Another backlit macro shot

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Looks like backlit shots are becoming my way of looking at the world… here is a new one, a butterfly from this summer:

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Processed with photoflow, in a rather classical way:

  • RAW processing + NL means denoising, primarily on the chroma channel
  • mid-tones contrast enhancement + a subtle RGB curve to finalise the tonal variations
  • some “clarity” adjustment (local contrast enhancement limited to mid-tones)
  • unsharp mask restricted to image edges (to avoid increasing the noise in smooth areas)

Thanks for looking!

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The edges of the wings are incredible!

Would you ever fire a flash with softnox for this kind of shot, or is that just totally out of the question?

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I’ve been considering to build a DIY diffuser for my cobra flash, something like this, but never really had time to work on that.

On the other hand, I really like to play with the translucency and the color/light on the background, and a flash would destroy both of them, I’m afraid.

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Awesome shot of one of the polyommatus (Polyommatus - Wikipedia), like it.

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Using a flash + diffuser works well for these kinds of shots. It’s a bit of balancing act to make it work.

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Beautiful

The negative space really showcases your butterfly

I may have shifted the positioning slightly (if possible) so the butterfly is on the thirds.

Still fabulous though

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Thanks! I guess it is a Polyommatus Escheri.

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Thanks! You mean moving the butterfly a bit to the left?

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Yes, moving the butterfly a bit to the left :slight_smile:

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I got a bit of time to play again with this image, following your suggestion… here is how it looks like:

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I’ve used the “Liquid rescale” plug-in to create a bit more of space on the right part… this plug-in can really do wonders!

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