The camera you have

[mnhtnbb]

may not be the one you want...

While fixing lunch, with a hamburger on the stove, I spotted a Black Swallowtail and a hummingbird squaring off over this blooming Encore azalea. My camera was in another room, so I grabbed my phone from the kitchen counter to see if I could get a decent shot. It has been my experience that Black Swallowtails are very difficult to photograph because they flit from one blossom to another much more quickly than the Yellow Swallowtails.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Beautiful photo, my dear mnhtnbb!

The best camera is . . . the one you have!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

2. The camera in hand is always 100% better than the one in the bag or on the shelf

... though frequently that situation can be changed quickly enough, but not always!

[Zackzzzz]

5. I once met a man who had a camera the size of a cigarette box

It was a small Nikon.
It fit in his pocket and was with him 24/7.
The card shop sold blank cards with his pictures.
He had the best photos for cards.
I can't tell how many good photos I missed
because I didn't want to carry my heavy, awkward camera.
I now have an iPhone.

[Diamond_Dog]

3. That is gorgeous.

Cell phone cameras have really come a long way.

[usonian]

4. Cell phone cameras do intense software image manipulation.

I posted earlier on this. I'll update my reply when I find the post(s)

[mnhtnbb]

6. I did nothing other than crop this shot.

Yes, there are LOTS of options on my phone: Pixel 9. Actually, I like the camera better on my previous phone--OnePlus 8--and I kind of wish I'd stuck with OnePlus. I bought the Pixel because of the seven years--instead of four on OnePlus-- of updating included. But now I think that seven years of PITA updates might not be worth it.

[usonian]

7. It's called computational photography.

Last edited Thu Sep 18, 2025, 01:14 AM - Edit history (1)

I posted about it. By you doing nothing, the phone camera is blazing away. I'll find the post later.

FOUND IT.

Computational photography.
Too complex to describe (by me) so here is what DPR says.

https://www.dpreview.com/articles/9828658229/computational-photography-part-i-what-is-computational-photography
Computational photography part I: What is computational photography?

https://www.dpreview.com/articles/9828658229/computational-photography-part-i-what-is-computational-photography/2
Stacking: 90% of success of mobile cameras

https://www.dpreview.com/articles/0681063194/computational-photography-part-ii-computational-sensors-and-optics

Computational photography part II: Computational sensors and optics

I took some close-up photos of Mariposa Lilies at the fixed f/1.8 iphone setting and lo, I got depth of field that should NOT accrue to an f/1.8 lens. And with older model phones.

[George McGovern]

8. Very Nice mnhtnbb! Quick thinking! Thanks!

[Gato Moteado]

9. nice shot.....but, I don't think it's a black swallowtail......

....black swallowtails have a lot more yellow on the inside of the wing, if I'm not mistaken. if I were to guess, I'd say it's a pipevine swallowtail (Battus philenor). I had a ton of these in my yard when I lived in Austin because I had several of their host plants, which are pipevines (plants in the genus Aristolochia). the easiest Aristolochia to grow in TX seemed to be Aristolochia fimbriata, and they were drawn to it like a magnet....their larva looks like a venomous moth larva with spines all over it but the spines are rubbery and soft and the larva is harmless and not venomous (tho it's probably toxic to birds and other predators).

whereabouts do you live? it's possible that it's something else but I'm fairly certain it's not a black swallowtail and is likely a pipevine swallowtail.

keep shooting!

[mnhtnbb]

10. Google lens suggests

It is an Eastern Black Swallowtail. I live in North Carolina. It's been my experience that the black Swallowtails are less common here than the yellows and they are much less agreeable about staying put long enough to get clear shots of them. I'm posting another shot with the wings more open, and it was from this shot that Google lens made the identification.