Garden Hover

[John 2]

Just processing some images from earlier in the year. Liked this one because the BG is reasonable. It's the garden path. We normally are overrun with Marmalade hoverflies but this year, these seem to have predominated. I think Geoff identified this type for me from another image as a Syrphus Ribesii.

Fuji XT 1
60 mm Fuji Macro
1/1200th sec @ f5.6 ISO 200

[deetheturk]

Very nice John, well captured bud!

[IzzieK]

Very nice, John...I really like it...colour matching...

[Shadowman]

Nicely done.

[bnnrcn]

Lovely colors and great details

[rpcrowe]

I agree - lovely capture. I also like the creative framing!

[Geoff F]

Yes, you have nicely caught the light at an ideal angle there.

Incidentally, here in the 'soft south' I'm still seeing a few of those Syrphus now - in November!

[Nicks Pics]

John, from the flower, to the Syrphus Ribesii, to the background and even the oof vegetatiln in the corner, all the elements make a pleasing picture, with good lighting. My only suggestion for improvement is to sharpen it more selectively so that the BG doesn't look grainy, or to use a layer mask...unless you did that artistically, I would get that too.

[FrankMi]

Very well captured, John! Excellent detail, coloring, bokeh and composition. It all comes together very nicely!

[Ziggy]

Nice capture John. The white is right and the color is good plus the detail is spot on.

Well done.

[John 2]

Thanks all for the feedback and generous comments.

Nick, I take your point. Not sure whether the grain comes from sharpening or it's the result of a heavy crop but one way or the other some selection either in that respect or in noise reduction would have finished the image off. Might redo it.

[Rebel]

Nice shot John, all the colours compliment each other really well.

[DanK]

A nice capture. It is hard to say at this small size, but it looks like the focal point may be a bit too far back, just slightly behind the head. Still, a very nice image, and I agree that the BG is very good for setting off the subject.

[John 2]

Thanks Matt, thanks Dan. Dan, you could well be right. The Fuji macro is tack sharp but it's only 60mm and which means going in close. It's also one of Fuji's earlier lenses and unlike the later lenses, the auto focus isn't brilliant. By the time it has locked, the subject may well have moved on. I find the easiest way to use it is to pre focus the camera and then move in and out on the subject. So a near miss is quite probable. I much prefer my 100mm on the Nikon but as they say the best camera is the one you have with you at the time.

[Suzan J]

Hi John: Absolutely everything works in this shot. The pose, composition, and background are just perfect. The wings are so detailed and Mr. Hoverfly even managed to chose a flawless daisy to rest upon.

[MarieV]

+1 to Suzan's comments John - beautiful capture.

[Brownbear]

Hi John,

Beautiful! #1 to Suzan's comments, plus to say that the colours are gorgeous and I especially adore the framing.

[John 2]

Thanks Suzan, thanks Marie thanks Christina. We grow Marguerite daisies in the garden most years and they are a bit of a magnet for hoverflies.

[FootLoose]

This is very strong image, John. I think the triangular shape of the hover against the circular flower gives it a sense of movement even though it has been frozen by the fast shutter speed. And that sense of movement is sustained by the diagonal line leading from the flower down to the bottom of the frame.

[John 2]

Thanks Greg. Composition has an element of luck associated with it. As you will know, they don't hang around long enough to do a considered job.