Papilio Cresphontes

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Papilio Cresphontes
Photo Information
Copyright: Angelina Deans (angybone) Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1167 W: 11 N: 2264] (7194)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2007-07-19
Categories: Insects
Camera: OLYMPUS E-500, Olympus Zuiko 40-150 f3.5-5.6
Exposure: f/4.5, 1/1000 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Map: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Travelogue: The Butterfly Farm
Theme(s): Beautiful Butterflies Part Two [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2007-07-28 5:31
Viewed: 1161
Favorites: 5 [view]
Points: 94
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Attributes of Papilio cresphontes
Family: Parnassians and Swallowtails (Papilionidae)
Subfamily: Swallowtails (Papilioninae)

I used a high shutter speed because this little guy was very very "flittery." The lighting however was quite low so the photo is a little dark. I tried to photoshop but didn't like the results so I only upped the brightness a tad and a little contrast and called it good.

I have a couple of these posted in my gallery from earlier in the summer. So instead of scientific fact, I turned to legend and myth again:

The Papago American Indian Butterfly Legend
One day the Creator was resting, sitting, watching some children playing in a village. The children laughed and sang, yet as he watched them, the Creator's heart was sad. He was thinking: "These children will grow old. Their skin will become wrinkled. Their hair will turn gray. Their teeth will fall out. The young hunters arm will fail. The lovely young girls will grow ugly and fat. The playful puppies will become blind, mangy dogs. And those wonderful flowers - yellow, red, blue, and purple - will fade. The leaves from the trees will fall and dry up. Already they are turning yellow." Thus the Creator grew sadder and sadder. It was in the Fall, and the thought of the coming winter, with its cold and lack of game and green things, made his heart heavy.

Yet it was still warm and the sun was shining. The Creator watched the play of sunlight and shadow on the ground, the yellow leaves being carried here and there by the wind. He saw the blueness of the sky, the whiteness of some cornmeal ground by the women. Suddenly he smiled. "All those colors, they ought to be preserved. I'll make something to gladden my heart, something for these children to look at and enjoy."

The Creator took out his bag and started gathering things: a spot of sunlight, a handful of blue from the sky, the whiteness of the cornmeal, the shadow of playing children, the blackness of a beautiful girls hair, the yellow of the falling leaves, the green of the pine needles, the red , purple, and orange of the flowers around him. All these he put into his bag. As an afterthought, he put the songs of the birds in too.

Then he walked over to the grassy spot where the children were playing. "Children, little children, this is for you," and he gave them his bag. "Open it; there is something nice inside," he told them. The children opened the bag, and at once hundreds and hundreds of colored butterflies flew out, dancing around the children's heads, settling on their hair, fluttering up again to sip from this or that flower. And the children, enchanted, said that they had never seen anything so beautiful. The butterflies began to sing and the children listened smiling.

But then a songbird came flying, settling on the creators shoulder, scolding him, saying: "It's not right to give our song to these new, pretty things. You told us when you made us that every bird would have his own song. And now you've passed them all around. Isn't it enough that you gave them all the colors of the rainbow?"

"You're right," said the Creator. "I made one song for each bird, and I shouldn't have taken what belongs to you." So the Creator took the songs away from the butterflies, and that's why they are silent. "They are beautiful even so!" he said.
from http://www.entomon.net/indian-butterfly-legends-and-poems.htm
loot, haraprasan, juanit, GLEM, lovenature, eqshannon, mayuresh, marhowie, Argus, ramthakur, jaycee, gracious, jmirah, mikou, nglen, oscarromulus, jpinkham, gypsygirl58, Kathleen, Ken52, kjpweb, PaulH, uleko, Silke, lawhill, Little-white, go2stones, valy67, ridvan, dew77, writerscrawlz, Luis52, parthasarathi, mjaniceanne has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

Hi Angelina
Another perfect capture.Wonderful composition.POV and DOF.THe red flower really makes the butterfly stand out.Lovely detail
and colours.
TFS
Anita

Hi Angelina,
Now this is a capture. Fabulous. Excellent composition, POV and Details. I love the color composition a lot. Thanks a lot for sharing.

  • Great 
  • loot Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5633 W: 594 N: 3201] (8695)
  • [2007-07-28 5:50]
  • [2]

Hi Angelina

You absolutely nailed this guy with the high shutter speed. There is no evidence of its "fluttery" disposition. And of course the black butterfly on the intense red flower and with the OOF green and brown BG gives it ample visual stimulus.

Although the aperture was rather large which made for a pretty shallow DOF you actually managed to capture lovely details of the insect. The colour rendition is excellent and the overall exposure levels were well controlled. Great notes as well.

Very well done and TFS.
Regards
Loot

You caught the perfect position of this butterfly, dead-center on the flower. I agree with all the other people posting comments.

