Dragonfly for John (Shadowman) and bugs...

[Brownbear]

Just for fun...

I figure is about time I shared some bugs of my own. I do adore photographing insects but they are hard to find in Vancouver so I need to find more opportunities to practice...

For John (Shadowman) as promised a long time ago.

My all time favourite bug shot... Dragonfly in flight (from last summer) Not really a macro but a shot that I adore.

300 mm SS 1/1600 ISO 400 f/4



And one from December...

105 mm (Macro lens) SS 1/1000 f/8 ISO 400 (Cropped about 50%)



I just had to try a bee... Amazingly difficult as their heads are always inside the flowers. If the opportunity arises again I will use a smaller aperture to allow for more of the flowers to be in focus but I so love blurring away backgrounds...

SS 1/500 f/9 ISO 500 (Cropped about 40% even though my lens was almost touching the bee.



From a couple of years ago... Nikon D80 and macro lens. My focus is off but I can't resist sharing these.

Especially for our Dear Izzie titled "Why I love Spiders."





Especially for Grahame...

Ciadia... Rain bug

They sing for hours every night for a few weeks just before the rainy season begins. I hope to have the opportunity to visit the tropics before the rainy season begins as I'm certain I could do a better job of capturing this critters unique beauty...



Mani's Soulmate... Also for Grahame. I had to crop the back end off... Crazy highlights





Even though these are just for fun... if anyone has any tips to share on how to fill the frame with the bug in a head on position, and how to capture sharp focus on the critters eyes I would love to know. And also how to minimize the highlights on wings and eyes... (White spots on the head and bright highlights seen in all of my head on dragonfly shots) Perhaps I just need a polarizer for my macro lens or?

After this post I'm back to working diligently on improving my landscapes! (perhaps the odd bug will stroll by)

[Shadowman]

Christina,

That is a very nice series, especially the first, second, and last in terms of quality, clarity, and originality. The bee shot was just gutsy. Well done.

[Brownbear]

Thank you John,

I can see an improvement in my focusing skills. For me Izzie's shot was the truly gutsy one

I hope you recall the dragonfly I promised you. Unfortunately the vast majority of these shots didn't turn out. But I'm hopeful I will be able to find a few of these around this summer.

Christina,

That is a very nice series, especially the first, second, and last in terms of quality, clarity, and originality. The bee shot was just gutsy. Well done.

[Shadowman]

Thank you John,

I can see an improvement in my focusing skills. For me Izzie's shot was the truly gutsy one

I hope you recall the dragonfly I promised you. Unfortunately the vast majority of these shots didn't turn out. But I'm hopeful I will be able to find a few of these around this summer.

Christina,

The few you've shown are worthy of your endeavor. You should be proud of your effort.

[Stagecoach]

Hi Christina,

Good to see you post your bugs in this series, a nice selection of our mini friends. They are all good compositions and the spider with what appears a cockroach is a stunner in that it's a rare capture and extremely well executed.

As for tips, that's not easy as you seem to be getting the hang of it quite well from these results but here's something to consider;

a) Filling (or at least 1/2 to 3/4) of the frame with a bug head on is firstly going to require the magnification to do that, and that may require tubes depending upon the size of the bugs head. As to actually capturing the bug head on is either luck or you being lucky enough to be able to get yourself in the position necessary with good support if hand holding and a willing bug

b) Capturing sharp focus on the critters eyes I find best done if the camera is roughly pre-focussed/magnification to be needed and I simply move the camera back and forth concentrating 200% on the eyes through the viewfinder with the shutter half pressed ready for the instant I'm happy I have them sharp. I also try and look at the very front and back of the eye to get focus between these two extremities. It's also easier to do this if the eyes are away from the centre focus box which I find gets in the way.

c) Highlights are always going to be a problem for sun and flash and depend very much on the bugs surface.

d) A polarizing filter will lose you light at the cost of speed if using daylight.

Grahame

[Nicks Pics]

Great bug photos! I have tried to take some bug shots lately, but most are quite pitiful compared to these people have been posting on this forum lately.

