The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
I found this little one on my deck railing the other week and I knew it was a kind of leafhopper, but I’d never seen one like this before. Its scientific name is Cuerna striata and they are in a class grouped under sharpshooter leaf hoppers.
One explanation for this name was an observation of some tiny holes in plants that look to have been made by microscopic bullets. Turns out it’s the mouthparts of these and similar leafhoppers. Another story is that it’s because they hop so fast and far when frightened. Neither makes a lot of sense, but both adults like this one, and also nymphs pierce plant stems and suck juice out for food. Only the adults can fly though and the wings really are this brightly colored. It’s a bit less than 1 cm long and very friendly, letting me get in its face and even crawling onto my finger for bit. A new species for me and one I’m glad I got to see up close.
Specific Feedback
I know it’s an unnatural setting, but other than that how does it work? Stack look ok? It isn’t perfect, but I think its imperfections are in safe locations.
Technical Details
Handheld, but resting on deck railing
Manually shifted the focus point for expanded DOF with a stack, just a handful of images, maybe 4 or 6.
Lr for some work to even tonalities and ready the sharpness level for stacking. A bit of a crop, too and it went to Zerene for a PMax stack. Brightened it in Lr after and also cropped a bit more and hit it with negative dehaze for the deck railing itself.
Kris, the setting works for me. I appreciate you sharing all the info about the Sharpshooter. I had never seen or heard of them before. It is one interesting bug to look at, but I’m sure to watch as well. I can see a reflection in his eye, I think, of the surface he is sitting on. Amazing! Nice shot.
Hi Kris,
wow, that is a really interesting guy. I’ve never seen anything like it either.
Thank you for the background story. That was very instructive again.
The image looks great. I have no suggestions. Well done!
Thanks @Shirley_Freeman, @Diane_Miller & @Jens_Ober - isn’t it a cute little thing? New for me, too. The decking is a light gray composite material and so reflects a lot of light and I like to push the white slider to brighten it when I’ve got a bug posing. Glad you liked the info, too. A huge part of my reason for photography is to learn about new stuff.
Hi Kris, I think the dark bug and light surroundings work well in this case. The texture of the railing adds another point of interest too. Focus looks really good as usual. I also like the subject placement in the frame. Well done.
Thanks @Allen_Sparks - it was a very patient model and quite unafraid of me which was good for getting a few frames to stack. The deck is always great for bugs and spiders, got one yesterday, but haven’t processed or IDed it yet. It’s a male so ID could be harder since my spider book mostly shows the females of each species. That makes sense since they are more noticeable and numerous.
