Bug, Lady

I don't usually dabble in insects, but this one caught my eye.
Comments and Critiques welcomed. Suggestions cheerfully explored, but please leave the editing to me. Comparisons and expressions of preference encouraged.
:thumbsup:

http://gallery.photographyreview.com.../500/LBug3.jpg

http://gallery.photographyreview.com.../500/LBug2.jpg

http://gallery.photographyreview.com.../500/LBug1.jpg

the first one is little distracting cause of the cord of the pumpkin,
second I really like, sorta like a tail of conquering a mountain
third would kick butt if you were able to get that small wasp focus also.
I in all they are all keepers to me , great job

Second does it for me.....with slightly more crop on top and on the right.

Third is good with more bottom crop

Len

The good...she's in focus and you got some good angles.
I think the colors are over saturated unless the pumpkins in Va are a different color than they are in Wa. Wish the bug and background weren't so much the same color.

Like the colors.

The third image is the one for me (with as Len noted a small crop from the bottom to get rid of that white splotch) as the critter is just too small a part of the first 2 images. Plus I like the side view/shooting angle in the bottom image much more than the top down view of the other 2 images.

Thanks for the thoughtful responses folks!:)


RD - I agree it would have been kick butt if I could have gotten that other little bug in focus too.

Len - Thanks for the great cropping suggestions! I have room with the originals so will have to try that.

Frog - I never goose my color saturation, contrast sure, colors never. Those are the colors I saw. It was 9 - 10 in the morning bright sunshine so maybe that's the difference between the color of a VA pumpkin and a WA pumpkin. I agree it would have been nice if the little LB had chosen something with better color contrast than an orange pumpkin but I like to take things as I find them.

MB - You and Len are right, I notice black spots right away but white blobs are always escaping my notice. I've got to work on that. I agree the angles on the third worked out best and this is my personal favorite of the bunch.

Very different. The second one's composition and angles are the best imo. These shots remind me of some sci-fi shows I've seen (!) Looks like another world, in a good way. The bugs could be a tad sharper but I think it works as is too. Nice find

G

Hi CL,
I like the colour of the background very much. It has the same tone of the bug. Very harmoniuos!
yoyo

I really like the cropped version you posted. The white blob was distracting and without it the shot is really good. I don't mind the wasp being out of focus because you can still see it there and get an idea of what it is, but you can also see that it's a little ways back. Good shot.

PC

Thanks Yoyo and PC! :D
I like it with the crop too. Can't believe I missed it the first time.

Yoyo - I was concerned that the colors were almost too close, instead of harmony I thought it might clash. Glad to see you find they agree.

The cropped version is very nice!

I like the angle/posture of the ladybug and both insects are set nicely against their respective backgrounds. Yes, a little more DOF would have been nice to render the wasp a little more clearly (but not overly so) but I'm sure the shutter speed and/or ISO would have compromised the resolution.

The other possibility is to hold the camera at a tilt to push the plane of DOF a little closer towards the wasp or shoot from a different shooting angle altogether to line them up on a plane of focus. But with both techniques, the wasp would be against a different part of the background. And that ladybug seems to be moving around a lot :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Loupey

And that ladybug seems to be moving around a lot :)

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You got that right!:D Thanks for looking at this one Loupey! I appreciate the tips. Bugs aren't usually my thing.