Member Monday Featuring Scott Delony

KelbyOne Member Scott Delony usually finds himself capturing more scaly, slithering subjects.

Today, we’re taking a look at a time when he stepped outside that box, resulting in this beautiful Member Monday photo.

About the Photo

When I took this photo, the university I work at was home to thousands of Monarch butterflies passing through on their annual migration to Mexico. Most of my social media is dominated by close-up and macro photos I take of venomous snakes. 

However, many of my friends and followers aren’t the biggest fans of snakes.  As a joke, one slow morning at work I decided to go photograph butterflies and post them on my page so folks would stop complaining about all the snake photos. In the process, I realized I actually really enjoyed shooting butterflies too. One quick joke of a shoot turned into several days of shooting for enjoyment.

Gear and Software

I took this image on a Canon 5D Mark IV with a canon 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 IS II. I intended to use my 100mm macro, but the butterflies didn’t have much patience for me getting up in their space. 

As I was experimenting with lenses, the 400mm focal length really helped to isolate the butterflies against the busy background of leaves, flowers and other butterflies. Other settings for those who care are 1/800, f/ 5.6, ISO 800

Photography Preferences

I’m a university staff photographer for my day job, so what I HAVE (get) to shoot ranges from someone speaking at a podium to shooting students on a study-abroad experience in Italy to sports and everything in-between.

When it comes to what I LIKE to shoot, wildlife has always been a passion of mine, so my enjoyment shoots all include wildlife of some kind. Lately, that has been studio shoots of venomous snakes.

Photography Inspiration

I was fortunate enough to attend Photoshop World Orlando this year and one of the speakers recommended that in order to avoid burnout in your craft, find something you love to shoot that isn’t part of your job. 

In this way, you can continue to grow and hone your skills while not feeling like work.  That lead me down a path of shooting macro photos of venomous snakes, which lead me to be more interested in shooting macro and close-up photos of other small wildlife. Hence, this photo. 

Favorite KelbyOne Class

“Just One Flash” and “Just One More Flash” by Scott Kelby really opened my eyes up to how simple it can be to start understanding how to shape light with and without the sun. Previously, like most folks, I had a flash – and a few modifiers – and I didn’t use it or bother to learn it, because I didn’t understand it.  Now I probably have too many, haha!

Connect with Scott

You can follow along with Scott’s work on Instagram, but be warned if you’re afraid of snakes!

Thank you to Scott Delony for taking the time to talk with us about this awesome photo!

Be sure to submit your photos for a chance to receive a Member Monday feature of your own.