always look forward to the next opportunity.

Nikon D800
Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 (272ENII)@90mm
1/800 sec, f/7.1, ISO 650