Photographing butterflies in the wild is an extremely challenging hobby, as one has to deal with problems of inadequate lighting, a very shallow depth of field and importantly, a subject that would not keep still long enough to be "shot". For a start, a beginner could try his hand at shooting something that will stay still for a good shot. This Notodontid caterpillar (moth), was an obliging subject and I could take my time to focus and compose the frame for an interesting nature shot.
I keep my equipment simple, as it is really cumbersome to carry a bagful of photographic paraphernalia in the forests. My faithful Nikons with their low power built-in flash unit are normally adequate for most situations. All the photos taken by me on this website were taken with the Nikon fitted with a Tokina 100mm macro lens (*see updates below). For smaller butterflies, I use an extension tube.
I started butterfly photography from scratch, learning as I went along. My first efforts ended up with "washed-out" shots as I had been using f4 and f5.6 for my shots. I had underestimated the power of even the small flash (even with TTL), as I was less than 0.5m away from the subject. Nowadays, I use f8 to f16 with ISO100 film, and the results are quite satisfactory. For lighter coloured butterflies in bright sunshine, an aperture of f22 is sometimes necessary. Dark coloured butterflies feeding on the forest understorey require a larger aperture - f5.6 to f8 for better results.
Many photographers prefer to use a tripod for greater stability, but
I prefer to travel light, with only one camera as my arsenal. After a tiring
jungle hike, it is likely that one finds it hard to keep his hands steady
for a good shot. That is why I use the flash without exception. Using a
single flash will illuminate the subject satisfactorily, but in dimly lit
situations, may end up with an unnatural black background. Some purists
will say that this is not the way to go for good nature photography, but
it's a matter of taste and preference.
Photographing butterflies is particularly difficult, unlike birds, which tend to keep still for longer periods. I normally choose locations where it is likely that the butterflies would be feeding, either on flowers or on damp seepages. In tropical climates, butterflies are also usually more lethargic in the cool morning air, and tend to spend more time sunning themselves to warm up their wings, as this female form-subrata of the Colour Sergeant (Athyma nefte subrata) was doing.
One has to approach the butterfly very cautiously without scaring it
away, and get close enough to fill at least 1/2 to 2/3 of the frame with
the subject. My 100mm macro lens will get me about 0.5m or closer to the
subject for a close-up shot. Butterflies of certain families are more "cooperative"
than others. For the Papilionidae, it is more likely that the average photographer
will get a chance to shoot them at a roadside seepage. Danainae butterflies
are most often taken when feeding at flowers, and when they stop to rest
at mid-day.
To increase my chances of getting a butterfly to stay still for a shot, I sometimes carry some fruit bait with me. The smell of rotting pineapples will draw several species within a few hours. The shot shown here has three Saturns (Zeuxidia amethystus amethystus) - one female and two males feeding greedily on the rotting pineapple. They were so busy feeding that they totally ignored me as I snapped shot after shot of them.
The Hesperiidae are also good "posers" if they are in the mood to stay still for a while. As they can fly very rapidly, a slight disturbance will see them shoot off in a zippy, leaving a perfectly-exposed crisply sharp photo of a leaf !
With a good dose of patience, luck and lots of persistence, the butterfly photographer will find capturing these beautiful creatures on film more rewarding than killing and collecting them.
Khew Sin Khoon - Mar 1998
| Update - Feb 1999 : I have since invested more cash in a second
camera body, a Nikon F70, a brand new Sigma 105EX macro lens which allows
up to 1:1 ratio without any attachments, a new Nikon SB28 flash and a TTL
ring-flash to help me get better shots.
The Sigma macro lens is a nature photographer's boon. Its lower price (compared with Nikon's micro 105mm lens) and its ability to get real close ups of 1:1 macro shots without the need to use extension tubes is just great! The smaller Lycaenids and Hesperiids are now not a problem. |
| Update - Dec 1999 : Another piece of equipment that I acquired recently was the Hewlett-Packard PhotoSmart S20 Slide Scanner. The resolution of the photographs on this website had taken a quantum leap since then. The sharpness and clarity of a dedicated slide scanner surpasses the best flatbed scanners around. It was money well spent! |
| Update - Jun 2000 : This hobby is getting expensive! More
upgrades over the past six months set me back quite a bit, but getting
my hands on a Nikkor 70-180 mm tele-macro had always been a dream.
The better working distance and the legendary sharpness of the Nikon lens
created better photo opportunities for butterflies which are easily spooked.
However, the less than 1:1 ratio is a minor letdown in the lens, as is
the longer length and heavier weight. I use it mainly for short walks
and at home in my garden, shooting caterpillars.
Another acquisition was the latest Nikon F80. With the five focus points, depth-of-field preview, low-light AF-assist beam and relatively faster AF (than the F70), butterfly photography had never been better. |
| Update - Jan 2001 : After comparing the pros
and cons of two long macro lenses - the Nikkor 200mm f.4 AFD and the Sigma
EX 180mm f3.5 HSM, I decided to get the Sigma. The price, hypersonic
motor and full-time manual focus capability won the day. The additional
working distance is an advantage for the more alert and skittish species,
and the 1:1 ratio puts this lens above the 70-180mm for macro work.
Pictures are sharp and the contrast excellent. I was a bit apprehensive at hand-holding a 180mm lens at the usual 1/60s flash synchro shutter speed, but my fears proved to be unfounded. I've also been experimenting with the latest Fujichrome Provia 100F
and 400F to see how the outputs compare with the classic Velvia.
The faster film gave an added advantage of being able to use either ambient
lighting or smaller apertures to improve depth-of-field. However,
the colours of both the Provias are not up to the vibrant "popping" colours of
Velvia.
|
| Update - 2002 : It's been quite some time since I penned an update. Technology in the digital world has evolved in leaps and bounds. Purists at first scoffed at the earlier digicams, saying that digital shots will never be able to approach film or slides. I think many of the skeptics are keeping quiet now, and many of them have even gone over to the "dark side".
For me, acquisition of a digicam has always been a planned event. What I could not justify was to lug around a heavy digital camera into the forests. I then decided on getting a 3.34Megapixel Nikon Coolpix 995 pro-sumer level digicam. After the initial learning curve on a new technology, and compensating for slower AF and shutter lags, it became quite a breeze shooting butterflies! The advantage of using a digicam is that you can preview what you've shot immediately, and decide if you are satisfied with it. If not, go shoot more! (That is, if the butterfly is still there!) There are a couple of downsides with the Nikon CP995 though - the first is the lack of TTL flash and macro flash photography is more a series of trials and errors most of the time. The second is the bokeh. The small digital lens' "all-encompassing" sharpness tends to make it hard to isolate the butterfly from its background like the SLR lenses. Having said all that, it's still a big departure from conventional SLRs and I've enjoyed carrying a much, much lighter load (the CP995 fits into my waistpouch!) and the swivel design helps to shoot the butterflies at unconventional angles which would have required some acrobatics with a typical SLR. The next level of digital photography would be to move on to the mid-end DLSRs like the Nikon D100, where I can make use of my collection of SLR lenses again. But that would be another story for another time... |
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