I don't think I ever imagined taking a photo like this. I spent around 5 minutes during my lunch break, waiting for this butterfly to settle down somewhere so I could get a nice close-up photo with my new-old, manual focus, macro lens. In the end, I gave up, as the little critter was practically circling me.
Well, I almost gave up. I decided I would try and get a photo at any rate, and this was the result. It's a 100% crop, and the lens was wide open at f/2.8. There is no optical stabilisation in this lens, and it's manual focus, so I had to turn the focus ring as he flew diagonally past me. Normally I would put the camera into speed-priority burst-mode if I were trying to catch an animal mid-flight, as you don't know in what position its wings will be. I was in shutter priority, and just took this one shot when the butterfly entered the light. Only when I looked in the viewfinder to review the photo was I amazed at how lucky I was with my timing.
I'm not sure I will ever manage to do this again, but I'll certainly try.