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The Gatekeeper ;)


The Gatekeeper ;)
Photo Information
Copyright: Alan Turvey (liquidsunshine) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2049 W: 113 N: 3422] (11474)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2006-07-21
Categories: Insects
Camera: Canon EOS 20D, Sigma 50-500mm f/4-6.3 EX APO RF, Hoya skylight (1B)
Exposure: f/7.1, 1/250 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2006-08-11 13:49
Viewed: 1147
Points: 44
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
This is not a Meadow Brown as I originally stated but a Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus).

Thanks to Peter (Batu) for providing the correct ID.

Whipsnade had added a small butterfly garden this year, so small, I very nearly walked right by.

I had only intended to get a few bird, lion and monkey shots on this day, so didn't have much in the way of lens selection with me. Walking through the small butterfly garden armed with the bigma wasn't very easy. It might take some time to grow back!!!!

The Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) sometimes called the Hedge Brown is a common butterfly in the United Kingdom. It is a member of the subfamily Satyrinae in the family Nymphalidae. A similar species is the Meadow Brown.

The name Gatekeeper may refer to its frequent occurrence near field gates and to the man who was responsible for the toll gates in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries when butterflies were more numerous than they are today.

The larvae of Satyrinae all feed on grasses and are usually green or brown in colour. The pupae either hang upside down or lie in a flimsy cocoon on grass. The adults are often found round blackberry plants. The adult butterflies have a quite short proboscis and the flowers of the blackberry being quite shallow provide an excellent nectar source. The characteristic eyespots ocelli on the forewing are supposed to lure attacking birds away from the head. The males often have a dark patch of scent scales in the middle of the forewing for courtship purposes. This dark patch is clearly visible in the male Gatekeeper.

Two similar species of Pyronia are found in southern Europe, the southern and the Spanish Gatekeeper, P. cecilia and P. bathsheba.

Notes from Wikipedia

Thanks for looking, have a great weekend.


Model: Canon EOS 20D
Exposure Time: 1/250 sec
Exposure setting: Normal
Exposure compensation: -0.7
F-Stop: f/7.1
ISO Speed Ratings: 100
Focal Length: 191/1 mm
Date Taken: 2006-07-21 @ 11:55
Metering Mode: Average
Flash: No
Support: Handheld
Weather conditions: Sunny and Hot, Hot, Hot

Raw file processed using Rawshooter premium.
Resized, framed and minor adjustments using photoshop CS.
claudine, sAner, marhowie, horia, Dando, mbasil, coasties, ellis49, valy67, SkyF, hester, Signal-Womb, wallhalla15, dew77 has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To batu: Gatekeeperliquidsunshine 2 08-12 02:56
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Critiques [Translate]

Hello Alan, excllent colors, bg, POV DOF perfect lighting and exposure excllent work, TFS Kyle

Hi Alan,
This is a very good composition with great details and colors! We can almost feel the texture of its wings! Wow! I think you did really great even if you didn’t have the lens you wanted. Great job! So, it' still hot in UK, here, summer seems to be ending soon, today it's only 20 degrees...brrr. TFS,
Claudine

  • Great 
  • sAner Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1654 W: 79 N: 1456] (4742)
  • [2006-08-11 14:32]

Excellent shot Alan. The colors are great and I like the composition a lot too. Focus is extremely sharp and exposure is spot on. I like the low POV aswell. Well done & TFS!

Regards,
Pieter

  • Great 
  • batu Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 988 W: 282 N: 3228] (10674)
  • [2006-08-11 16:00]
  • [+]

Hallo Alan,
your picture evokes a late-summer impression with the dark green of the leafs and the brown colour of the butterly. Composition and light are pretty good. The species shown, however, is

-- Pyronia tithonus (the gatekeeper)
-- family: Nymphalidae
-- sufamily: Satyrinae
-- tribe: Maniolini

Best wishes,
Peter

Hello Alan,
Crisp sharp detail, great DOF isolating the b-fly in the frame well. I think the composition works nicely here also. Excellent use of ambient light to produce great natural colortones...
Let me know when you two settle on the ID ;))
Very well done and have a Great Weekend.