[Rita]

Christina, very nice series. I love number 1, the background is special. I really want to say lucky shot but I know there is a lot of skill in this series

[deetheturk]

Hi Christina, a bit of a dark horse you are all images are super very well captured! The Rain Bug is my favorite but like i said they are all super images, well done you

David

[ShaneS]

I second David's comment

Christina, a bit of a dark horse you are

As you know I'm not a big bug image fan but these are quite nice and like Rita the background in the first really makes the image for me. But then I am a huge fan of the Water Impressions and Inner Water series by Eddie Soloway which I strive to 'see' and will someday capture.

[Shadowman]

Nice addition of the mantis.

[Mark von Kanel]

A great series Christina you shouldnt be so reticent to show us these pictures!

[jprzybyla]

Hello Christina, I like them, nice series of bugs. I see a couple things with the two dragonflies I would have done differently if mine. I would have cropped the first differently, below is how I might have cropped it to get the subject out of the center of the image and to allow the viewers eyes to wander. Also there appeared to be a few cloning artifacts I did a quick correct on. Regarding the second dragonfly if you would have lowered yourself and the camera and shot upwards the parts of the vegetation that are out of focus would be eliminated, leaving the dragonfly on the tips of the vegetation with a cleaner background.

[Brownbear]

Hi Grahame,

Thank you. I'm surprised that you like the cockroach image as I think the focus on the head of the spider should be sharper (instead of the cockroaches leg)... But it is a memorable image.

I'm sorry that Mani's soulmate doesn't do Mani justice but the next time I'm anywhere tropical I will find another preying mantis.

Thank you for advising and for sharing.
a. For now my priority purchase will be graduated filters but one day I will purchase magnification tubes. My bug shots are hand held because I find using a tripod impossibly difficult for bugs. These days I know enough to try and find something to stabilize myself on and/or use a faster shutter speed... The older images are not as sharp as the dragonflies because I didn't know that back then plus I used a SS of 1/60 second.

Thank you for advising on highlights and polarizing filters. I don't use flash and the light is low here (compared to Mexico) and a challenge to photograph bugs in.

Truly appreciated!

Hi Christina,

Good to see you post your bugs in this series, a nice selection of our mini friends. They are all good compositions and the spider with what appears a cockroach is a stunner in that it's a rare capture and extremely well executed.

As for tips, that's not easy as you seem to be getting the hang of it quite well from these results but here's something to consider;

a) Filling (or at least 1/2 to 3/4) of the frame with a bug head on is firstly going to require the magnification to do that, and that may require tubes depending upon the size of the bugs head. As to actually capturing the bug head on is either luck or you being lucky enough to be able to get yourself in the position necessary with good support if hand holding and a willing bug

b) Capturing sharp focus on the critters eyes I find best done if the camera is roughly pre-focussed/magnification to be needed and I simply move the camera back and forth concentrating 200% on the eyes through the viewfinder with the shutter half pressed ready for the instant I'm happy I have them sharp. I also try and look at the very front and back of the eye to get focus between these two extremities. It's also easier to do this if the eyes are away from the centre focus box which I find gets in the way.

c) Highlights are always going to be a problem for sun and flash and depend very much on the bugs surface.

d) A polarizing filter will lose you light at the cost of speed if using daylight.

Grahame

[Brownbear]

Thank you Nick, Rita, David, Shane, John (Shadowman), Mark, Grahame and Joe.

Nick & Mark... Thank you. I still have a lot to learn about photographing bugs. But I do love my first dragonfly!

Rita... The first dragonfly is my place marker image. It was challenging and most every shot was of the back end of the dragonfly. What helped was bright sunlight over nothing but water.

Shane... I like the background, too. Thank you for the link. I've never seen anything like these images and they are beautiful! Something to explore.

John and Grahame... Thank you for the encouragement. Nice words to hear from the bug masters.

[Brownbear]

Hi Joe,

Thank you for your encouragement (I adore your dragonfly images), and helpful advice as always. I did think of cropping the 1st dragonfly image so it wasn't so centered however I really liked the minimalist feel when not cropped, and also the background.

I would like to ask for your help with the following..

