How to photograph butterflies

[@ermansahinphotography]

You're living in heaven. Nice video and thanks for tips.🥰

[@rivieramacro5240]

Yes the French Riviera is great for macro. Great biodiversity

[@macsaikrisztina]

This lavander field is like macro photography heaven 😍

[@rivieramacro5240]

It is indeed ! And for a few more days !

[@lottatroublemaker6130]

My thought exactly! I was wondering if this is wild lavender or if it is a place someone grows lavender for sale or something like that… I wish there was a similar place here!!!

[@rivieramacro5240]

@@lottatroublemaker6130 no it is cultivated but it is a small garden open to the public

[@ApothecarysGarden]

Great tips and gorgeous photos!

[@stuartgregory6607]

Great tutorial - with some very useful tips in a nice laid back style - I have been photographing butterflies for a couple of years now using a Fuji x-S10 with XF 100-400 lens and 1.4x teleconverter and cannot wait to get back out next spring to get some shots of insects in flight.

[@rivieramacro5240]

Thank you ! and yes we're all waitring for spring now. I myself plan to try out the Nikon 180-600 for those shots in 2024. Stay tuned...

[@d.k.1394]

Some great photos

[@rivieramacro5240]

Thanks !

[@martinrejzek7674]

I loved this video. What a place! Thanks for sharing.

[@rivieramacro5240]

thank you. A true butterfly garden in summer indeed

[@juliopellicerporres2206]

Thank you for your videos. They are both informative and beautifully produced. Félicitations!

[@rivieramacro5240]

Thks a lot ! More will come in 2024

[@NotSoGoodGamingTV]

Cant wait for the Dragonfly episode! They're my favorite insect.

[@rivieramacro5240]

Coming up soon hopefully ! Will start filming next week :-)

[@jamesperrin5691]

Brilliant content, I the uk there are great places for butterflies but you really have to search them out. I have just got a 300m f 2.8 Nikon lens and its proving to be handfull, but it so very very sharp even with a 2x TC . I'll getting 300mm f4 Fresnel lens next.

[@rivieramacro5240]

Thank you. With the f/2.8 I doubt that you need the 300mm f/4 PF although it is probably much lighter and has great native magnification for proxiphoto (see my other video about it). I will never part with it, though I'm swtching most of my lenses to the Z line now. Such a fab lens !

[@d.k.1394]

Some lovely photos

[@rivieramacro5240]

Thank you !

[@eerofi]

Great video and location! I can't wait for the summer to come. Yesterday I saw the first brimstone butterfly of the year.

[@rivieramacro5240]

Thank you. Yes same here ! Waiting for spring

[@glennhunt2375]

Super images my friend and all that sunshine, warmth and lavender - Butterfly heaven ! Look forward to possible Dragonfly video soon. 👍

[@rivieramacro5240]

Thank you very kind of you ! Yes this is butterfly paradise right now. The dragonfly episode will be coming next ! Filming next week ;-)

[@f.youpi4.c195]

wow très belle chaine youtube ! Bravo et un grand merci pour toutes ces explications très très intéressantes !

[@rivieramacro5240]

Merci ! Plein d'autres projets de vidéos à venir

[@zakydungun206]

Great video, good composition, can you share, what mic used in this video?

[@andrewhillphotosvideos2909]

lovely photos

[@Eigil_Skovgaard]

With the landscape you have at hand I would not have the time to watch this video ;O)

[@d.k.1394]

Nice presentation

[@rivieramacro5240]

Thank you !

[@d.k.1394]

I use canon 100mm ef lens f2.8 Image stabilised

[@Namaste..]

Great tips and some very nice photos, indeed. I was out shooting butterflies today with my D850 and a 300 PF +1.4tc. The 300 PF is a wonderful lens for close up nature work! Looking forward to your dragonfly video!

[@rivieramacro5240]

Thks ! Try an extension ring too. You can even combine it with the TC Will film the dragonflies neft week. Peak season now here. But essentially same gear... Where are you located ?

[@MJSPhotographyUK]

Thank you for sharing.

[@terser]

Great video! Awesome location too!

[@rivieramacro5240]

Thank you Thomas ! I've been a great fan of your work for ages ! Hope we can meet some day. Love your videos too !!!

[@robestey5628]

Love your videos - thank you.

[@rivieramacro5240]

Thanks a lot Rob. Hope it helps with your photography

[@IvanAgram]

Subscribed to your channel! Great content and tips!

[@newtuber4freedom43]

Wonderful! Thank you!

[@d.k.1394]

Soo many butterflies in that area

[@rivieramacro5240]

Yes it is like a butterfly garden when lavenders bloom. But all natural !

[@BS-cm4vi]

Beautiful 🦋

[@lottatroublemaker6130]

Thanks so much, what a great video!!! 🤗

[@rivieramacro5240]

thank you !

[@nurnachman]

great video. thank you for making this tutorial!!

