Brown Argus at Penhale in backlight

This evening I saw less than ten Brown Argus at Penhale.  Most were tatty and at the end of their life.  The second brood in July will be the next opporunity.  That said, with very strong low sunshine, I managed to get some quite nice back lit images as they perched on the tops, straining to get the last remnants of heat.

Brown Argus backlit with low sunshine. Nikon D3x, 105mm VR Macro Lens.

Brown Argus at first light

This image was taken early this morning in very low, bright sunshine.  Several mint condition Brown Argus were just emerging from the dew-sodden grass.  They were quite docile as they allowed the warmth to get into their bodies.

Ap F/10. ISO 125.  Exp 0.0 EV.  Nikon F/4 Micro Nikkor lens. Tripod.

Brown Argus at Penhale, Cornwall

Brown Argus' were plentiful this evening.  These two posed nicely on top of the plants and allowed a nice soft background.  The weather was humid and misty which gave the light a strange cast.  The upside to this is that the exposure was perfect and required no post enhancements.

Both of these shots were taken in Aperture Priority at about five inches distance.  I had to increase the aperture to F/18.  The downside of this was just 1/40s shutter speed.  I switched the lens VR (vibration reduction) on and this coupled with the tripod enabled an in focus result.  The focus was set to manual to stop the lens hunting.

Brown Argus at Perransands Cornwall

These three Brown Argus were seen on Perransands last night.  The complete Perransands dune complex is one of three main areas in Cornwall to see this species. The other two areas are Upton and Gwithian Towans and the dunes around Rock and Padstow.

Brown Argus is double brooded and these individuals in mint condition are obviously of the second brood.  A visit to the same area last week showed none of this species so we guess they have just emerged.

Skippers, Blues and Argus enjoy brief sunshine

Saturday and Sunday were the hottest days so far this year and the first broods of butterflies were making the most of the heat. A visit to Perranporth dunes proved worthwhile as I snatched a limited couple hours photography before the family barbeque took precedent. (Only married men will understand this).

The four Common Blue images above and below are different individuals - up to 20 were seen scattered about between 9.45am and 11.15am. If I had time, more would no doubt have appeared as the sun gathered heat.

All of the images were taken with my favourite lens set-up. Whilst the 300mm F/2.8 is not a true macro lens, its' close focus of 2 metres is good enough for some quite spectacular detail. I always use the tripod for ultimate stabilty to ensure best focus. That said, there is still about 50% critically out of focus when viewed later on the laptop.

I was pleased with this shot as the shadow of the antenna is mirrored on the stem. (Fluke of course).

The image above is a Dingy Skipper. About ten of these butterflies were very busy chasing each other. You have to be really quick to get into position with this species as they continually antagonise each other.

Dingy Skippers are locally common in Cornwall but not in West Penwith or The Lizard. They seem to prefer the dunes and woodland margins. Dingy Skipper has one unusual feature: when resting it resembles a small moth with wings outspread and curved back unlike any other British species.

Above: Brown Argus. The digital image EXIF detail is fairly constant with all the images above eg. most taken at F/9 or F/10 and exposure either 0.0 or -0.3EV. All images have a low ISO of 100, which effectively means that the picture can be cropped quite aggressively before any pixellating appears.

Brown Argus

Brown Argus is fairly common in the dune systems in Cornwall, especially where there is associated damp grass. This individual was photo'd at Perranporth, though Gwithian can also be good for this species in May and June, then a second brood again in August and September. This is the first weekend that I have been able to photo butterflies properly as for once, there is no wind ! I took this shot with the 300mm lens only, (no converter) on a tripod. Depth of field was quite low at F/6.3 and this should really have been higher, but at the time it was not bright sunlight and the shutter speed required increasing. The ideal is around F/8 or F/10.

EXIF Detail: Aperture PriorityAp F/6.3 Shutter 1/640s. ISO 640. Exposure -0.3EV.