Swallowtail

The renowned Cameron Binns was recently commenting on the difficulty of photographing a Swallowtail Butterfly. I have to say I whole-heartedly agree with this statement, although I have had rather more opportunity recently to try. I have to say since his post I have been noticing Swallowtails whenever they are on the wing, but trying to get close enough to photograph one, particularly with my petite 18-55mm lens is quite difficult. So I thought I would share my latest (not very sharp on the front) effort in the hope that it may inspire further photographic endeavours on all our parts. Try as I might it would not let me out of its sight so I could get behind the little ****.. so the full front approach got me within about 18". Needless to say this is cropped to about 1/4 of a frame.

A wary Swallowtail, St Pierre cemetery, Marseille, June 12th 2011