Dragonfly for John (Shadowman) and bugs...

[marlunn]

cant offer advise, others here are far more qualified to do that but I can offer praise, they are all great, I love them - the 1st shot of the dragon is my favourite. I like the crop version but I like your original more, its more, sounds strange given the subject, tranquil for me. Thank you for sharing them

[Shadowman]

Will do if you let me know which critter is the Gladia bug?

My eyes are failing me, you listed it a Ciadia.

[IzzieK]

Hi Christina...Sorry I am late to this party. It was too late when I came in from photoclass last night. Anyway, when I clicked the link you sent me, I was enthralled by the first shot of the dragonfly...it was so beautiful...the background is superb and just like the wind movement. There is so much drama in that shot.

#2 is also OK...so far I have only bought a set of extension rings. Next will be the 105 Macro when I find the time to go to B&H, my favourite store. I like the way you shot this one -- the composition is spot on.

#3 for the bee, I must remember your settings...I shot a bee for my school assignment and the damn thing's head was inside my basil flower. I was able to shoot about two frames then it flew away. If I waited I would had got nothing... I printed and submitted it anyway...this one you have is so much more better than mine for sure because it is more closer. More pronounced.

And you chose the most yuckier photo to dedicated to me! What a sense of humour you got!!! Well...at least the shot of both are sharp and to the point. Got that? -- to the point?! Eyyaawwww -- at the time I am having brunch too. I am having home made potsticker and the colour of the soy sauce looks the same as the cockroach. Dang! you have a way to make me laugh when you really get down to it, do you?

If I saw this post earlier, I could have told you beforehand that David and Grahame are the best when it comes to bug lighting. It was Grahame who taught me how to light a shiny back beetle before I disappeared from this forum. I had fun for a few months trying to pick up and shoot beetles I found in the carpark of the vet hospital everytime we go for Tucker's appointment.

Cheers....I told you I will write a long saga this time, didn't I? I know you will read it anyway...haha

[bnnrcn]

Hi Christina. I just want to say that these are not 'just for fun' shots, they are good indeed. Well done

[Brownbear]

Hi John,

Thank you for letting me know. I didn't do anything special for that shot. Nikon D80 105mm focal length ISO 320 F13 SS 1/60 Matrix metering, hand held, eye level (The shutter speed is too slow as the bug isn't sharp enough)

It is from 2 years ago but I remember lifting the bug up with a leaf and placing it on the inside of a palm tree plant a with gigantic leaves (to create a pretty background) and choosing a small aperture just to create the feeling of the bug being inside of the leaf. That's about it. These guys are only seen once a year before every rainy season, and even then they are hard to find, but they are uniquely beautiful.

My eyes are failing me, you listed it a Ciadia.

[Brownbear]

Thank you Mark and Binnur.

Mark... Thank you for your feedback on the dragonfly. Truly appreciated. It is helpful for me to hear which version people prefer.

Binnur... Thank you. Just for fun because I know what I need to do to improve the quality of these images. The 1st dragonfly is an image that I love. The 2nd one well he is okay. The spider feeding on the cockroach is an image I would refuse to hang on my wall, and dedicated to Izzie just for fun. (poor gal)... Bees, well they seem to be a trendy bug so I thought I would give it a try and share my heartache of not being able to capture it's face and blurred flowers. And the rain bug (Ciadia) is a critter that is rarely seen and a unique beauty even though he/she is truly not sharp enough.

[Brownbear]

Here is the Dragonfly JPEG straight out of the camera, downsized to 1200 pixels, and sharpened with an unsharp mask of .3 radius 80%





Here is the dragonfly processed from raw. This time I left the white point at zero to minimize the look of the white clouds on the water. Cropped as suggested by Joe




Which image is preferred. The jpeg SOOC or the one I post processed? (ignoring the crop as I'm trying to get a feel for my post processing skills)

Thank you.

[Brownbear]

Hi Izzie,

It is just nice to see you back on the forum. I thoroughly enjoy your sense of humour. The only reason I choose to dedicate the spider feasting on the cockroach photo to you was because I recall your not being so fond of bugs, and I know you have a great sense of humour. Personally I abhor the colour of that orange wall but nature in action is what it is. Cockroaches are one of the few bugs that I don't like, likely the only bug that I'm not fond of.

The 1st dragonfly image is my favourite bug image (of my own) so it is nice to know that he/she is well liked. I've learned that bees are very challenging to photograph, which means I will likely try again.

I will be happy when I manage a super sharp close up head only shot like Grahames or David's, or Joe's head-on dragonfly.

I will dedicate something pretty to you later today...


A story to make you smile...

I headed up the mountain the other day to photograph the Grizzlies at the refuge in the late afternoon light. (3 hour round trip). Poor light and poor images, all trashed. I stopped by the store to pick up some milk and the clerk asked me if I saw the bear wandering around the neighbourhood. The bear was just one block from where I live. And about a week ago I missed seeing a bear while hiking by just 5 minutes. Sigh...

This morning I headed out to find my eagle (truth be told the appearance of your dragonfly was a convenient coincidence) who sat perched on a tree top for 1 1/2 hours without moving. The very second I turned my head to explain what type of bird it was to some hikers the eagle took flight. I missed the shot and the hikers advised me that I missed a great shot. So it goes...

Truly nice to see you back!

Hi Christina...Sorry I am late to this party. It was too late when I came in from photoclass last night. Anyway, when I clicked the link you sent me, I was enthralled by the first shot of the dragonfly...it was so beautiful...the background is superb and just like the wind movement. There is so much drama in that shot.

#2 is also OK...so far I have only bought a set of extension rings. Next will be the 105 Macro when I find the time to go to B&H, my favourite store. I like the way you shot this one -- the composition is spot on.

#3 for the bee, I must remember your settings...I shot a bee for my school assignment and the damn thing's head was inside my basil flower. I was able to shoot about two frames then it flew away. If I waited I would had got nothing... I printed and submitted it anyway...this one you have is so much more better than mine for sure because it is more closer. More pronounced.

And you chose the most yuckier photo to dedicated to me! What a sense of humour you got!!! Well...at least the shot of both are sharp and to the point. Got that? -- to the point?! Eyyaawwww -- at the time I am having brunch too. I am having home made potsticker and the colour of the soy sauce looks the same as the cockroach. Dang! you have a way to make me laugh when you really get down to it, do you?

If I saw this post earlier, I could have told you beforehand that David and Grahame are the best when it comes to bug lighting. It was Grahame who taught me how to light a shiny back beetle before I disappeared from this forum. I had fun for a few months trying to pick up and shoot beetles I found in the carpark of the vet hospital everytime we go for Tucker's appointment.

Cheers....I told you I will write a long saga this time, didn't I? I know you will read it anyway...haha

[Shadowman]

Hi John,

Thank you for letting me know. I didn't do anything special for that shot. Nikon D80 105mm focal length ISO 320 F13 SS 1/60 Matrix metering, hand held, eye level (The shutter speed is too slow as the bug isn't sharp enough)

It is from 2 years ago but I remember lifting the bug up with a leaf and placing it on the inside of a palm tree plant a with gigantic leaves (to create a pretty background) and choosing a small aperture just to create the feeling of the bug being inside of the leaf. That's about it. These guys are only seen once a year before every rainy season, and even then they are hard to find, but they are uniquely beautiful.

Excellent job.