Autumn 2011
Butterfly Photography Matt Berry shares his hints and tips on how to take macro shots. One of Matt’s Brimstone photos appears on the cover of this newsletter and a Common Blue photo featured on the cover of the Summer edition of Butterfly magazine. This article appeared in www.ephotozine.com How do I get these shots? I tend to keep things simple and use as little equipment as possible. For me the technicalities involved in taking a shot are just a necessary evil in that I have to know something about how the camera works, but I’m really only interested in the end result and in trying to make something that is appealing to myself and hopefully to others as well. However, everything is done in manual mode and shot in RAW as even though I don’t like it I know it makes sense to use the cameras capabilities to maximise the potential quality of a shot. With macro work the Tamron 90mm f2.8 SP DI macro lens I have tends to produce the most desirable results at between f/7.1 and f/11, providing good detail, balanced with reasonably clean backgrounds. To capture the subjects I shoot most (invertebrates) I use a mixture of shooting early (when subjects are less active) and field craft (to find, stalk and creep up on them). I also use luck! For example, sometimes an individual butterfly will seemingly want to be photographed and will sit still readily and for some time, whereas another of the same species and on the same day will fly the minute you even think about going near it! Some days the luck can be with you, on another you just want to throw in the towel and go home.
What interests you most about Macro photography? I think primarily it’s because it opens up a way of seeing things and in a level of detail that the human eye can’t, without assistance. If you see a butterfly land on a flower you may see and enjoy its beauty, but only as far as the naked eye can see and only for a brief moment. However, a well captured macro shot can enable one to start seeing and studying far more. For example you may notice the colour of its eyes, length of its proboscis, intricate wing patterns and indeed see the individual wing scales. You can even see that butterflies are hairy, more so in some species than others. Do you plan your shoots? Yes and no. I enjoy photographing the natural world because the one thing you can be sure of with nature is that you can’t actually be sure of anything and that a surprise can always be around the next corner. That makes it exciting. So sometimes I’ll just go to a local nature reserve or park and see what happens. If I don’t get a shot my philosophy is that I’ve still enjoyed a walk in a beautiful location and kept myself moderately fit at the same time! When it comes to planning a shoot, this is usually to find and photograph a particular species of plant or animal. Knowledge plays a large
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