These days, unless I'm running a tuition session or workshop, it's rare for me to go out for a days shoot simply for the fun of it. Holidays are now very much governed by what my daughter requires, rather than whether there's a photo opportunity to be had, although the two aren't necessarily mutually exclusive. Recently however, when on holiday in Wales, with a pair of Spotted Flycatchers nesting on the outside wall of the cottage, and frequently perching on a post outside the lounge, I did find myself frustrated at not being able to spend as much time photographing them as I'd have liked.
So, out for a pre-bedtime walk (my daughter's bedtime, I mean) along the lane by the cottage, we found a couple of Ringlet butterflies, but I could only grab a couple of quick photos with my wife's Canon G9.
Canon G9, f/2.8, 1/60s, +0.33EV, ISO125, handheld.
Thinking about them later on, I thought I'd pop back up the lane to see if they were roosting in the same spot, and perhaps I could then go back out at dawn (ha ha ha, the thought of it!) to get their photos with them adorned with dew. Almost as an afterthought, bearing in mind this was now around 10pm, I grabbed my camera.
I'm glad I did. The wind had dropped to the gentlest of breezes, barely stirring the grasses. One Ringlet was still there, droplets from the earlier rain still clinging to the stems around it. I had to use live-view in order to focus in the half-light, and still needed to increase my ISO to 400 to avoid too long a shutter speed, 2 seconds was short enough to keep things sharp. It still felt odd to be photographing a butterfly after 10pm though.
Pentax K-5, Pentax DA*300mm f/4 lens @ f/5.6, 2s, ISO400, tripod.
I dragged myself out of bed an hour or so after sunrise, the butterfly had gone though. I'm glad I made the effort the night before, but it would have been much easier to get something decent when I saw them the first time, but a toddler demanded more of my time. Perhaps that will change*...
*I know it's only going to get 'worse'. :-)
