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Summer love


Summer love
Photo Information
Copyright: Valerie Schnepp (valy67) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1409 W: 53 N: 1929] (5768)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2006-07-30
Categories: Insects
Camera: Canon 350D, Canon EF 18mm-55mm f/3.5 - f/5.6
Photo Version: Original Version
Theme(s): Butterflies in love., papillon en europe [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2006-07-31 1:54
Viewed: 1544
Favorites: 1 [view]
Points: 92
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
I found a very interesting meadow, with lots of Swallowtails - I think there are 2 couples of them. So I went there yesterday, braving a 40°C heat, dreaming about wonderful Swallowtail photos, already thinking about sharing them on TN. :-) I made a dozen of photos but when I came home I saw that they were blurry... all of them... I was so disappointed !
But I had lots of other shots, butterflies, bees, grasshopper, moths... This couple of Common Blue was so busy that they didn't notice me, I could take some nice shots of them. They are almost as beautiful as a swallowtail ! :-)

Common Blue (Polyommatus icarius)

Class : Insects
Order : lepidoptera
Family : Lycaenidae

The common blue is the most widespread of the blue butterflies in Britain, and as the name suggests, it is one of the most common butterflies in Europe. The males are a striking bluish-violet colour, but females are brown with orange spots near the margins of the wings. In both sexes, the undersides of the wings are greyish brown with blackish spots and orange crescents towards the margins of the wings. The caterpillar has a stout body, which tapers towards the tips. The head is black and the body is green. A darker green line bordered with white passes along the centre of the back. There is also a whitish-green line along the sides.

The range of this species extends throughout Europe, North Africa and in temperate parts of Asia. Occurs in a wide range of grassy habitats where the foodplants occur. The main foodplant is common bird’s foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), although other trefoils, clovers (Trifolium) and related plants may be used. This species tends to be found in sunny, sheltered areas, and typical habitats include downland, woodland clearings, coastal dunes, road verges, golf courses, cemeteries and occasionally gardens.

The eggs are laid singly on the foodplants and take around a week to hatch. Caterpillars take around 6 weeks to become fully developed. Second brood caterpillars overwinter when partly grown, and complete their development during the following year. Pupation occurs either at the base of the foodplant or amongst litter on the ground and adult butterflies emerge after around two weeks.

In common with many other species of blue butterflies, the caterpillars of the common blue are attractive to ants when they are fully grown. The pupae are also attractive to ants and are often carried away into ant nests.

red45, pablominto, blakitan, jmp, ramthakur, manyee, ddg, jcoowanitwong, cas_orla, TAZ, coasties, dew77, jeanpaul, scottevers7, sandpiper2, SkyF, honza, Silke, eruyanik, liquidsunshine, wallhalla15, marhowie, Friday, peter_stoeckl, firelord, aido, snowfalken, Christopher_PL, RAP, Gudule, nainnain, mikou, RII, izler, alenka has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • red45 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2841 W: 75 N: 8090] (27431)
  • [2006-07-31 2:17]

Bonjour Valerie!
Great news that you finally found your Swallowtails! Don't worry - next time you'll catch them :-) These Common Blues are really common last days :-) I like moment and composition, very nice colours and details. Excellent macro my friend!

Hi Valerie,
This is a beautiful composition including two beautiful subjects! And your photography does them full justice... Very nice work!
The wings are so silky soft yet crisp, great details and fine natural colours...
Excellent DOF and well framed!
Greetings,
Pablo -

  • Great 
  • jmp Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1836 W: 94 N: 2341] (8407)
  • [2006-07-31 2:52]

Hola Valerie,
Has capturado esta pareja de mariposas con excelentes detalles, un color natural y un punto de vista a su misma altura. La flor queda bien y el fondo está perfectamente eliminado. Una foto muy conseguida.
Un saludo, José M.

  • Great 
  • manyee Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3119 W: 236 N: 5956] (20112)
  • [2006-07-31 2:57]

That's a beautiful shot, Valerie.
I love the rich colors, and thebeautiful compositon.
The DOF is excellent. Great POV and focus.
Wonderful moment captured.
TFS. : )

  • Great 
  • ddg Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 889 W: 23 N: 946] (5061)
  • [2006-07-31 3:11]

Bonjour Valerie, vous n'avez pas perdu à l'échange !! ces Common blue sont "very busy" comme vous dites et le temps de pose peut être long!! Bien belle composition et super piqué. L'harmonie de couleurs (plante, insects, BG) est parfaite et la comparaison mâle /femelle de ces Polyommatus icarus est facile. Félicitations, Didier.

