How long have you been interested in photographing butterflies?

I have been interested in photographing butterflies for quite a while, ever since I saw the “sharing a few butterflies” thread in Clubsnap around 2006-2007, but I never had the equipment back then as my first slr was only bought in April 2007 and didn’t have a macro lens and had no idea how to use it in the first place. I guess the passion grew stronger as I started macro after I bought my Tamron 90mm and manage to shoot a record shot of a butterfly. When I requested for ID, I was introduced to Butterfly Circle at the end of 2007 and was hooked ever since! We have a term there called catching the “butt flu” as it was really very addictive!

What do you like particularly about it?

Initially, my key concern was to produce the images. But after seeing all the life cycles and understanding how fragile butterflies are , it really intrigued me to want to study them more. I enjoy watching them out in the field, as every species is unique, and have different behaviours which can be really interesting, even though I cant catch them on film(or should I say my sensor)! It is also a good excuse to get out in the field to get a tan and a work out as I used to be pale and dislike the great outdoors haha!

How many species have you gotten so far? which are those that are most memorable and precious to your collection?

A rough species count would be around 130-150, out of the 290++ we have here in Singapore. A very humble count compared to some of the experts that I’ve learned from.

I treat all the butterflies that I’ve shot equally as precious, as all of them need a certain degree of understanding and love towards them to really make every individual stand out.

The most memorable one would be the Abisara savitri savitri (Malay Tailed Judy). Anyone who have chased this butterfly before will know how hard it is to get a good shot, as its habitat is in the dim undergrowth of the forest. They rarely come out to the trails, and once frightened, will start going up to the tree line in the forest. It may not be very fast, but it keeps changing perches and hopping around the leaves. It hardly keep its wings fully folded so it was really tough to get the whole butterfly in the right depth of field. We couldn’t use a tripod either due to the environment and the buttefly constant movements so it took us about 2 hours running after it in the thick vegetation to squeeze off a few shots each at shutter speeds that really push our hand holding techniques to the limit.

After getting the shot, we were left with cuts, splinters, bruises and some bad rashes to remind us how hard we had to work for it. My copy isn’t the best record of this beauty, but it has certainly etched an unforgettable experience of butterfly chasing.

Other precious ones are the more common ones to name a few, Graphium sarpedon luctatius (Common Bluebottle) and Pathysa antiphates itamputi (Five Bar Swordtail) as most of us photograph them while they are puddling (sucking nutrients from the soil). There was one occasion when I tracked them to a nearby shrub and they stopped in there to rest. However, they are so skittish that even the slightest movement will scare them away, I had to keep trying to get this butterfly on many occassions until I get a shot nice enough that I can be proud of.
The first time I was introduced to Rapala iarbus iarbus (Common Red Flash) was also another memorable one. They can be seen whizzing around at lightning speed as the males were competing with each other for their favourite perch. Very graceful corkscrews they make as they chase each other around, only to break up a few seconds later and the winner will have the right to stay on its perch till the next contender arrive. It is relaxing, and also tantalizing to watch these graceful acrobatic butts performing these aggressive acts and they never harm each other unlike other insects that really duke it out to the death for domination.

Care to share the tricks in photographing butts? any advise for beginners?

Tricks? I think everyone already knows the basics already, point and shoot. But from what I’ve learnt and after bringing newer members out in the field, I noticed a lot of them shoot butterflies as if they are more static objects, like spiders or beetles that do not get spooked so much.  And also, a lot are sceptical about using auto focus for butts (instead of manual focus which are the norms for other macro subjects) and swear by small apertures to get everything in focus. The trick is to get really parallel to the butterfly, and for a normal sized one, u can have it razor sharp with F4 even. It would be great if we can get more DOF, but in some situations, unless the camera’s ISO allows u to go up very high, you would most likely to lose the butt if you don’t use what you have and make the best out of the situation. The background also really plays a part in bringing out our winged friends.  Sometimes the background is really cluttered so it’s a good choice to open up the aperture for a creamy background. Take a series of shots to make sure that there is a shot that nails the butterfly perfectly.

Were there any photographer(s) that you like and influences your style?

I would say uncle Sunny, AKA Bluesteel have influenced me the most. I always bug him to bring me out and at the beginning I have no idea how to shoot butterflies. After going out with him for so long, I have learnt so much and have nailed so many species if it wasn’t for his techniques that he has passed on to me.

Care to share your macro setup? What is the equipment that you cant leave home without?

My macro setup is strictly for butterflies only. No fancy gadgets like multiple flashes or heavy bulky items, just a humble D300, with a Tamron 180mm lens and SB600 for a fill flash. The equipment I can’t leave home without is my jungle hat and sweat towel! Blocks off the glare and provide some form of shade and the towel to wipe off sweat when it gets too overwhelming.

Which is your favourite species of buttefly and why?

My favourite butterfly would have been Lexias pardalis dirteana (Archduke) as it really reminds me of myself at times on its behaviour. It is not the prettiest butterfly, nor the most uncommon, but the males have a beautiful blue “cape” on the back of its wings, and a contrasting black tone for the rest of the wings with small spots. When it feeds, it is greedy and is observed to “shoo” off other butterflies or insects by flapping its wings, furthermore, who doesn’t like a butterfly with a royal name?

While pursuing your hobby, what is your most memorable moment to date?

My most memorable moment was when I started feeling the need to conserve nature and share my knowledge with other people as our eco system, be it birds, ants, butterflies, etc are extremely fragile. It was when Butterfly Circle’s most senior member and foremost expert on butterflies was sharing with me how easily a species can go extinct just right before our eyes as the monetary gains for larger organisations turn a deaf ear to habit destruction and there is nothing we can do to stop these tractors from rolling in. After I developed a keen interest, and photography is a form of documentation of these winged beauties, but even so, I always try to bring out the best in them through my photography to influence people like me before the message of conservation and understanding, which really drives me on to producing better images each time go out in the field.

What are the challenges you’ve faced?

Same problem as most, time + $$ lol.

Please share with us a couple of your favourite images accumulated over the years. Please describe to us why you like these images.

Green Imperial

Blue Pansy

Tailed Jay

Dark Blue Jungle Glory

Archduke Male

Archduke Female

Common Blue Bottle

Five Bar Sword Tail

Common Posy

Which are the good places in Singapore for newbie to hone their butterfly macro skills?

We have butterflies all over Singapore! But AHBT (Alexandra Hostpita Butterfly Trail)  is a good place to start, or the three ridges, anywhere in the Central Catchment Area.

Thanks for this insightful interview into the world of butterflies.

My pleasure

You can view Archduke’s work @ http://www.log1t3ch.deviantart.com