The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
And the last will be first. I had trouble finding my images, and so the third is actually the first I’d wanted to show. This little mini was on the hood of my car - I scrambled to get my camera and was gratified he hadn’t moved and I was able to capture the images. A moth of some sort, I’m afraid I don’t have a common name. This little fellow is Aetole unipunctella: I had submitted the pics to bugguide.net in 2012 for the identification.
Specific Feedback
As the moth was on the hood of the car, I had some cleanup to do - specks of dirt and dust… it IS the desert after all. As I’m learning the adobe app, are there any spots I could do better with cleanup? I realize there are blurred areas - are they able to be cleaned up and still keep integrity of the image?
Terri, this are fun looks at this “bug”… . The reflections are a nice addition. Overall, these are a bit soft, but that’s almost certainly your hardware, since a single lens camera doesn’t have the optical capabilities that the true macro lens offers. The lighting in the first and third posts does a good job of showing off the insect’s striking colors.
I love the reflections or shadows (not quite sure which they are) in the second and third images. Yes you can often clean up blurred areas if they’re not too large using the same techniques as dirt or twig removal. I wouldn’t rely on the automatic cleanup tools completely-they sometimes insist on doing things you don’t want. The old standby clone tool is completely under your control so it’s worth learning how to use it well.
Given the slight softness in the moth. I could see turning the moth solid black and darkening the shadow a bit and bringing the background up to white-I think it would look pretty cool.
Here’s a quick and dirty job of it. I converted to b&W, applied a curves layer that did most of the work and then cleaned up the upper left corner that wanted to go dark instead of white.
Teri, what a neat find. Not familiar with this particular moth, so I am guessing it is more notable out west, not here in NC. I like what @Dennis_Plank did. I think you did a pretty good job capturing this little guy with the equipment you were working with. He has some pretty neat markings on him, and he looks like from his position he would be a threat to anything smaller than him. I think the square crop works well.
Cool looking moth Teri. It is Aetole bella according to BugGuide https://bugguide.net/node/view/129860. It is a Southwestern bug, but is also found in Florida and Texas. It is only 3-4.5 mm in length which also makes getting a clear shot very difficult.
Teri: Great find and a really interesting subject. Thanks to Ed for the ID. I wonder if you have more pixels to work with as all the images are pretty small or are these large crops? Still fine efforts and pretty good results. >=))>
Thank you for your comments. The images are close crops - I am upgrading my camera & gear, and will be taking lessons on the Adobe app so l may maximize my efforts. There’s a whole new world out there for me ~ I’m looking forward to exploring.
. The reflections are a nice addition. Overall, these are a bit soft, but that’s almost certainly your hardware, since a single lens camera doesn’t have the optical capabilities that the true macro lens offers. The lighting in the first and third posts does a good job of showing off the insect’s striking colors.