Butterflies in flight

[kanonka]

Thanks to everybody for thoughtful insights! Seems like I will try some other Nikon lens next time.

 

[Drbobcameraguy]

I had to smile reading this. I tried Butterflies last fall. Ended up photographing them perched on flowers. Even that was challenging. I never knew which direction they were going to go, they change direction mid-flight, no telling how long they are going to stay stationary, or which way they will face. They make Birds in flight childs play. I'm really looking forward to getting my flower planted this spring and giving it another shot..

Plant a butterfly bush. We have a couple and they attract butterflies and moths like nothing else. They have a purple flower that is long as smells very good. They are a perennial and require no maintaining.

 

[macwalter]

I shoot butterflies in my garden where we have flowers that attract them. Many swallowtails flap rapidly and don’t ever stop their wings. So I try to get perpendicular and wait for them to get eye level and shoot a fast shutter speed stopping down to f8 or 9 or so using the 100-400mm lens. I sue a medium sized image area with no eye detection and shoot 20fps. It’s hit and miss but eventually you will get a good wing angle. I also don’t try to get too close for better DOF.

 

[Bevan]

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[Bevan]

View attachment 108237

Thanks buddy.

 

[Robert Hart]

In flight is too difficult and time consuming. Fortunately, these marvelous creatures tend to unfold their wings when perched on a flower giving us what we need to capture worthy images. The trick is to find the right butterfly on the right flower with the right background. Time consuming but the search takes us to incredible places where we get to be in nature and try to create an image that will allow others to connect to what we are seeing.

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[SteveReid]

My results of photographing butterflies in flight:

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Probably, I would again use D850 for that kind of pictures.
But to be honest, I liked the other pictures of mine where the butterfly is sitting between blooms and not flying. It would be great to get two of them in one frame in flight but ... it is a very difficult subject.

I use the 300MM PF F4 on my Z8 and I love it.

 

[RLM]

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Difficult but not impossible. Got these Gulf Fritillaries using the ‘pick your plant/focus point and wait for the butterflies to come to it’ approach. Does require a lot of
the cardinal rule of wildlife photography … patience.

 

[macwalter]

Actually if you watch them on a flower you can time it to shooot as they lift off. I try to position myself such that they lift off upwards or to the side but not flying away. You need good light to shoot at a fast shutter speed but not as fast as you might think. I’ve had good results with shutter speeds as low as 1600 sec. Faster is better. Stop down a little if can,especially if you’re close.

 

[Jadiehl]

My results of photographing butterflies in flight:

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Probably, I would again use D850 for that kind of pictures.
But to be honest, I liked the other pictures of mine where the butterfly is sitting between blooms and not flying. It would be great to get two of them in one frame in flight but ... it is a very difficult subject.

Nicely done!

 

[Jadiehl]

A fast focussing long lens is your best bet to get these erratic flyers in flight, the 105mm is just too short.
In the past I have used the old 200mm macro and 200-500mm but on the z system I am using 180-600mm
Without subject detection the lens did battle to focus on subject and as a result I have changed over to single point.

When I get another opportunity I will try 3D and will also use f6.3/7.1 in stead of f10, with 1/3000 and hopefully the iso will be within acceptable range.


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Super!

 

[Jadiehl]

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Difficult but not impossible. Got these Gulf Fritillaries using the ‘pick your plant/focus point and wait for the butterflies to come to it’ approach. Does require a lot of
the cardinal rule of wildlife photography … patience.

Cool Shots!

 

[macwalter]

I like my 400 f4.5 as it is faster with better iso but I’m sure the 186 would work well. The 600pf is a bit long on close focus.

 

[Skues]

I photograph flying insects regularly. I use Z8/Z9 with 100-400. It's extremely sharp up to ca 320mm. I tried subject recognition but it doesn't work with insects, at all. My current go to method is 3D tracking with PreCapture. I focus on stationary insect, wait until the bug flies to press shutter button, trying to keep the bug in the frame for as long as I can. You need to consider proper focal length, shutter speed (1/1600-1/8000) and aperture - f8 works for me in most cases. You can't expect a lot of sharp pictures in each burst, but you'll get some if you've practised a little. The light is main problem or rather dynamic range when photographing light coloured insects against darker backgrounds around noon. Overcast days are best.
Since last summer I also use Olympus gear for flying insect which has better ProCapture feature and 40-150 f/2.8 zoom has been excellent for that kind of work.

 

[macwalter]

I use the same lens or the 400 f4.5 depending. I don’t have pre capture in raw but I don’t find I really need it.

 

[Jbear]

Like Eric, my choice is the older 300 f4 AFS, but I also enjoy using, and have success with the Sigma 180 2.8 OS macro...both often with 1.4s.

 

[macwalter]

When I shot dslr I used the 300pf f4 a lot. It was great for insects with such a close focus and speed.