An older photo I processed while I’m waiting for spring and a new crop of critters, I hope!
Type of Critique Requested
Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
I think overall this is a good photo that tells a story. I wish the oof flowers weren’t in the foreground, but I don’t think they’re terribly distracting, do you?
Technical Details
Canon 60D, Canon 70-300mm, f/6.7, 1/2000 sec., ISO 200. Processed in ACR and PSE 2020 for cropping and exposure. Topaz DeNoise. The image was pretty noisy at that ISO with the 60D, and the image was slightly underexposed. But I think DeNoise did a pretty good job.
David, these littles are so fast, and very skittish, so I find them hard to get a decent shot of when I even see them. Amazing how the equipment has improved over the years. It looks like the noise reduction turned out pretty good though. The oof flowers aren’t distracting to me. Sure it would have been nice without them. You probably can’t do much cropping on this image because of the noise and probably sensor size of the 60D. I could see if you could crop more cropping a little from the left side too. Overall it is a nice capture of the Hummingbird Moth, and his position shows that his target is the flower.
Shirley is right, Terry, these little guys are so fast! Beautiful colors in this one. The few I have seen down here have much more subdued colors. The OOF foreground flower isn’t an issue for me since I was zoomed in on the Hummer. Cropping would help put the focus more on the little guy, but really depends on what you envisioned at the time. Great shot and nicely done.
Great insects, these hummers, and I love the colours on this one, Terry. The flower is lovely too, a kind of milkweed? It’s personal taste, but I’d clone out the left side up to the leaf tip, just so we can admire our star even more.
Thanks, @Shirley_Freeman . Yes, the new gear I have is light years ahead of my old 60D but then, so was the price tag!
Thank you @linda_mellor. I left the crop loose because I have read so many times cropping a bit looser is much preferable than cropping too tight. I suppose that would depend on one’s intentions for the image.
Thanks @Dean_Salman. Sometimes it takes a little luck to capture something so small and fast.
Thanks @Mike_Friel. Yes, that is Swamp Milkweed, Asclepias incarnata. I planted it for the Monarch’s, but just about every nectar-feeding critter loves the blossoms.
Terry: Terrific capture of a very challenging subject. This is a pretty aggressive crop but I think it addresses most of the issues noted already. Most excellent. >=))>
Terry, the colors in the Moth look great. It’s hard to see the subtle color changes in the reds towards the back of the abdomen. I think Bill’s crop looks good. I was going to suggest something similar, to take advantage of the angled eye movement that the flower creates and for moving the main subject off center.
