Orange-tip - Favourite Photo of 2012

[Vince Massimo]

Here is the opportunity to post your favourite photo(s) of a particular species taken in 2012 (or the last time you saw one!).

This is part of a series of topics which will grow over 20 weeks throughout the winter until all 59 UK species have been covered. The intention is to showcase three species per week (in alphabetical order), so please wait until a topic has been opened by me for a particular species before posting photos. Our overseas friends are very welcome to fill in the obvious gaps relating to rare UK migrants.

Details of locations, dates, times and circumstances would be welcome and please feel free to contribute observations of behaviour, stories of personal encounters, anecdotes or other interesting points.

Vince

[Wurzel]

Orange-tip
I couldn’t make up my mind which of the many Orange-tip shots was my favourite. The warm start to the season quickly followed by the cooler, wetter weather meant that Orange-tips emerged and then sort of hung around too cold to move. This meant that instead of the usual and sometimes torturous chase and wait they were much more approachable. Because of this for me it was great year for Orange-tips with an aberrant male and more usual forms in the garden and a female at work posing nicely for me. In the end though I kept coming back to two shots in particular...
The first was the aberrant. It had settled in my garden and during a cold and wet day it had remained grimly clinging to the same plant. I checked it several times through the day and it didn’t move so I went out at 10.42pm having set my camera to “night” pointed my camera in roughly the right direction in the pitch black and clicked. I couldn’t work out why it wasn’t focused until scratching my head I found my glasses nestled amongst my hair where I’d pushed them; the problem wasn’t my camera but my myopia!
The second was taken during the next (brief) batch of nice weather at my work place. My PGCE Student was teaching the class outside (Quadrats And Transects) so I got some shots while supervising. The butterflies were very flighty so in the end I set the camera to “sports” aimed and clicked. I was happy with the shot as even though it was a bit distant it opened up possibilities and I think also that it captured more of the essence of the butterfly?

Have a goodun
Wurzel

[Mark Colvin]

West Sussex, 8 April 2012

Nothing ventured nothing gained …

viewtopic.php?f=29&t=5432&start=340#p58142

[Neil Hulme]

This shot of the UK's happiest butterfly was taken near Five Oaks on 6th April. Every Orange Tip I see makes me smile.
Neil

[Maximus]

Female egg laying on Garlic Mustard, June 2nd 2012.

[ChrisC]

had a great time in the garden this year with orange tips, eggs laid on honesty front and back garden and on the garlic mustard. i'm yet to find a pupae though so whether they get predated or not i don't know. i certainly hope not. couldn't decide on a favourite so a little selection from the garden.

[badgerbob]

Orange-tip. What a butterfly. It's what Spring was made for!!

[CFB]

My favourite Orange-tip. A pity about the distracting background

--
Colin

[Nigel Kiteley]

The first butterfly that i really photographed in earnest this year, and with quite a lot of success (my Orange Tip folder contains some 2,800 images). I have to agree with Neil, every time i see an Orange Tip i smile to myself, maybe in anticipation of the season to come, or maybe because they are just so enchanting.

Very hard to choose one favourite from far too many images, so here's a small selection.

The first three images are of males and were taken during a walk along the canal tow path at Fenny Compton in Warwickshire on April 16th.

On the same day i visited Everdon Woods in Northamptonshire which was carpeted in bluebells. There were a few males flying around with some settling during cloudy spells.

My first decent image of a female came on April 23rd again on the canal tow path at Fenny Compton.

The final two images were taken on May 1st and 20th respectively. The first along the tow path and the second in a field behind our house.

[David M]

my Orange Tip folder contains some 2,800 images

Nigel, I hope you don't mind me saying this but your dedication goes way beyond your frequency of posting on here.

Clearly, you love photographing butterflies and your results are consistently the best on here.

What do you do to produce such images? Equipment/settings/fieldcraft, etc...

[Vince Massimo]

The Orange-tip is my favourite butterfly and it's very easy to attract egg-laying females into the garden. Larvae are also easy to rear and I usually over-winter a few pupae each year, so they are a constant companion. In April 2012 I managed to capture a sequence that had been eluding me, which was that of a hatching male.

