Wildlife Photo Competition 2 2012 : Entry Number 301

A beautiful, sharp macro shot with fabulous detail and composition. I love the promise of the unrolling fern and the symmetrical strength formed by the two butterflies which become just one large imaginary butterfly. Beautiful use of light and contrast, the exposure is spot on. It took a very brave shot to beat this.

I have always loved this photo myself. There was nice natural backlight; I used a fill flash set at minus 1.5 at a slight side angle. John Hendrickson