Hi Valerie,
Superbly capturing this mating process. Greatly composed. Sharp and clear.

Ben Lakitan

Hi Valerie,
Superb picture. Sharp and clearly seen. Composition, pov, dof are great. Sorry for blurry swallowtail pictures. They are fast moving butterly and very difficult to have a clear shot.
JC

  • Great 
  • TAZ Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2385 W: 50 N: 3170] (10926)
  • [2006-07-31 4:53]

Ces sacrés papillons nous font parfois tourner en bourrique ;-) Par contre ces deux amoureux sont bien mis en valeur dans ce cliché de toute beauté. Compliments Valérie !

Hi Valerie,
Very impressive. Good timing!I think you were very lucky. Superb shot. TFS.
Regards.
Fevzi

Bello scatto Valerie!
Ottimi dettagli e colori stupendi, brava!
Ciao.
Franco

p.s. I punti più tardi

Hi Valerie

Congratulations on a very well composed shot. Excellent clear details, perfect POV and good depth of colour. Top quality work. :-)

Excellent comopsition with these lovely mating butterflies, Valerie.
Great POV, DOF, colours and sharpness.
TFS.

  • Great 
  • dew77 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 4964 W: 298 N: 4027] (13131)
  • [2006-07-31 7:10]

Hello Valerie,
Very nice capture.POV,colors,clear details,framing,blurred BG and composition are wonderful.
TFS...:-)

  • Great 
  • pvs Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1159 W: 255 N: 2639] (11925)
  • [2006-07-31 7:17]

Hi Valerie,

Sorry to hear concerning the swallowtails,but this shot is a excellent posting wit very nice colors,good POV and DOF,I like it a lot,well done and TFS,

Paul

Bonjour Valerie
Très joli ce macro, les détails et les contrastes sont réussis très jolis couleurs
et beau BG
Bravo et merci JP

Hi Valerie,
This is an excellent shot. Beautiful soft light and great color saturation. Very sharp detail with perfect DOF. They say summer romances never last! Excellent work here.
Scott

Good shot, shows the difference between male and female well.
Good composition, sharpness and POV.
Well executed shot.

  • Great 
  • SkyF Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2390 W: 194 N: 1991] (8113)
  • [2006-07-31 8:00]

Bonjour Valerie,
tres jolie image. Beautiful double pack. A wonderful composition. Excellent POV and DOF. Colors details and light are lovely.
TFS..Sky

Hello Valerie, excllent work, Great colors, g, POV DOF perfect details, excllent work, TFS Kyle

  • Great 
  • honza Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 542 W: 0 N: 678] (4051)
  • [2006-07-31 8:48]

Excellent photo of the pair. Perfect composition, clear details and beautiful colors. TFS

  • Great 
  • Silke Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 753 W: 108 N: 1730] (5406)
  • [2006-07-31 9:32]

This is truly superb: a wondrous capture with great sharpness, colours, composition and all. TFS
Silke

Belle "position" pour ces deux Common blue aux couleurs harmonieuses. Très jolie composition, Valérie et excellente lumière
Amicalement
JJ

  • Great 
  • Graal Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Silver Note Writer [C: 787 W: 31 N: 20] (5002)
  • [2006-08-01 3:24]

Hi Valerie,
great shot, good cpatured b-flies, nice colours and DOF. I like this work a lot.
Rgs, Aleksander

Un classique, mais tres bien execute, avec une lumiere parfaite et une mise au point irreprochable. J'aime aussi la composition et les fleurs en degrade de flou a l'arriere plan donnent une troisieme dimension a l'image.
Good work

Hello Valérie,
Great focusing and sharpness both of them, it's hard to take it sometimes. pov is true and bg is wonderful as always from you. These are really beautiful, i like the blue part of the male one's wing especially. Hey no matter for swallowtails, i think you can revisit that meadowland :-)
Greetings,
Ersin

Excellent capture Valerie,
You're getting superb results with your camera
The details are nice, clear and sharp.
Good colours, lighting and exposure. DOF is spot on and the POV is good.
Well composed, good notes and nicely framed.
Thanks for posting, have a great week my friend.

