Panti Forest 31 Oct 10

[Silverstreak]

The weather was kind and the breakfast was good , the dinner better , though not many butts ,the company and banters through the day was excellent . The the icing for the trip was best , with this fellow deciding to puddle on the track .:)

Ellen was one happy bunny and fumbled by shooting it at F22 ,enough DOF to cover from Panti to Jurong . So did I, accidentally defaulting the shutter to 1/300s and thought my camera need a trip to Canon service center.:bsmile:

Nevertheless , it was still a passable shot. Khew , Nelson, CK and Ellen should have better shots of this beautiful BF.

Jewel Nawab

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d156/Schir/Butterfly2/1DMK3----3373---31_10_2010-copy-4.jpg

ISO250, 1/300s F/11 , fill-flashed , resting on ground.

:cheers:

[Great Mormon]

A jewel indeed Sunny! Check out its green proboscis, really fascinating :) Beautiful shot, sharp from tip to tip and well even lighting :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Can't wait to see more from everyone else :)

[Branded Imperial]

:omg:

[Glorious Begum]

Finally, you got JN at Panti. Congrats to all of you. :cheers:

[moloch]

Nice butterfly and photo, Sunny. I look forward to more shots from you and the others. Also, I always enjoy habitat shots if you have these.

Regards,
David

[The Plane]

...queuing up for the jewel Singapore style....someone using the cam to "chope" the place :bsmile:

[moloch]

Thanks for posting the action shot, CKCHNG. It does not seem like the track was particularly damp yet there were several butterflies puddling in the photo. Is that typical or do you normally find the butterflies in wetter places?

[bluefin]

Sunny, that is already a very credible shot of the Jewel Nawab. That is indeed the desert of the trip to make it complete after our two hearty meals.:cheers:

At f22, Ellen's JN should be the sharpest one that was shot among us. :grin2: Thanks all for a great outing. :drinks:

LC, one Nawab down, next one is the GN. :bsmile: :bsmile:

[bluefin]

Lebadea martha malayana

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4048/5135506961_c927cb995a_b.jpg




Deudorix epijarbas cinnabarus (Cornelian)

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1252/5135465135_3b604b4ae4_b.jpg




Sithon nedymond nedymond (The Plush, Male)

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1360/5135452315_b76f12a00f_b.jpg

[The Plane]

Thanks for posting the action shot, CKCHNG. It does not seem like the track was particularly damp yet there were several butterflies puddling in the photo. Is that typical or do you normally find the butterflies in wetter places?

David,

It was very dry in the middle of the sandy track but along the side, there were some patches of damp spots where the JN and others were puddling. I guess butterfly normally puddles on wetter grounds, probably due to the ground is softer for its proboscis to penetrate and there are more fluids to extract.

Below The Malay Yeoman (Cirrochroa emalea emalea) puddling on a charcoal area and a Magpie Crow (Euploea radamanthus radamanthus) puddling right in the middle of that track yesterday.

:cheers:

[bluefin]

The Jewel on the Crown.





Polyura delphis concha (Jewel Nawab)


http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1098/5135538757_72ae765993_b.jpg

[Bluebottle]

...queuing up for the jewel Singapore style....someone using the cam to "chope" the place :bsmile:
Who is so kiasu huh?(scared to lose) :thinking: You were behind the camera and only two members were not in the photo. One of them I know shot a JN in the previous trip and would not be so kiasu, that means the camera belongs to a user with c180 ...;P

[Commander]

Who is so kiasu huh? :thinking: You were behind the camera and only two members were not in the photo. One of them I know shot a JN in the previous trip and would not be so kiasu, that means the camera belongs to a user with c180 ...;P

Good deduction, Loke. :thumbsup:

Actually, from what I saw on her preview screen, she shot it at f/32, not 22. :bsmile: I like Sunny's description of "enough DOF to from Panti to Jurong" :grin2:

[Commander]

It appears we had a very close shave yesterday. The Park Rangers actually gave the Singapore birders that we saw some inconvenience, if you read from the thread below. The birder also mentioned that they saw us.

