The wrong type of Common Blue

Common blue (Polyommatus icarus) – Stover Country Park, Devon, UK. JB4_4301. During our trip to Stover Country Park with the British Dragonfly Society our attention was temporarily diverted away from the Common blue damselflies we were supposed to be studying to this very approachable Common blue butterfly.

The dull overcast weather helped to bring out the greens of the grass, so I decided to include the subtle out of focus grass patterns in the background rather than filling the image with the butterfly. I don’t think it is appropriate to take lots of camera gear on organised walks like this. So I used my Benbo monopod to steady the lens, plus fill-in flash with a plastic diffuser to allow a faster shutter speed.

On this day it may have been the wrong type of Common Blue, but I think I got away with photographing it without anybody noticing!