A World Of Their Own - (enlarge)

Hi Gail,

A nice blend of a very good macro image with an Artistic flare included.

As a technical image, the post process was "pushed too far" , but the end result

makes a nice artistic impression.

It is good that you used ISO 400, as the shutter speed of 1/640 second always favors

the photographer, especially with butterflies that can vacate an  area so quickly.

The orientation of the butterfly relative to your lens perspective was good for using F/2.8, as the maximum definition was obtained from you lens using it at F/2.8 at this working distance.

Warmest Regards, Mike

While my husband and I were on Vacation in Jupiter, Florida we

decided to meet with Luisa Da Silva (another PN member) at

Butterfly World in Coconut Creek (Fla.). She had joined us at Mike

and Betsy Palermiti's for the day on the Monday, and once she had

left, I knew I would enjoy spending a bit more time with her before

leaving Florida. Butterfly World would be a perfect spot to meet as it

was just about between where we were staying and where she lived.

She has a year round pass and had told me how beautiful it was. I

really was not prepared for just how amazingly beautiful this place is.

Once inside the first Aviary, I was speechless to find live butterflies

from five continents flying all around us! Lovely flowers and beautiful

trees adorn this natural habitat. While it was a brilliant 'sunshiney'

and humid afternoon, I did not notice the heat too much. I hope to

return there some day. I certainly was challenged to get some good

shots with my Macro Lens. They do not allow Monopods or Tripods,

so handholding is your only choice. We had a wonderful time

together. She had put a few drops of 'bath oil' on as a perfume, and

this particular species of Butterfly(Mechenitis) kept landing on her

arms while we walked along! (This Composition is entered under

Digital Alterations, any visit or comments are truly appreciated, :-D

Gail)

Thank you so much for your visit and critique. This image was not as good as I had hoped it would be as far as detail so I decided to use it in a DIGITAL ALTERATION. I cannot say that I go very many images that were really good enough to enter under Macro. Many of the Butterflies were a good distance away. I was very concerned to attempt to have the Butterflies and my Camera in the same 'focal plane'. I do think that most errors were do to my lack of precise hand holding skills but your many lessons and valuable advise while visiting and since we visited will serve me well for my images taken in the future!! I do appreciate the time you have taken to help me in this regards (immensely!!). Fortunately I have the Winter to practice indoors for next summer. I only saw a couple of butterflies where I live during the summer. They are getting scarcer and scarcer all the time. We have about 6 inches of snow and I am truly missing your warm weather.

Trusting that you an Betsy enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving, give her a hug from me!!! Gail

Gail,

Beautiful butterfly and very creative artistic work!

Best regards, Tina

Very nicely composed beautiful creative work, Gail!

Hi Gail,

Wow..this is really special. I love the contrast of the bold rich colors and textures of the main subject and the softer, flatter feel of the background images. The rays of light are spectacular too. It has just a touch of a Bambi-era Disney-like effect (and I mean that as a very high compliment!!). It is a wonderful and engaging blend of fantasy and reality. Nice!

It sounds like you had a wonderful trip!

Tim

Outstanding Gail. The colors and textures are very nice and I like the butterfly in the BG. I had a similar experience at a place in NY state where the butterflies, birds and lizards were free to roam about  in this huge room/house it was called the Butterfly Conservatory. Looking forward to seeing a few more of these type images from you. Take care.

Best Always,

Holger

First, I'm amazed that you could get something this good by hand holding.  I've tried shooting in the butterfly garden at our zoo, and it's harder than it looks!  You've created something beautiful here and your photoshop skills always amaze me.  Did you insert the butterfly in the back, or was it there in the original shot?  Either way, it's a wonderful inclusion, and the striations of light add a magical feeling to this. Well done!

great close up Gail and I like the positioning of the foreground butterfly...the background butterfly almost looks part human...don't ask, I don't know why...a wonderfully creative picture...regards....David

A lovely shot Gail! Has kind of a 70s crushed velvet look to it that really suits the butterfly subject! Hope all is well with you these days!

All the best,
Neil

Most wonderful work of art like a cartoon about the happy life of the butterflies! You are specializing macro and right away doing a creative image of your macros, don't leave them (it means post them) as they are! Bravo dear Gail!

Best regards

PDE

Great sense of depth pops out through the use of the two different levels.  Well done, Gail! Kind regards!

My sincere thanks for your visit and truly appreciate your words of critique. ;-) Gail

Thank you Pierre for your visit and your very kind critique. I will always endeavour to do my best with my Macros, but I did not do really well with the butterflies, at least nothing like what some of those who do such fine Macro Photography here on PN do. But I am determined to enjoy the images, even if in my Digital Alterations.

I appreciate so much you stopping by,  all the best, Gail

Thanks so much for asking how I am Neil, things are going fine. I was amazed at close up images in a book I got at the Butterfly World that showed all the many textures in the wings of butterflies (scales) and how the colors are produced. Apparently one was is through chemical pigment within each scale or through light hitting the surface of the scale itself.

The scales absorb certain wavelengths of light and transmit what remains, which gives most butterflies their lovely color patterns. Some scales are shaped to allow light to bounce off minute films and ridges in the surface. Most often this produces the iridescent effect. Certainly is amazing!

Sincere thanks for commenting, I do appreciate your visit and always enjoy hearing from you! :) Gail

Such a lovely critique David, I do appreciate your take on this composition, sincere thanks, Gail

The butterfly in the back was a separate layer, I erased parts of the image that I did not need and tried different blending modes and opacities to see which one looked the best. I was surprised it showed up so well. Yes, handholding is difficult, but I have learned it takes practice. I should have practiced more before our trip. A lot of the time it is not 'holding the camera still' but I have a lot of pain in my lower back (old war wound-Gymnastics). I have to avoid bending much at the waist. I finally gave up gardening even though I love it. If I do much of that I am in terrible pain and cannot move for the rest of the day, so this summer I didn't do very much at all and I did much better. I guess we should listen to our bodies more often.

Sincere thanks for your visit! kind regards, Gail

I looked up that Conservatory online and found it, even watched a U Tube Video, it is in the town of Oneonta, NY. Looked very interesting! Perhaps one time when we visit NY State we may visit it. It is much smaller than the place Luisa, Jim  and I visited, but they have some beautiful butterflies and other animals. Thank you for expressing your appreciation for this image Holger, and for dropping by!!

sincere regards, Gail

thank you so much for sharing your thoughts Tim, you SAW what I was trying to convey! "A World Of Their Own', while not animated but still not photographs as they should be if posting under 'Macro or Insects'. I enjoy this kind of artistic work.

a lovely compliment, sincere thanks, Gail

Thank you both for those lovely comments, I truly appreciate your visits!!! kind regards, Gail

this a wonderful idea and a wonderfully done good job gail

Hello there, many thanks for dropping by Tim, glad you enjoyed this one!! I enjoyed working on it very much Tim.

talk again soon, Gail

Lovely and colorful composition. I particularly like the texture of the sunrays!

Hi Gail,

  Beautiful creative image with wonderful clarity, colors & details.  Take care, Patsy

You bring a world of reality and fantasy seamlessly together as indeed you also do with photography and art! 

Delightful creativity! 

Warm Regards 

Alf