Re: [mns_johor] Re: Panti Bird Sanctuary Meeting with Johor Forestry

From:Fang Sher Chyet <email.scfang@gmail.com>

Add to ContactsTo:mns_johor@yahoogroups.com Cc:Muhamad Khairol Adha Mat Amin <mkhairol@wildlife.gov.my>; Haji Yahaya Mohamood <yahaya@forestry.gov.my>; Vincent Chow <vkkchow@yahoo.com>; Sie Tho <sietho@streamyx.com>; Wee Soon Chit <soonchit@hotmail.com>; Abdul Hamid Abdul Rahman <ogljb@yahoo.com>

Hi En Mohamad Khairul,

thanks for confirming that you are Perhilitan officer and carrying out your duty. We were there from about 7:45am to about 12:00pm yesterday. There were total of 7 cars (other than our 2 cars) at PBS yesterday morning. 2 are Singapore registered car, 1 car is with birders and they left at about 10:30am. the other Singapore car drove pass us towards the logging area at about 11am and there were 4 or 5 people in the car, but I have no idea what they were doing at PBS. The other cars are 1 white van, 1 perdua Kancil, 1 truck with drums at the back, 1 white sedan car with 2 photographers and 1 white Proton Iswara with 2 gentlemen with parang. They stopped at the 5KM stream at about 11:30am and disappeared for a while, when we left at 12:00pm we saw them took out the parang and chopping off some tree branches.

Cheers,
SC


On Mon, Nov 1, 2010 at 10:20 PM, <maketab_mohamed@yahoo.com> wrote:

Salam En Muhamad Khairol,

Terima kasih atas e mail saudara.

Pihak saudara tidak perlu minta maaf kerana team anda menjalankan tugas.

Pihak saya akan menentukan ahli-ahli MNS yang menggunakan PBS memohon dan mendapatkan permit jangka panjang dari Pej Perhutanan Negeri Johor.

Kerjasama phak Pej Perhutanan Negeri Johor didahului dengan terima kasih, terutamanya Tn Haji Yahaya dan En Rajihan.

Wassalam,

Dr Maketab Mohamed
Presiden
Persatuan Pencinta Alam Malaysia (MNS)
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device via Vodafone-Celcom Mobile.

From: Muhamad Khairol Adha Mat Amin <mkhairol@wildlife.gov.my>
Date: Mon, 1 Nov 2010 18:49:12 +0800
To: maketab_mohamed@yahoo.com (maketab_mohamed@yahoo.com)<maketab_mohamed@yahoo.com (maketab_mohamed@yahoo.com)>; yahaya@forestry.gov.my<yahaya@forestry.gov.my (yahaya@forestry.gov.my)>
Subject: RE: Panti Bird Sanctuary Meeting with Johor Forestry


Tn.Hj.Yahaya/Prof. Meketab

Pengesahan Kakitangan Jabatan PERHILITAN Menjalankan Pemeriksaan Di PBS

Tuan,

Adalah disahkan bahawa sekumpulan kakitangan yang menahan dan menjalankan pemeriksaan ke atas kenderaan En. Fang Sher Chet adalah kakitangan jabatan yang mana diketuai oleh saya sendiri. Ketika itu saya bersama anggota menjalankan kerja-kerja penguatkuasaan setelah mendapat maklumat terdapat sekumpulan penceroboh menjalankan aktiviti-aktiviti melibatkan pelanggaran Akta Perlindungan Hidupan Liar 76/72 di sekitar kawasan Suaka Burung Panti. Mohon maaf jika ada sebarang kesulitan.Sekian terima kasih.

