Two years ago, I guided my one and only group of hardcore butterfliers at the lodge. At first, I was quite surprised, despite the suboptimal light conditions in the understory, to see them using flash for pretty much all of their photographs. This year, I got to experiment a little and, whilst I found out it doesn't work with all species, especially the really colourful ones which can become washed out, this pair of pictures is a perfect example as to why you should use flash when photographing butterflies in the rainforest. Above is an Agatha Blue Ringlet (Chloreuptychia agatha) taken with natural light. Below is the exact same individual taken just a few seconds later with flash!
