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Wow, John, this is what I call in the face of an ant! Great details in the face of the ant, especially his eyes. I am amazed that he stayed still for you to get more than one image to stack, as most ants seem to be on a mission, and don’t stay still for anything. You didn’t mention how many images are in the stack, nor camera settings, lenses, etc., which would be helpful for critiquing. I do find those light circles in the top left of the frame a bit distracting for me. The blue sky seems a bit unnatural in color on my screen. I am still amazed at the details you were able to get of the ant. Well done. You certainly are giving us a nice look into his face.
Hi Shirley, I misspoke on focus stacking. Using 65mm Macro lens with ant leaning on a flower. Did you notice the light reflection in his chest. Appreciate the suggestion on color. The lens flare spots were added to make the photo a little more interesting.
Okay, no stacking makes sense. Still, quite the shot to get that much detail. I hadn’t noticed the light reflection on his chest.
Amazing John. I am surprised that the ant let you get that close. I see the reflection, is that from the flower? that is the only thing I can think of.
Hi Dean, The reflection is either the light table or the ring light used. I will post another ant posed on a leaf which shows the light effect more clearly. I like this shot because it portrays the ants “sole” in its chest. Yes. . . ?
John, this is a very up-close and nicely dramatic look at this ant. The glow of the foreground stamen and the eye highlight suggest that you had a light source in front. That makes the flare spots seem unnatural although including them falls into the realm of making photo art. There are 6 dirt spots near the left edge showing that this is a 6 shot stack. There’s also some faint ghosting around the stamen, with may be a stacking artifact or a result of adding micro contrast (clarity) in post processing. It is a fun image.
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Hi Mark, I’ve recently started sharing my images and have not always noted the technical aspects, but plan to do so in the future. Have not learned to deal with ghosting yet and I use a 65mm macro lens, light table for solving shadow problems and a ring light. I will have to note the stacking data also for future posts. Always thought that the added lens flare and stamen caused the photo to appear extra terrestrial. Thanks for the helpful hints.