[@rivieramacro5240]

thank you ! glad you liked it

[@rubyhopper6751]

That is butterfly heaven 😍

[@rivieramacro5240]

it is indeed though this year there were less probably due to super-dry eather in july

[@martinrejzek7674]

Hi Pierre, I watched most of your videos by now. Really good, but this one is my favourite. The location is amazing. I learned one important thing from your tutorials. I do proxy insect photography rather than macro. I have been looking for this term for ages and now I found it, thanks. I am an entomologist and I like taking pictures that show the entire insect, ideally with all the body parts in focus. I use these pics as tools to ID the animals and to record them. The beauty is that if the picture is good enough, I do not need to take the specimen. Pinning down the term “proxy” will help me to optimise my kit. I realise now that I need less magnification, probably just 0.4 to 1.

[@rivieramacro5240]

Hi Martin ! Glad you found the videos useful. More will come. I understand the work, having been trained a long time ago as an entomologist too. You may want to consider the "Meet Your Neighbours" technique of images on white background. Particularly useful dfor publications etc. Although that project is now defunct I am still planning to release videos outlining the technique... when time permits ! Check out that section on my web site and email me or find me on Facebook if you have questions. Always happy to help fellow naturalists & colleagues

[@patrickmackay741]

Belles images ! Dans quel coin êtes-vous pour ce faire ?

[@rivieramacro5240]

Côte d'Azur, ce site est quelque part dans les préAlpes, au-dessus de la côte

[@patrickmackay741]

@@rivieramacro5240 Ok :) Je ne sais pas par là mais ici en Belgique nous avons moins de papillons d'année en année , même dans les endroits où l'on les voyait le plus :(

[@rivieramacro5240]

@@patrickmackay741 Oui pour les insectes et les araignées pres de chez moi cela a l'air d'etre aussi le cas. Mais dans les prealpes c'est preserve, en tous cas sur ce site, toujours une belle abondance chaque annee. Peu de visiteurs, pas de pesticides...

[@davidg3601]

Where did you get the shirt you're wearing in the video? It seems to be from Temburong.

[@rivieramacro5240]

Yes David, it is. Got it from the UlulUlu "gift shop" when I was there working on a photo project in 2018. Unfortunately closed now so the T-shirt is a collector ;-)

[@johncandlish1282]

Hi, a very informative video and the area looks like tremendous for butterflies, so which mountain range and region was this filmed?

[@rivieramacro5240]

Thank you John ! I filmed this near home on the French Riviera, close to Nice. This place with the miniature lavender fields is located in the mountains at the bottom of the Alps, just above the coastal area of the Riviera

[@Artenreich]

Just discovered your channel and fell in love with your content. Great job! Keep it up! One question: regarding focus stacking handheld in the wilderness, do you use flashes or not?

[@rivieramacro5240]

Thks a lot ! Re. focus stacking handheld: it depends !!! For larger subjes such as orchids, butterfles at dawn etc, no need for flash. You can use a simple reflector as I describe in my orchid videos. But for very small subjects a flash will be needed, although recycling time is always an issue. Remember that often only a few frames can yiled a substnatial increase in DOF when stacked. Main issue is to keep the frames aligned

[@carolineescoubas1216]

👍👍👍

[@rivieramacro5240]

Merci !!!

[@charlesaeneas]

Great video; thanks. If you need to use an extension tube along with the FTZ do you use an F or a Z tube? I guess either works OK.

[@rivieramacro5240]

Thank you Charlie ! Yes I use a F tube, as all my macro lenses are F-mount. I use KENKO tubes, the best on the market. Not sure about Z tubes have not looked, but for me not relevant really If I used a Z tube I'd have to add the FTZ after the tube. Not sure how that configuration would work

[@charlesaeneas]

@@rivieramacro5240 Thank you so much Riviera. I have taken the plunge aand ordered a used 300mm PF lens to try some of your butterfly and dragonfly photography methods. I've always fancied the PF lenses and the fact that this one is affordable and useful for longer range macro work as well is a great bonus. All the best!

[@rivieramacro5240]

@@charlesaeneas Good luck ! If your copy is as sharp as mine you'll be thrilled at the results. This lens is really a Swiss knife for proxyphoto. I even used it for portraits...

[@berkletheclownsvideos2461]

I have a question. You mentioned you pair the 300mm lens with an extension ring. Is this extension ring a teleconverter or is it more like an extension tube without glass?

[@rivieramacro5240]

Hi ! I used an extension ring, not a Teleconverter. the effect of an extension ring is to increase magnification at a given focal length. That way I can get the subject larger in the frame. The TC will increase the focal length therefoee you can be further away from the subject, and it will also increase magnification. But there will be a significant loss in image sharpness (though recent TCs appear to have dramatically improved). Adding an extension ring is a cheap way to get more of your long lens for proxiphoto

[@mb-hb1fr]

I am using LAOWA 100 mm on a crop sensor camera, However not getting great images. I might need more practice. 💀

[@rivieramacro5240]

Yes it is a matter of getting used to the lens. The Laowa 100mm is an extraordinary macro lens. i have used it since it came out and the sharpness is unparalleled. But Manual Focus may require some time getting used to. Also best to use flash for higher magnifications. It will freeze the movement so no blur due to the shaking of the photographer ;-)

[@WetaMantis]

Ou es tu allé photographier?

[@rivieramacro5240]

Pas tres loin de chez moi, dans ls Prealpes d'Azur