Orange-tip pupa (male) - 1 day before hatching 16-April-2012

Orange-tip male hatching 25-April-2012

Another favourite image is that of a male which was photographed indoors just before release. I like it for it's strong colours and unusual background.

Orange-tip male (reared and released) - Caterham, Surrey 26-April-2012

Spring will soon be here...........

Vince

[David M]

Lovely shots, Vince, and yes, seeing this has made me yearn for spring all the more!

[MikeOxon]

As was too often the case in 2012, this was my only photo of this species. A chance encounter during a walk through fields from Longworth, Oxon towards Harrowdown Hill (SP389005)

Longworth, Oxon - 30th April 2012
Nikon D300s with 300f4+1.4X TC - 1/1000s@f/5.6 ISO800

Mike

[Jack Harrison]

My favourite butterfly because it means SPRING. It will be an even more enjoyable experience here on Mull next spring for the simple reason that they are not very numerous here so any Orange Tip will be an event.

One of my favourites from 2012. "I knew him as an egg!" It is of course a posed shot.



Jack

[Neil Freeman]

I always find it hard to single out a favourite and end up posting a few shots but this especially so with the Orange Tip. As already mentioned in this tread this is a butterfly that always brings a smile to the face.

The first couple of shots were from a day in April when I went out especially looking for Orange Tips at Castle Hills near Solihull.

Orange Tip - Castle Hills 13.04.2012

Orange Tip - Castle Hills 13.04.2012

And one from the same day that I have posted a number of times with different crops. No apologies for posting it again, this shot just says Spring to me

Orange Tip on blackthorn blossom - Castle Hills 13.04.2012

I was fortunate in that I had regular visits from Orange Tips to my garden including one that roosted for 4 days of bad weather as described in my personal diary.
A few shots below from my garden.

Orange Tip - Coverdale 02.05.2012
Orange Tip - Coverdale 02.05.2012

Orange Tip - Coverdale 12.05.2012

Orange Tip female - Coverdale 08.05.2012

I rather like the shot of the faded female below from Salcey Forest in late June. This one surprised me as I did not expect to see any Orange Tips still around. I had gone there looking for Wood Whites and when she fluttered past me that is what I thought she was at first, until she settled and I got a proper look.

Orange Tip female - Salcey Forest 20.06.2012

Cheers,

Neil F.

[millerd]

It felt that spring had well and truly sprung with the first Orange Tip seen on my local patch on 28th March, along with Commas, Peacocks, Brimstones, Red Admirals, Green-veined Whites and a Holly Blue. What a glorious day that was!

Unforunately, most of the rest of my Orange Tip photos for the year were of roosting butterflies sheltering from various types of rain. Still, I did get my eye in pretty well, and found I could discover them quite readily after a while.

Dave

[Debbie]

I only got camera at the end of last year and knowing nothing about photography I embarked on my journey and as I was using it for the first time a butterfly posed for me and it started for me this wonderful experience. Early spring I got my new lens and off I went with such little knowlege about cameras or butterflies. The moment I saw this beautiful butterfly I was hooked on the butterflies and photographing them. It took minutes for me to realise how much I had to learn and how difficult they can be to photograph. But I am hooked and each butterfly I see is wonderful and I am learning so much about so many things. I appologise for my pictures not being the best, but for me I compare them with the last batch I took and set my challenges that way. But for now they are my favouite orange tips and the first ones I have photographed. I so look foward to seeing them again in spring.

Debbie

[Jack Harrison]

Lots of lovely learning experiences ahead Debbie.

However I think you must have meant that you got your camera at the end of the year BEFORE last. If you got one at the end of last year, ie end of 2012, then you have done remarkably well to photograph an Orange Tip already

Jack

[Debbie]

You are correct Jack, and I am looking forward to seeing and photographing butterflies.

Debbie

[Goldie M]

My Orange Tip shot was taken on the 2nd May 2012 at Hall-Lee-Brook. I felt like I was the big white hunter that day I went from nearly getting shots of them to just missing them, this one thankfully landed right in front of me after a couple of hours trying So it's got to be a favouite for all the time I put in Goldie