Anything you see that would help this image. I would have loved to have had more DOF in this, but I only had a short time to shoot, and it just never crossed my mind to up the ISO! I shoot a lot of my bird shots on auto ISO, so I just changed the f-stop to expose properly.
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
I cropped in slightly from the top and a little from the sides (mainly oof brick). Does the composition look okay. Anything else you see to improve this?
Pertinent technical details or techniques:
Shot handheld using Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 100 mm L macro lens with the KX-800 twin flash and DIY diffuser at f9.5, 1/125, ISO 160, all manual setting.
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More depth of field might have been nice Shirley, but this puts all the emphasis on the action, so it works for me. I also like your choice of crop. An excellent image.
Thank you, Dennis. That makes me feel better about this image. I was kind of kicking myself for not thinking about the ISO while shooting the shot. I was amazed that DFâs eat other DFâs! I looked it up to make sure, and yes, they eat smaller ones.
Really nice shot Shirley. Sharp where it needs to be which puts my attention on the feeding going on. Well done!
p.s. my macro twin lights arrive today - hope I can get as good results as you are!
Thank you, Allen. As good a photographer as you are, I am humbled by your comment! I wish you the best with your twin flash unit, and looking forward to seeing your shots.
A great capture, I donât need fore-to-aft sharpness here - you nailed the plane of focus perfectly-, but if you wish to get it all sharp, more DOF in macro is best done by focus stacking. Stopping down wonât increase DOF suffiiciently, especially on large printsâŚ
A nice tutorial on 4K post-focus stacking:
Shirley, this is a great catch. Youâve got excellent details in the DFâs face and eyes along with a great bit of âactionâ. Your comp. works well. The DF looks like an Eastern Pondhawk and they are known for eating other dragonflies and damselflies.
Thank you, Jaapv and Mark. I appreciate your comments and the video, Jaapv In this case, the subject being a live critter, focus stacking would have been difficult if not impossible to do, since it needed to be perfectly still while capturing each shot for stacking. I do appreciate the advice though. I am beginning to like (and seems others are too) the shallow DOF on this shot, as it is drawing the eye to what matters most in the image. Mark, I appreciate your comments as well, and for providing the name of the DF. It is always good to know the name of the subject if possible.
Very cool, Shirley. As others have noted, you couldnât get all of this in focus stopping down and you nailed the important part perfectly. Very well done.