1. How does having a non-centered image help keep the eye wandering?

2. Could you please point out to me what you see and are referring to as cloning artifacts. This concerns me because it is my all time favourite bug image and I know that artifacts are not a good thing. Nothing was cloned/healed out. The jpeg image SOOC looks like my raw processed image. I think the swirls are reflections of the clouds in the water. It is a low-key image but if I raise the white point it makes the swirls stand out more. Perhaps I should lower the white point? Please advise when you have time and I will try processing the image again.

Thank you for the tip on the 2nd dragonfly. There were houses in the background that I was trying to blur away and I likely didn't think of the effect on the foilage. I'm quickly learning that working with the surrounding foilage when photographing bugs - it seems to me that it needs to be 100% sharp or 100% blurred.

As always. Truly appreciated. Thank you Joe!

Hello Christina, I like them, nice series of bugs. I see a couple things with the two dragonflies I would have done differently if mine. I would have cropped the first differently, below is how I might have cropped it to get the subject out of the center of the image and to allow the viewers eyes to wander. Also there appeared to be a few cloning artifacts I did a quick correct on. Regarding the second dragonfly if you would have lowered yourself and the camera and shot upwards the parts of the vegetation that are out of focus would be eliminated, leaving the dragonfly on the tips of the vegetation with a cleaner background.

[Brownbear]

Thanks Nick. The majority of my bug photos are pitiful indeed. I have at least a couple of hundred blurry and out of focus bug shots. I think it is something that is just inherently challenging and takes lots of practice. So keep trying!

Great bug photos! I have tried to take some bug shots lately, but most are quite pitiful compared to these people have been posting on this forum lately.

[jprzybyla]

Hello Christina, normally the subject is not centered, unless it is large in the image such as a portrait. I think the image is still very minimalist, in my example of a possible crop the dragonfly has room to fly into maintaining your feel in the image. I like the image a lot, very nice. What I thought was cloning artifacts was what appears to be two lines running through the reflection of the clouds, clouds would not have straight lines. If you did not do any cloning then it is something else. I would not change anything about the image except not centering the dragonfly. It makes for a stronger image I think with the subject at the intersection of thirds in the upper corner. It has to be that corner because of the way the dragonfly is facing and flying.

Regarding the second dragonfly... once you have selected a subject to photograph then turn your attention to the background. Look through the viewfinder and see what it will look like. The way to get a soft blurred background is to have separation between the subject and the background. Going lower or higher will sometimes give that separation. I like soft and or clean backgrounds. A personal preference. Here is an example where I went low to use the sky as a background.

[Brownbear]

Hi Joe,

Thank you for advising. Very helpful to know and truly appreciated. I will try another edit later today. I can't see the lines you see but I suspect if I lower the white point they may disappear.

Also thank you for the detailed explanation. I am learning to concentrate on my backgrounds and the tip on getting lower or higher to achieve that separation is very helpful, and one that I will put into practice more often, especially with bugs. I too love soft blurred clean backgrounds, not so easy to do.

Thank you for posting your Dragonfly. A drop-dead gorgeous image, perfection personified and a very inspiring photo for me. I hope to capture a similar beauty of a head-on shot one day!

Hello Christina, normally the subject is not centered, unless it is large in the image such as a portrait. I think the image is still very minimalist, in my example of a possible crop the dragonfly has room to fly into maintaining your feel in the image. I like the image a lot, very nice. What I thought was cloning artifacts was what appears to be two lines running through the reflection of the clouds, clouds would not have straight lines. If you did not do any cloning then it is something else. I would not change anything about the image except not centering the dragonfly. It makes for a stronger image I think with the subject at the intersection of thirds in the upper corner. It has to be that corner because of the way the dragonfly is facing and flying.

Regarding the second dragonfly... once you have selected a subject to photograph then turn your attention to the background. Look through the viewfinder and see what it will look like. The way to get a soft blurred background is to have separation between the subject and the background. Going lower or higher will sometimes give that separation. I like soft and or clean backgrounds. A personal preference. Here is an example where I went low to use the sky as a background.

[Shadowman]

Christina, can you describe the setup for the Gladia bug, your position to the insect, etc. The effects are great on this one, it looks obvious as to how it was taken but there also seems to be some other effects going on.

[Brownbear]

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

Christina, can you describe the setup for the Gladia bug, your position to the insect, etc. The effects are great on this one, it looks obvious as to how it was taken but there also seems to be some other effects going on.