Just a Stinker (Brown Marmorated Stinkbug)

Image Critiques
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BMStinkbug.jpg
BMStinkbug.jpg1752Ă—2000 1.32 MB

Critique Style Requested: Standard

The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.

Description

Brown marmorated stinkbugs are an exotic species from Asia that can be a nuisance when they feed on agricultural crops and during the winter when they invade homes to escape from the cold. This immature stinkbug was resting beneath the leaf of a cup plant and I overturned the leaf to get a better angle for shooting. I used a large AK diffuser which produced the soft shadows and highlights. Unlike other macro photographers which use the flash and diffuser as the main light source, I prefer to use it as a fill flash which provides some shadows for depth.

Specific Feedback

The spots on the leaf are natural and I left them in place. How do you like the overall lighting and comp? The color pattern is what caught my eye and my guess is that it will catch the viewer’s eyes as well.

Technical Details

Z9 105mm +2.0 Diopter (1/160 sec at f22, ISO 5000) Levels, DeNoise, Slight Crop for Comp, Brightness & Contrast)…Jim

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Jim: Looking at your techs the light must have been pretty dim to begin with so your lighting decisions were spot on. I can’t say that this is an attractive bug but the capture of it is superb and the generally centered comp works well. Nicely done. >=))>

PS: Do you find the diopters having much of a negative effect on your image quality and second, how would you compare their effect vs extension tubes? Can you give a recommendation for the diopters?

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Hi Bill, Diopters have little to no effect on image quality. Nikon diopters are excellent regarding optics and I was fortunate to find +2 diopter at B&H a while ago. You may see some softness at the edges when shooting wide open. There’s no light loss, nor vignetting which occurs when using extension tubes…Jim

1 Like
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Beautiful, Jim. I love the patterns on the back. I could see cropping all the way in to include just the back for an abstract.