The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I have seen this behavior of a few flies/bees before, so I looked it up, and I found that it can be a defense mechanism because it is sticky, but also because they clean their mouth parts.
Specific Feedback
I could crop in more, but wondering if this is good to show the fly and his environment? Anything else you might see that would improve the image.
Technical Details
Handheld, Canon 5D Mark IV, Canon 100mm L f2.8 macro lens, KX-800 twin flash (1/8th power) with DIY diffuser, all manual settings. 1/200, f10, ISO 320.
Colorful little thing! Great eyes. I’d leave it the way you’ve cropped it - the color contrast is nice and so is the environment showing this is probably a pollinator fly. Very crisp and gorgeous light as usual. I love the little curly bits in the flower. The deer ate all my cone flowers years ago and I won’t bother to replant them. Shame because they attract so many other critters. But the deer go after my black eyed susans, too (already got the leaves), so there’s only so much I can do.
Thank you, Kris. I feel for you on the deer eating the flowers. That would not be good. I don’t have that problem, we are too out in the open for them.
As for the eyes, thank you. I don’t know what is going on lately though, in LR I can see the details of the sectionals or whatever you call it, but when I export it out for NPN, those go away! It didn’t used to, so I checked my settings and they look the same.
@Kris_Smith I just looked again, and I can’t remember if “Sharpen for screen” should have a checkmark in LR when Exporting, so I checked it and set the amount to high. I am uploading one of the images (no edits, just the change I mentioned here in Export. Just testing to see if that just got unchecked, and if “High” the setting.
Hi Shirley, I love these compositions as is showing the beauty of the flower as well as the fly. Colors look great. Glad you solved the upload issue - details look good to me. We planted coneflowers this year so I’ll have to remember to keep wide sometimes. Well done!
Thank you, @Allen_Sparks Allen. Actually, I shot this at 1:1 ratio, and then cropped a tiny bit to improve composition. Those coneflowers are right nice size. I’m sure you will enjoy them. I found out a year or so ago that if you want them to seed and grow more in your garden, leave the dead flowers on and let them seed. If you are looking for the plant to produce more blooms, you pick them off down close to the first leaf on the stem I think.
Wow, Shirley. Wonderful color, composition and detail in the fly! We also have purple cone flowers which, as you’ve said, attract all kinds of insects. Butterflies, flies, bees. Fun to watch all the activity. I have yet to get a shot I would even consider posting here. Very nicely done!
