Ladybug, Ladybug Fly Away......Oops!

Image Critiques
1

Original - -20261021-7R501508-Quillayute River Inn-Edit.jpg
Original - -20261021-7R501508-Quillayute River Inn-Edit.jpg2048×1678 1.87 MB

Critique Style: Standard

The photographer is looking for thoughtful feedback on the image as a whole, especially around the areas noted below.

Feedback Focus: Artistic + Technical

About This Image

My wife spotted the remains of this ladybug in a spider web where we were staying on the Olympic Peninsula earlier this week. It was backlit by the sun which brought out the colors here but made the body of the orb weaver black. She was also working on consuming an unrecognizable lump of something so I decided to concentrate on the remains of the ladybug in processing and thought of including the front legs of the spider for fun.

Feedback Requested

Do the spider legs add something to the image? It’s a rather cheery blue background for a Halloween image-any suggestions on what I might do about that?

Technical Details

Camera: SONY ILCE-7RM5
Lens: FE 70-200mm F4 Macro G OSS II
Focal length: 179mm
Shutter speed: 1/1250s
Aperture: f/13
ISO: 1600

Processed in LR & PS CC. Cropped pretty severely (3352x2746 before resizing for posting).

1 Like
2

Without the spider’s legs the image is just ok for me; with the legs, it’s a winner.

3

The legs for the win! They tell the story and help to up the drama as well. The beetle’s elytra are backlit so beautifully and I like the bits of web you included, too. Eat or be eaten is the law and this shows it well. Nice.

4

A definite yes on the legs. The legs tell the story of what’s about to happen and I would think.they force you to look a,little longer at the photo as you can surmise what is going to happen next.

5

Dennis: Just glancing at the thumbnail I thought the subject was a leaf with some twigs intruding and thought meh. Glad I opened it up to full size to see what’s really going on. The details in the legs and the positioning tell a great story. Nice find and a fine rendering. >=))>

6

The legs spell out the impending doom for the ladybug. The backlit patterns and colors of the elytra are very nice. Well done…Jim

7

A brilliant composition!! Just wondering if there is more detail in the darks, but hardly needed for such a “dark” image.

8

Thanks @Jim_Zablotny @Kris_Smith @Bill_Fach @richard27 and @Jim_Gavin for your comments. @Diane_Miller I tried pulling up shadows but there really isn’t much detail since it was strongly backlit and I didn’t want to blow out the webs. If I’d been thinking , I would have taken another exposure or two and tried some hdr, though I’ve never gotten into that.