Some time ago I finally got hold of a 200mm 1:1 macro, something I've been looking for for some time to get eough reach for shy bugs with wings. Still somewhere in the lower part of the learning curve.
Some are with a ring flash, some in natural light. Most of them at 400 ISO and f11 (those with the flash at 1/180s). All hand held. Have tried to use a monopod, but that is one thing too much to controle when trying to sneak up to the butterflies. Post processed in lightroom 2.7 with modest and various ampunts of contrast increase (mainly on some flash shots), sometimes minor sharpening, no noice reduction, no color change. Most shots have been cropped to some degree. Even with 200mm it is often hard to get close enough for 1:1.
Believe the first one is called "small tortoiseshell" in English (nässelfjäril på Svenska).
#1 Feeding through its snabel on an oregano flower
#2 Sunbathing?
#3 From below with flash
#4 From below without flash
Actually, #3 and 4 are shot with me, the camera and the butterfly in exactly the same possition. It just so happened that I cropped them differently. Didn't realise until afterward the postprocessing that they were an interresting comparison. They visualise a typical pattern: with flash it is easier to get a sharp shot, but while #4 isn't as sharp as #3, it has far more natural colors. Flash sometimes give dissapointing colors and contrast. However, it appears to me that the underside of the wings of some butterflies reflects the flash light in such a way that this gets a far worse problem than usual. They appear much brighter than they are in real life compared to other surfaces in the picture, and pale in color.
#5 Feeding on oregano again, now with the inner (upper?) side of one wing visible
#6 Feeding again
#6a Detail crop...look what details this lens is able to relieve!
Next butterfly I think is called common brimmstone in Enlgish (citronfjäril på Svenska):
#7 Feeding on a Silene chalcedonica
, without flash
#8 Dito with flash
#9 In difference to the tortoiseshell, it appears to have some sort of camouflage strategy and is not always easy to spot when it sits still with wings folded. And it is much more shy, at least the individuals I have here.
Finally (having fed itself on my cabbage) I've got a few cabbage butterflies, also called large white (?) (kålfjäril på Svenska):
#10 Feeding, apparently having the same taste as the tortoiseshell, preferring oregano
#11 Still feeding...what else is there to do as a butterfly...ops forgot about that...but I have not managed to shoot that activity yet
Appreachiating comments, and hope for advice from those with more experience on shooting relatively fast and shy bugs.