Congrats Valerie,
this is a fantastic butterfly shot. Excellent POV, great colours, sharpness and composition. Thank you for posting.
Gr.
Heinz

Hello Valerie,
Excellent shot of this pair.
Very good DOF, to pull them both in nicely.
Perfect light, color, POV, and framing.
Sharp details, and well seen from this BG.
Very well done!

ah! so fantastic !!!! Congratulations, now you are aunt ;o)

Hello Valerie,
pretty, well composed shot with excellent colours and details. Good story in your notes!
My own experiences with swallowtails: I never get them when I go for them on purpose.
But sometimes I catch one in good order when I would never have expected to see one.
With thanks, and best regards,
Peter

  • Great 
  • aido Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1095 W: 169 N: 1218] (4046)
  • [2006-08-02 7:28]

Hi Valerie,
I think the Blue is as beautiful as a Swallowtail, it's also my favourite Butterfly :-) It's a beautiful shot, excellent light and exposure, great details and colours. Good DOF, just a little noise in the background. Great work!
Regards,
Adrian

Excellent capture of this magnificent butterflies! Very good composition and POV! The colors look bright and natural and contrast is nice! Great use of DOF! From my experience I know getting sharp butterfly photos is difficult, especially on cloudy and windy days. But you did a wonderful job with these two lovers. Congratulations and TFS!

Regards,
Eddie

Hi Valerie
Very good coloura and composition.
The sharpness is also perfect - I very like this picture.

Chris

  •      
  • RAP Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2524 W: 345 N: 2373] (7405)
  • [2006-08-03 17:25]

Había perdido esta bella imagen... perdón!
Excelente captura, por su composición, por su colorido, por un acertado y exacto DOF con sólo F3.5de apertura.
Agradable composición con atinado recorte.
Gracias por compartirla con nosotros.
Saludos cordiales... Ricardo

Oops... :) mañana.

  • Great 
  • Gudule Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor [C: 248 W: 11 N: 288] (1204)
  • [2006-08-03 20:54]

Eh bien, Valérie, vous vous êtes vraiment reprise avec celle-ci.
Le sujet est encore plus intéressant, plus «vivant» et est présenté avec un beau contraste, pas choquant du tout pour le regard en observation.
La somme des détails est impressionnante. Et les couleurs sont d'une douceur, merveilleuse. Très belle lumière en plus.
Bravo. Dans mes favorites immédiatement.

JN.

Hello Valerie,
Lovely post! The picture has very good quality, nice natural colours and good framing. I very much like the POV too.
Great job!

Hi Valerie,

A very nice picture. Great pose! :-) The composition, colours, BG and frame is perfect. Well done.

Jan-Hendrik

hello Valerie!...this is a nice shot,great colours,sharpness and composition...well done...TFS,
Regards

This one looks like a shot out from an harc cover book :)
Such amazing colors and composition.
Very well done.
Thanks for sharing.
My best regards,

Filipe.

Hi Valerie,
Superb shot!!!Great macro... Excellent composition with very good sharpness and very good details.TFS.Hilmi.

bonsoir valeri
magnifique cette photo, très belles couleurs très nettes, belle composition
bravo amitiès
edith

  • Great 
  • mikou Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 863 W: 73 N: 1348] (5265)
  • [2006-10-19 14:01]

Hi Valerie.
Really excellent moment you caught.Symmetry is almost perfect.Beautiful colours and light,perfect background.All already said friends before me.May I only congratulate and thank you for sharing.Pleasant shot!!
Greetings Milos.

  • Great 
  • RII Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 491 W: 0 N: 889] (2810)
  • [2006-11-12 1:14]

Hi Valerie.

Wonderful composition, excellente pose ,point of view, colors ,contrast, details, sharpness and note, is a beautiful capture and presentation.

Saludos....RICARDO.

Vous maitrisez votre appareil comme une deesse... Je raffole de vos images!

Belle photo,de ces papillons très jolis. Amitiés Thomas

  • Great 
  • izler Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1383 W: 88 N: 955] (9194)
  • [2007-02-01 15:34]

hello Valerie
here is beautiful two butterflies and nice couple photo. i like composition, point of view, background, colours, sharpness and details
thanks for sharing
regards
izler

  • Great 
  • deud Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 499 W: 2 N: 466] (2169)
  • [2008-06-27 8:12]

beautiful! amzing shot and close-up! fantastic focus and composition. tfs

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