Congratulations on a wonderful shot.

  • Great 
  • GLEM Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 534 W: 87 N: 667] (5476)
  • [2007-07-28 6:00]

bonjour Angelina,
magnifique image aux couleurs intenses. La fleur rouge se marie bien avec le noir. Excellent pov.

tfs
gl

Hi Angelina
Wow! I love the colour of the Swallowtail against the deep orange flowers. A nice compliment of colour. I don't think the image is to dark. The brightness adjustment must have worked. This is beautiful.
TFS Janice

Wow..do I love stories like that. They make your fine picture come alive. And perfect, almost, symmetry in wings and flora. WEll done Angel of Butterflies!

Bob

Hi Angelina,
An excellent shot and marvellous colours,superb pov and composition.
thanks for intresting note.
very well done.
TFS.
mayuresh.

Hi Angelina,
What a great shot,
The colours are so vibrent and the butterfly really stands out on the red flower in the BG.
TFS
Jemima

Hi Angelina,
Beautiful colors and great exposure. Good DOF, would like to see just weeny bit more though. I like the POV also. These are fast movers and seldom rest, so the high s-speed is a good move :)
Well done!
Howard

Angelina,

Great capture of this butterfly. Beautiful colors.
Great framing.

TFS

fototab

  •      
  • Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2413 W: 132 N: 6649] (20861)
  • [2007-07-28 7:27]

Hello Angy,
Well presented Giant Swallowtail: mostly sharp and well composed on the red flower. the focussing and timing are superb.
TFS and have a good weekend!
Ivan

An astoundingly beautiful composition with the butterfly perched primly atop a red flower.
Well done and thanks for sharing this picture, Angelina.

  • Great 
  • jaycee Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1675 W: 8 N: 4021] (13255)
  • [2007-07-28 7:59]

Hi Angy,

Is that a gorgeous looking butterfly! The colors are magnificent and the wing pattern is just beautiful. I love the black and gold on the bright red flower. Can't get a prettier picture than this.

Jane

Hello Angelina,
Beautiful butterfly with marvelous colors, wonderful POV and composition..Great posing!.. Well done

Everton.

Hi Angelina,
Very nice composition with great colors and sharpness, thanks for sharing
Jean-Michel

  • Great 
  • mikou Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 903 W: 79 N: 1362] (5261)
  • [2007-07-28 11:12]

Hi Agelina.
Beautiful colorful picture.This not easy capture of this butterfly did you coped amazingly.I like his position on flower and fantastic combination of very well saturated colors.Great composition with nice your POV and details.Superb done.
TFS,with greeting Milos.

  • Great 
  • jmirah Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 436 W: 5 N: 901] (3574)
  • [2007-07-28 11:24]

Very brilliant dynamic vivid color...At first I thought it was wearing a cowboy hat...Outstanding framing of the...?...You didn't give the common name...butterfly with the flower...Excellent POV and exposure...TFS

Jim

Striking black on red image Angelina.
Beautifully captured and composed.
TFS
Richard

  • Great 
  • Mana Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1687 W: 20 N: 4738] (15476)
  • [2007-07-28 11:38]

Hi Angelina,
Splendid shot of this beautiful butterfly and your higher shutter speed worked wonders here to capture it in this pose. Lovely colour tones and sharp details. The orange flower adds brightness to the shot and makes it look majestic. Excellent POV and a superb composition. You have made me see a lot of new species. Thank you.
TFS.
Sumon

  • Great 
  • nglen Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1864 W: 2 N: 4738] (18250)
  • [2007-07-28 14:16]

Hi Angelina.What a excellent shot ot he butterfly. the detail and colours are spot on.very nice POV from the top/DOF. very well done TFS . good notes too.
Nick..

This is truely GOOD; no not good. I'm lying. Angelina, this is EXCELLENT.
And, the notes are OUTSTANDINGLY GREAT too.
Best regards from Calgary.
P.S. Tried to W/S it to encrease exposure on the right side. Did not work for me. The butterfly loses its 'luster'. It is GREAT in 'as is' situation.

Angelina, it seems you have a penchant for butterflies of late -- which is just fine because you're giving us all a workshop in how to do them. In this case, your colors are regal, your positioning of the buttefly -- especially the petal centered within the antennae -- so perfect you couldn't have scripted or manipulated it better. Your sharpness is solid, your background controlled, and you tell an engaging tale to boot! Wow!

