Colorado: Black Swallowtail Butterfly

Heres Johnny!!! The chrysalis emerges.

I'd love to see the series where butterfly emerges.

This is absolutely wonderful. You carried out the entire project from planning to execution perfectly. Each shot is flawless in terms of both composition and exposure. Just superb!

Has this been used in a text book or one of the upscale scientific magazines? "Nature," "Scientific American," "Omni" of old???

Remember, this was shot in studio so this is the background. I did piece them together and crop it down. The background was again a white card. As to the time sequence I think the shots were probably about 10-15 seconds apart. It seems that I had just enough time to replace the dark slide, turn the film holder over, and reset the shutter before shooting again. I don't what possessed me to use a 4x5 for this sequence but I did. I then shot the chrysalis alone on 6cm x 7cm and will present it later. I am still desperately looking for the photos of the emergence of the butterfly. I have looked in a lot of places but this happened over 20 years ago so all I can say is I hope to find them.

 

How about if I put some trees and rocks behind them?

I can't believe it happens that fast, This must make a very nice poster size enlargement.

Bobby: It would make a nice enlargement but I didn't do High-Rez in this case. Too much trouble for the web. Maybe later.

 

Jim: Are those trees back there out of focus? You know I don't use vegetation. The only reason the caterpillar is attached to vegetation is because I couldn't get them to use soda straws.

 

Seriously, looks nice Jim. Good Idea.

Wonderful sequence of images. Lucky for you that the lighting is controlable inside the studio. Otherwise, it will a major pain to adjust the lighting for each shot.

 

The original background color has a little bit more separation but not very natural. Jim's green background is very natural looking but the 'butterfly' is not as stand out. Tough choice.

I also like the idea of a natural background. Since you don´t use vetgetation, your idea about rocks might be a good one. Use light colored ones, so the emphasis is still on the crhysalis. Maybe sand or something like that.

 

Nice photo, BTW. NC

Nelson: The vegetation thing is a sort of ongoing joke as I have been criticized for using too much vegetation. Sorry to confuse you or anyone else with our banter. I am still thinking what to do with this image (which may take a while).

Ok, now I get it. Knowing it´s a joke and reading it all again it becomes clear. But the idea of the crhysalis attached to soda straws is very interesting.

 

I´m also still waiting for the last piece, the butterfly. Maybe then you´ll know what to do with the whole picture. Good look looking for it.

This is an amazing series. regardless of background. In my view all elements go together well to create this slice of history. very nice work.

JC

Love it!

Wonderful work. Thanks for sharing!

it's amazing, though I'm not a big fan of insects. But I do agree with someone who already left a message. I would like to see a process of a butterfly coming out of the chrysalis, or even put the whole series together, and the effect will be much more dramatic.