Yellow Oriental Paper Wasp - Getting even closer

[Stagecoach]

For some reason I had been under the impression that the Nikon 1.4x TC would not fit my 105mm macro but tried it today and it couples ok. There's possibly some degradation in IQ when using it but it makes working with these guys a bit easier

So for this set I got some extra reach and did not have to crop so much in post. All taken using the SB600 camera mounted with a cardboard snoot and diffuser to get the light right up front and Auto Focus.

No 1


No 2


No 3


No 4


No 5


Grahame

[Shadowman]

Nice shots.

[DanK]

great captures.

I think you can improve these in post. Take #3, for example. It's relatively low contrast; the background is uneven; and the critter is a bit underexposed.

As a quick illustration, I did this:

1. I selected the background and turned it black with a levels tool. There's nothing in that space anyway.
2. I inverted the selection and brightened the bug. I used a curves tool for this.
3. I added a bit of contrast.
4. I sharped the result. I used a high-pass filter because I didn't want to sharpen anything but the large edges.

It's a quick-and-dirty edit. For example, if I were going to take more time, I would do something in the process to avoid brightening the foreground. However, I think it is enough to show that you can squeeze a lot more out of these images.

[Stagecoach]

Nice shots.

Thank you John.

[Stagecoach]

great captures.

I think you can improve these in post. Take #3, for example. It's relatively low contrast; the background is uneven; and the critter is a bit underexposed.

As a quick illustration, I did this:

1. I selected the background and turned it black with a levels tool. There's nothing in that space anyway.
2. I inverted the selection and brightened the bug. I used a curves tool for this.
3. I added a bit of contrast.
4. I sharped the result. I used a high-pass filter because I didn't want to sharpen anything but the large edges.

It's a quick-and-dirty edit. For example, if I were going to take more time, I would do something in the process to avoid brightening the foreground. However, I think it is enough to show that you can squeeze a lot more out of these images.

Thank you Dan.

I agree the wasp in No 3 can be brightened up a bit and to do this I simply use curves in ACR and raise the 'lights'. As for the darker background on your edit, whilst I have no problems at times having a plain black background on this occasion I had consciously kept some colour in it.

The problem I have with No 3 is that whilst I love the pose I missed AF on the eye and that 'bugs' me so I lose it bit of enthusiasm in the PP

Something else that's bugging me is the colour of the wasps and when I import them to ACR there's a big difference between what camera colour profile I use so I'll take a WB card out there today and see what transpires.

[FootLoose]

Nice work, Grahame. I think the coloured backgrounds in the first 3 images work better than black. I find the blues and greens are more complementary than the black. Good luck with the reshoot.

[Stagecoach]

Nice work, Grahame. I think the coloured backgrounds in the first 3 images work better than black. I find the blues and greens are more complementary than the black.

Thank you Greg.

Good luck with the reshoot.

I did have some very good luck Greg on my following attempt, firstly solved the 'colour' problem and secondly never got stung as I fell forward when the fence I was leaning heavily against to get up close gave way