Hello Angelina,
What a great composition!
In particular I'm impressed how you make the flower work as background to enhance the butterfly, very well done!
Lovely colours & details, of course...
Greetings,
Pablo -

Good ate3ntion to the speed. That probably helped in making it so clear. I sure like the overall compo with it centered on the flower.
The darkness did not seem to interfere with the details on flower or butterfly.
TFS

Hello friend Angy,
Awesome shot with best pov!
the beautiful butterfly on top of the red flowers, what is amazing contrast to show more on your excellent composition!
very well done indeed!
cheers
Tony

Hi Angelina,
Beautiful image! The butterfly is stunning against the red of the flower! Excellent sharpness and details and POV. Well done and TFS Cheers Tina :-)

Hi Angelina.
Beautiful image of him on this red flower. The petals surrounding him really show him off. Wonderful detail and colour.

Kathleen
New Zealand

hi angelina,
this is a beautiful capture, nice colours and lovely contrast, excellent pov, well composed shot,
well done,
tfs & regards
pankaj

Hi Angy
Vary nice job on a another Great capture of a very colorful Butterfly.
Well Done, TFS
Tom

  • Great 
  • Ken52 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 661 W: 98 N: 1202] (4017)
  • [2007-07-29 12:18]

Beautiful shot. Nice open wing display of butterfly and such an intense red flower. Some good details in both flower and butterfly.

  • Great 
  • kjpweb Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 367 W: 86 N: 1084] (4788)
  • [2007-07-29 13:43]

Wow! Although he'll be probably miffed - you called the Giant Swallowtail a "little guy". :) Wonderful composition against the red of the flower! Top notch, Angy! Cheers, Klaus

  • Great 
  • PaulH Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 980 W: 17 N: 2559] (9440)
  • [2007-07-30 6:41]

Hi Angelina,
i guess everything's been said about this image already so i will just add that i love it! It's very striking. I've just had a look through your gallery - most impressive.
tfs
Paul

  • Great 
  • uleko Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2295 W: 163 N: 6692] (21138)
  • [2007-07-30 9:26]

Hello Angelilna,
Fantastic butterfly beautifully captured on the bright red flower. Great POV, I like its pose and the details are pretty sharp.
TFS and best wishes, Ulla

  • Great 
  • Etka Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 102 W: 0 N: 60] (502)
  • [2007-07-30 11:02]

Witaj!
Wspaniala fotografia. Piekne ujecie. Rewelacyjne kolory i detale.
Gratuluje!

Etka

I thinking serious go to stonewall, may I can capture some of your beautiful hummingbirds,
butterfly’s...I only can shot water from the rain on this days down Florida..:-)
Perfect shot Angelina, sharp and colorful
well done, TFS. Best regards/Lawhill

Oh Angy, what a charming tale!
And this little friend, as all her sisters, posed in the best way for you. You have a magic hand with butterfly.
Regards,
Violetta

Very nice! I like the way the butterfly and flower are symmetrical. Good warm greens and browns for the background!

Looks like you've posted lots on great images during my vacation! I've got some catching up to do.

Reid

Hello Angelina !
What a splendid butterfly ! I love his markings and the shape of his wings ! And you have captured him perfectly ! Sharp details, vivid colors, wonderful composition and POV, beautiful pose of the butterfly, BG nicely blurred... The red flower really makes the butterfly stand out, the effect is gorgeous. Very well done !
Valerie.

  • Great 
  • Silke Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 745 W: 107 N: 1682] (5274)
  • [2007-07-31 4:22]

simply stunning colours and outstanding details -- all set off by a lovely composition
TFS
silke
:)

  • Great 
  • erve Silver Star Critiquer/Silver Note Writer [C: 37 W: 2 N: 23] (126)
  • [2007-07-31 6:25]

Really very nice colours and composition and soooo sharp. excellent capture.

tfs

ewan

selam angelina,wow an excellent shot and very good composition of this butterfly nice pov and bg with splendid colours. you did a great work my friend.
Well done ! Regards ridvan

  • Great 
  • dew77 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5171 W: 297 N: 4050] (13069)
  • [2007-07-31 7:49]

Hello Angelina,
Magnificent close up.POV,colors,contrast between butterfly and red flower,lighting,exposure and composition are wonderful.Excellent work!
TFS...:-)

Beautiful capture! I love the vivid colors, how they contrast with one another, the composition and the dof. This, for some reason, reminds me of the 'elegant lady' dressed up and on her way to some special function. This is a wonderful capture - very, very nicely done!

  • Great 
  • radz Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 609 W: 11 N: 598] (3157)
  • [2007-08-01 6:04]

Lovely shot ,with excellent POV&DETAILS.TFS!

  • Great 
  • Luis52 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1035 W: 5 N: 2718] (9902)
  • [2007-08-01 14:26]

Hola Angelina. I was out of city for a while, and when I come back look what I fond in your galery. "Pure Gold". I like your wonderful note to.
Luis52.

The colours of the Swallowtail against the deep orange flowers, is great like your story.

absolutly fascinating, an unbelievable POV and pose captured, artistic result :D
regards
jo

How did I miss this?! Wonderful shot, and I love your notes as ever

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