Mohamad Khairul Adha Bin Mat Amin
Penolong Pengarah
(Penguatkuasaan & Biodiversiti)
Jabatan PERHILITAN Johor
From: A Razak Majid
Sent: 01 November 2010 18:27
To: Muhamad Khairol Adha Mat Amin
Subject: FW: Panti Bird Sanctuary Meeting with Johor Forestry





No. Tel : 07-2230580
No. Faks : 07-2235702

From: Fang Sher Chyet [email.scfang@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, November 01, 2010 4:14 PM
To: maketab_mohamed@yahoo.com (maketab_mohamed@yahoo.com)
Cc: Vincent Chow; Sie Tho; Haji Yahaya Mohamood; Ramlah Abd Majid; A Razak Majid; Rajihan Rahim

Subject: Re: Panti Bird Sanctuary Meeting with Johor Forestry






Thanks Prof. I must add that the 4 gentlemen were courteous throughout the incident. I am just worried about whether they are legit as there is no ID and they did not wear any uniform and it was a Sunday morning.

Cheers,
SC


On Mon, Nov 1, 2010 at 3:58 PM, <maketab_mohamed@yahoo.com (maketab_mohamed@yahoo.com)> wrote:

Dear Fang,

Next time ask nicely for their identification and surreptously note their name tags and car registration numbers or better still use your powerful lenses to take photos of their vehicles.. If they are legit we should cooperate but if it is harassment, we would report to Perhilitan and Johor Forestry bosses.

At the same time apply for a long term permit through Sie Tho until the day permit issue is decided.

Dr Maketab Mohamed From: Fang Sher Chyet <email.scfang@gmail.com (email.scfang@gmail.com)>
Date: Mon, 1 Nov 2010 15:35:27 +0800
To: Maketab Mohamed<maketab_mohamed@yahoo.com (maketab_mohamed@yahoo.com)>; Vincent Chow<vkkchow@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Panti Bird Sanctuary Meeting with Johor Forestry




Hi Prof/Vincent,

A question on the permit to PBS. Is that mean that prior to the Forestry dept station a ranger at the guard house, we will need to apply permit through you, Vincent or Sie Tho?


I was at Panti yesterday with a couple of visiting birders from UK, we were stopped by 4 gentlemen in a Perhilitan jeep. There did not wear any uniform or show us any identification but asked to inspect our cars. I have no idea if these guys are real rangers or from Perhilitan, but they told us we must have a permit from Forestry dept before we are allowed into Panti. I told them that I am a member of MNS and MNSJ is coordinating with Forestry dept for PBS. I mentioned both of your names and after that they stopped pestering us. So your names really worth something. :p haha.


Cheers,
SC

[Silverstreak]

:bsmile: Apparently they were after some poachers after receiving information...... I noted some people must have went for the frogs, as there were skins and legs of frogs on the bank of the second river.

[WillFolsom]

Guys: You have certainly managed to capture sheer beauty. What a wonderful land you live in. Such stunning beauty at every turn. All apparently captured by some of the world's finest butterfly photographers. I enjoyed the "action" shot.

We will have our first freeze tonight. That should effectively end my butterfly photography until April 2011. Thus, I look forward to seeing your work and wishing I could join you on your outings!

William

[Commander]

David, your question about kiasu-ism is worthy of a separate thread and I've moved it off here (http://www.butterflycircle.com/forums/showthread.php?p=96660#post96660). :)

[The Plane]

...queuing up for the jewel Singapore style....someone using the cam to "chope" the place :bsmile:

Heheeee... Ellen was not reserving the place at all. In fact, she had already shot the JN at the time this shot was taken. She then left her camera on the ground and went looking for me to shoot the JN. She was really so nice :) .

[Leopard Lacewing]

Heheeee... Ellen was not reserving the place at all. In fact, she had already shot the JN at the time this shot was taken. She then left her camera on the ground and went looking for me to shoot the JN. She was really so nice :) .

So nice and sweet of her... that's :ellen: ;P
unfortunately in picture it gives us the impression she 'chope' the queue. Heehee

BTW, 'Chope" means reserving a place :bsmile:

[Bluebottle]

Heheeee... Ellen was not reserving the place at all. In fact, she had already shot the JN at the time this shot was taken. She then left her camera on the ground and went looking for me to shoot the JN. She was really so nice :) .
Hahaha, a new twist to the queueing story :bsmile:
Ok, enough of banters, more photo please... :)

[Silverstreak]

Thanks LC for pointing out the color cast on the first Jewel Nawab. Yes there seems to be some problem in PS5 and ACR certain setting caused the red tint.

