Giant Owl Butterfly

[John Holland]

The Giant Owl Butterfly - taken at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens

Canon 7D, 180mm, f/11, 1/250 second (flash)

 

[Pete Askew]

Beautifully done, John. And what a gorgeous creature. It almost looks like it has its eyes closed!

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Fine close up. How big is it?

 

[John Holland]

Thank you Pete and Rob for your comments. The size of the owl butterfly ranges from 65–200 mm (2.6–7.9 inches) - this one was in the 150mm (6 inch) range.

 

[Brian Moore]

It almost looks like it has its eyes closed!

What are you talking about, Pete. That eye is about as wide open as any eye I have ever seen! Wait,...is that the wing...?

Excellent shot, John. How far from that critter were you standing?

 

[John Holland]

I was probably 12"-18" away (0.3 - 0.5 meters) away (maybe a bit closer). So long as I was not making a sudden move, the butterfly was content to model for me.

 

[Ivar Dahl-Larsen]

A wonderful model indeed and not a twitch of an eye, as someone else seems to think Beautifully done.