  • Great 
  • Dando Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 643 W: 32 N: 790] (3052)
  • [2006-08-11 17:19]

Hi Alan, I like the lighting on this one and the way the main leaf has curled with the Gatekeeper resting on it. Excellent natural colours and very well composed. Great work and TFS.
Dean.

  • Great 
  • mbasil Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 339 W: 146 N: 689] (2993)
  • [2006-08-11 21:03]

I really like the repetition between the shape of the fg leaf and the butterfly's wing. Great lighting and great detail, too. I'm really digging those little haris on this dude. I like the WS but go back and forth on whether I think it would look a bit better with a tighter vertical crop. But hey, it's your picture, man! Have a zoo-ey weekend!
Mike

Hi Alan

Beautiful butterfly. Excellent quality shot showing excellent clear detail. :-)

  • Great 
  • horia Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2044 W: 212 N: 3655] (12162)
  • [2006-08-12 6:17]

Hi Alan

A very beautiful post with such a calm and warm feeling.
Excellently composed, this picture has great light, lovely colors, very sharp details, nice POV and a very good DOF.
Very well done, my friend!
Have a splendid weekend
TFS
Horia

Hi Alan,
you have captured this close-up well with your long zoom.
Lovely colours, good details and well composed.
Well done.

  • Great 
  • osse Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1029 W: 0 N: 90] (7655)
  • [2006-08-12 6:50]

Hi Alan
Good shot and composition. Great colours, sharones, light, details and POV.
Well done mf

osse

Hi Alan !
These little butterflies are everywherein my garden,they are very beautiful. I love composition and POV of this photo very much, and the details as well as the textures on the butterfly are excellent. Beautiful color and light. Very well done !
Valérie.

  • Great 
  • Graal Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Silver Note Writer [C: 788 W: 31 N: 20] (4998)
  • [2006-08-13 3:14]

Hi Alan,
good shot, very nice macro, interesting note. I like the colours and composition also. Well done photo.
Gr., Aleksander

  • Great 
  • SkyF Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2390 W: 194 N: 1991] (8113)
  • [2006-08-13 8:25]

Hello Alan,
very nice composition. Sharpness, POV and light are excellent.
Lovely work.
TFS..Sky

  • Great 
  • hester Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1468 W: 18 N: 2961] (10860)
  • [2006-08-13 13:07]

I love the composition and POV of this shot. Lovely colours and details too

Another very nice capture with interesting POV and composition. There is a different look to your macros this year. Very well done.

Nice one! The lighting is perfect on this one Alan. The butterfly looks like it's just kicking back enjoying the Sun's rays. :)

Excellent shot Alan, great lighting, details and sharpness, nice bg and contrast. Great colours and composition too. Very well done, thanks for sharing.
Gr.
Heinz

Hi Alan
I was surprised by the lens you used for this shot, then even more surprised that it was taken in the Whipsnade butterfly garden! there's not enough room to swing a cat, let alone a 500mm lens!!
It's a great shot, fantastically sharp, and it makes a pleasant change to see some background detail instead of the usual blur.

  • Great 
  • jossim Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1676 W: 5 N: 2144] (11868)
  • [2006-08-16 10:06]

Bonjour Alan!

Bravo pour la netteté,les couleurs et la beauté du papillon.

Merci.
joseph

  • Great 
  • Aramok Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 923 W: 99 N: 1396] (4795)
  • [2006-08-16 16:02]

lovely clear and crisp image of the gatekeeper here - you can always tell them from the flight pattern (the meadow brown has a strange flight patten) and if they fly, the gatekeeper has 4 orange patches inside, the meadow brown only 2.

great composition BTW.

TFS
Emma

  • Great 
  • dew77 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5171 W: 297 N: 4050] (13069)
  • [2006-08-31 3:38]

Hello Alan,
Excellent macro.Crisp clear details,lighting,sharpness,POV and composition are wonderful.
TFS...:-)

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