Here is a reworked of the JN.

#1
Polyura delphis concha (Jewel Nawab)
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d156/Schir/1DMK3----3373---31_10_2010-.jpg
ISO250 1/300s F/10 , rested on ground, fill-flashed.

#2
Lebadea martha malayana
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d156/Schir/1DMK3----3275---31_10_2010.jpg
ISO800 1/320 F/9 , Natural light , handheld

#3
Ragadia makuta sipinta ( The Ringlet )
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d156/Schir/1DMK3----3481---31_10_2010.jpg
ISO1250 1/80s F/6.5 , Fill-flashed , handheld

#4
Drupadia scaeva scaeva
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d156/Schir/1DMK3----3425---31_10_2010.jpg
ISO1250 1/200s F/9, Fill-falshed , Handhled.

#5
Sithon nedymond nedymond (female)
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d156/Schir/1DMK3----3592---31_10_2010.jpg
ISO1250 1/80S F/8 , Fill-flashed , handheld.

#6
Sithon nedymond nedymond ( Male)
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d156/Schir/1DMK3----3316---31_10_2010-copy-5.jpg
ISO500, 1/80s F/4 , Fill-flashed , handeld.

lucky upper shots of the male

#7
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d156/Schir/1DMK3----3288---31_10_2010.jpg

#8
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d156/Schir/1DMK3----3286-1--31_10_2010.jpg

[Silverstreak]

#9
Cirrochroa emalea emalea - Malay Yeoman
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d156/Schir/Cirrochroa-emalea-emalea---Malay-Yeoman.jpg
ISO1000 1/250s F/8 , Fill-flashed, handheld

#10
Deudorix epijarbas cinnabarus - Cornelian
http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d156/Schir/1DMK3----3583---31_10_2010.jpg
ISO1250 1/250s F/8, Fill-flashed, handheld

:cheers:

[The Plane]

Uncle Sunny, like your Lebadea martha malayana shot, very nice one :thumbsup:

[moloch]

Sunny,

Sithon nedymond looks very nice. It was interesting to see how different the sexes were coloured.

Do you ever have problems with the pre-flash frightening the butterflies? I've had difficulties with a few. Some of the small lizards will also react and jump after the pre-flash.

[Silverstreak]

David ,

Yes , the difference in colours and marking of the male and female Sithon are indeed amazing, I thought they were two different species when I first shot them two years back.

The pre-flash does startle quite a few species. The inadvertent capture of the open wings shots of the Sithon were results of them reacting to the pre-flash.

Most skippers are notoriously sensitive to the flash, in particular those shade loving varieties. Their reaction varies from species to species, some will just twitch their front legs while others will take flight

Sometimes a few manual activation of the flash before taking the shot do help to condition them to the light , however there are a few species for example The Knight (Labedea martha malayana ) which reacts to every flash, hence for those in the known, it has to be taken without the benefit of the flash.:)

Generally , most of my first shot on skippers or rare species are always taken without the flash , and after the first couple of "guarantee" shots, only then I turn on the flash.

The use of continuously on LED light, is a possible approach in illuminating these flash sensitive species. I have been using some fairly powerful LED light on some shade loving species of late, and it is very promising in this regards. With the light continuously on most of the flash sensitive species, I use the LED lights on, does not exhibit the same reaction.


Cheers!

[moloch]

The pre-flash does startle quite a few species. The inadvertent capture of the open wings shots of the Sithon were results of them reacting to the pre-flash.

Thanks for the info, Sunny. I thought that your open-winged shots of Sithon might have been due to the pre-flash. You are using a Canon, right? I do as well. On a trip about a year ago, I was with a friend who used a "dark-side" camera. It was really strange. He was using macro flashes as well as a top mounted flash and he could shoot the small Carlia skinks over and over without effect. I would then take my turn and the skinks reacted as if I had flicked them with my fingers. They would leap backwards and race away. There must be something more intense and certainly alarming with a Canon pre-flash than with a Nikon.

