Idea leuconoe chersonesia (Mangrove Tree Nymph)

[trident]

Hi,
Went to the zoo on Sat with my friend to shoot some animals, he wanted to try out his new 70-200mm VR. Lens was heavy and as he handheld it, most of his picture were blur.
I used my EF-S 55-250mm f5.6 for most shot on Aperture priority mode. Shot some butterflies but only these turn out ok. I was standing below the butterfly. It was high up on the branch and the sun was shining directly on it.
Comments welcomed
Flash on. 20D EF-S 55-250mm f5.6 1/250

20D EF-S 55-250mm f5.6 1/160. No flash.

20D EF-S 55-250mm f5.6 1/125. No flash.

[ranmasatome]

Think you need a little more depth of field..the wings are a little blurry

[trident]

Justin,
Yah lor, wings a bit blur. I was using f5.6 earlier and didn't change the aperture for the butterfly.

[luenny]

Plus, you need a little fill in flash too for the last 2 pictures.

[trident]

Luenny,
I am sure they could benefit from some fill in flash,
but I just want to try without flash mah, haven't tried without flash before.

[Simon]

some correction, those tree nymph are the subspecies found in taiwan, defintely not the mangrove tree nymph which only can be found at P. Tekong and recently off Pasir Ris.

note that butterflies in the fragil forest and sentosa butterfly park are not native species, the latter got their butterflies from Indonesia.

I agree with the rest, not enough DOF and you need fill-in light to bring out the details. Recommendation for butterfly, aperture of f8 and high but also depend on how parallel you are to the subject, some can be shot at f5.6, if their wings are closed and you can get the right angle

[trident]

Simon,
Thanks for correcting the name.

[trident]

was browsing butterfly website and come across this site.
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/...leuconoech.htm
The correct name for this butterfly is Idea leuconoe clara, originated from Taiwan and bred in Singapore Zoo and commonly found in the Fragile forest.