Beautiful trap

[Nicola]

I took these pictures some weeks ago,
I got the macro lens in the bag but I did not carry the tripod...
idiot...
a bit of breeze made everything much more difficult, making the flower oscillating.
I'm looking for C&C, and I'd like to know which one you prefer among the #1 and #2
thank you

Nicola

[SilverYeou]

Hi!
I am not a professional, so just take my opinion as very personal.
I like the one in the vertical position, I guess because it is not really taken from the front , but from a different point. And, when I maximized it, on the right side of the picture - right on the green leaf in bokeh - I can see many colors, more lie tiny rainbows from the water drops XD I like that! I also like the "balance" of this position: there is not too much flower, not too much insect, not too much green... I also noticed that the yellow middle of the flower, in that picture, matches slightly with the yellowish from the leaves on the back.
Well, not sure if it will help!

[Geoff F]

A couple of points come to mind, Nicola.

With the first two, I would like to have zoomed in a lot closer.

I can't quite work out the spider species. It looks a bit like a male Misumenia vatia but could be something else which we don't see in the UK.

That scene is potentially very interesting because the spider is eating a fly. However from a distance, the two just seem a confusing mixture.

Incidentally, I remember seeing exactly the same thing and was wondering what strange insect I had found. Until I managed to zoom in close enough, and started doing some thinking, when everything became obvious.

You have lost the fine detail from those petals. Something which always causes me problems. I tend to considerably underexpose, or spot meter, to get the white (or pale yellow etc) correct then attempt to recover details of the insect during editing. But this is often impossible from a single shot.

The alternative is to forget about the flower and concentrate on the main spectacle, insect or spider etc. What remains of the flower is just background. Often simply a case of deciding which is to be the main subject if you can't achieve both.

#3 manages much more flower detail and still has good exposure on the spider, although he is possibly just a fraction too hidden behind the petal. But the idea of lurking and being mostly hidden while waiting to pounce does tell a good story.

[Nicola]

Hi!
I am not a professional, so just take my opinion as very personal.
I like the one in the vertical position, I guess because it is not really taken from the front , but from a different point. And, when I maximized it, on the right side of the picture - right on the green leaf in bokeh - I can see many colors, more lie tiny rainbows from the water drops XD I like that! I also like the "balance" of this position: there is not too much flower, not too much insect, not too much green... I also noticed that the yellow middle of the flower, in that picture, matches slightly with the yellowish from the leaves on the back.
Well, not sure if it will help!

Thank you SilverYeou! (what's your real name?)
it helps, indeed.
In my humble opinion, as a no-pro photographer, the comments and criticism like yours are very very important.
it is sufficient to explain one simple reason: who watch my pictures aren't professional photographers or artists, and sometimes the estimate of a pro is poles apart from the estimate of a simple person.
ciao
Nicola

[Nicola]

A couple of points come to mind, Nicola.

With the first two, I would like to have zoomed in a lot closer.

I can't quite work out the spider species. It looks a bit like a male Misumenia vatia but could be something else which we don't see in the UK.

That scene is potentially very interesting because the spider is eating a fly. However from a distance, the two just seem a confusing mixture.

Incidentally, I remember seeing exactly the same thing and was wondering what strange insect I had found. Until I managed to zoom in close enough, and started doing some thinking, when everything became obvious.

You have lost the fine detail from those petals. Something which always causes me problems. I tend to considerably underexpose, or spot meter, to get the white (or pale yellow etc) correct then attempt to recover details of the insect during editing. But this is often impossible from a single shot.

The alternative is to forget about the flower and concentrate on the main spectacle, insect or spider etc. What remains of the flower is just background. Often simply a case of deciding which is to be the main subject if you can't achieve both.

#3 manages much more flower detail and still has good exposure on the spider, although he is possibly just a fraction too hidden behind the petal. But the idea of lurking and being mostly hidden while waiting to pounce does tell a good story.

Thank you very much Geoff !

your comments are always so detailed and useful!
I agree, it should be much more zoomed in. I tried but I wasn't able: as I said, the wind made the flower oscillating, thus when I tried to get closer to it, I wasn't able to follow the flower motion in order to keep the flower into the frame, because it was repeatedly going out and coming in.
In addiction, as quite often when I'm out with the camera, I hadn't time: I took this picture in a natural reserve, where the access is limited and one is obligated to follow the timing of the police officer. I was already in delay....

about the exposure of the flower: here i'm in fault.
at the time of the shot, I was right: I set the center weighted methering mode to not blow the flower's white. In the PP I increased the exposure to add some contrast with the dark spider. too much indeed.
I'm going to try an other PP solution

thank you again

Nicola

Last edit:

[Geoff F]

That second version is much better, Nicola.

I just wonder about a 90 degree clockwise rotation which would place the spider horizontally and have the 'blank space' on the side instead of at the top?

For some reason, having 'extra space' at the top never seems to work well for me.

Alternatively, I suppose a square crop might be something to consider.

[SilverYeou]

Thank you SilverYeou! (what's your real name?)
it helps, indeed.
In my humble opinion, as a no-pro photographer, the comments and criticism like yours are very very important.
it is sufficient to explain one simple reason: who watch my pictures aren't professional photographers or artists, and sometimes the estimate of a pro is poles apart from the estimate of a simple person.
ciao
Nicola

Thanks! Hope I could help ^^