Your tests with the LEDs sound very interesting ... but you must have three arms to hold the T180 and light on the butterfly!

Regards,
David

[Silverstreak]

David ,

Both Nikon and Canon flash are equally ""effective"" in startling them.

Khew , Bobby ( Nikon) and Ellen (Canon ) were once shooting a skipper , and the guy would jump or lift its front legs whenever whichever flash was fired. And this is true for other flash sensitive species as well from field experience.

:) I do not have 3 hands :bsmile: , this was the 2006 version I was using (http://www.butterflycircle.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4408&highlight=LED+Light) . Since then new and more powerful LED has come onto the market and compact lithium ion battery prices has dropped.

I am now using a 12 volt Lithium ion rechargeable powering a unit with 4 very strong LEDs using the same method of attachment . A single charge can power the lights for slightly more than 3 hours. Will update the latest version when I take some shots of it.


Cheers.

[Commander]

A couple of customers for Sunny's new secret formula. :)

Malay Yeoman (Cirrochroa emalea emalea)
Malay Staff Sergeant (Athyma reta moorei)

[Commander]

A couple more shots of the Great Assyrian (Terinos atlita teuthras) and a Dark Posy (Drupadia theda thesmia)

[Silverstreak]

A couple of customers for Sunny's new secret formula. :)

It was intended for the Rajah Brookes , Dr. Kirton's assistant saw them puddling on that patch of charcoal during the last trip, and I have seen them puddling on charcoal at Sugai Tua as well.

The present EBW formula will get a boost if CS is added ;-) .....problem is, it is so difficult to get the CS , it is such a rare commodity here in Singapore.:bsmile:

:cheers:

RB puddling on charcoal:

[butterfly_effect]

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1325/5145342409_dbd530fbfa.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92639059@N00/5145342409/)
Jewel Nawab (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92639059@N00/5145342409/) by garnet_mermaid (http://www.flickr.com/people/92639059@N00/), on Flickr

You all talk about me behind my back!! >.<

The photos look great Unker Sunny, Unker Knew, Chng and Nelson. Here are my rather raw ones. I'd process them further but Sam is trying to make himself my new hat and I can't see my computer screen. lol.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1232/5145341789_b68229742b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92639059@N00/5145341789/)
malay yeoman upperside (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92639059@N00/5145341789/) by garnet_mermaid (http://www.flickr.com/people/92639059@N00/), on Flickr

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1309/5145341017_76c9d6a1fa.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92639059@N00/5145341017/)
malay yeoman (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92639059@N00/5145341017/) by garnet_mermaid (http://www.flickr.com/people/92639059@N00/), on Flickr

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1175/5145941448_98843b9a6a.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92639059@N00/5145941448/)
female plush (http://www.flickr.com/photos/92639059@N00/5145941448/) by garnet_mermaid (http://www.flickr.com/people/92639059@N00/), on Flickr

[Great Mormon]

Nice stuff Ellen! Looks top notch even with the smaller than usual sized pictures! Your Malay Yeoman looks exceptionally well photographed! Wish I could be there with all of you guys to capture these winged jewels!

[moloch]

Hello Ellen,

I agree with Anthony about the Malay Yeoman. The colour looks great!


Hello Sunny,

Your LED approach looks interesting, not just for butterflies but for some of those difficult little lizards that I pursue. I will have a look for the these and give it a go. I am off to tropical Queensland in a couple of weeks and would like to experiment with this lighting while there. The LED light that I use for spotlighting reptiles at night would definitely take an extra hand ... or very strong teeth ... if used with the heavy T180. I bought a T180 three weeks ago so will begin the learning curve while up in the north. It has been too cool and wet here in Wollongong to do much training with the lens.

[Silverstreak]

David ,

I have posted some pics of my DIY LED Version 2 contraption here :

DIY LED Macro Light contraption (http://www.butterflycircle.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4408).

[butterfly_effect]

Thanks David and Ant :)