The botanic garden is easy enough to find and for an extra £2.95 we get access to The Butterfly House. Oppressive heat, excellent light and a mass of gorgeous butterflies to photograph make it all very worthwhile. The butterflies can be a bit of a challenge and I've not managed to shoot one in full flight yet, but the names are getting sorted out and the still pictures are definitely improving. A macro lens might seem intuitive, but in fact a standard zoom works very well. I was using the HD Pentax-D FA 28-105mm on the K-1 and there was no problem getting in close enough. A slightly longer reach might have been helpful sometimes, but it would have needed an ISO higher than the 400 I was generally using.
Here's some pictures, duly identified, but with the caveat that the names may not be 100% accurate. or they might be. It's a learning curve.....
Rusty-tipped Page
Great Mormon
Blue Morpho
Diadem
Green Banded Swallowtail and Rusty-tipped Page
Emperor Swallowtail
The Clipper
The Malachite
Identification was made using the excellent leaflet provided for just £1. For once, the pictures actually look like the butterflies.
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Calibrate so you can see 16 different shades:
