The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
These things are frustrating to photograph as they don’t bloom until near sunset, before the afternoon breezes (often downright winds) have died down, and they are on long thin stems that will move with the slightest breeze. This was three weeks ago, well after sunset on an evening when there was less breeze. I couldn’t get close enough to use the macro lens so this is with my 100-500 + 1.4X at 700mm, and a focus stack. The light was low enough to pose a challenge balancing aperture, SS and ISO. The BG is dry grass maybe 100 ft away. The bugs were an unexpected bonus, and some of them are carrying a drop of nectar! I tried for them for the next several nights and didn’t find them.
Specific Feedback
All comments welcome!
Technical Details
Not much done to the raw files – slight global tonal corrections. I left the WB as shot as the light was dim with low contrast. Zerene Stacker, DMap with some overlap halos cloned. Getting the bugs still and sharp was accomplished by dumb luck and the speed with which the R5 can do a focus bracket in electronic shutter.
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
Really excellent! The insects are a nice touch and remind us just how many of them are pollinators. As always the background really suits the flowers and isolates them well. Very subdued and shows the delicacy of the buds and the blooms. I just spent an hour or so looking for tiny orchids in the side yard to no avail so it’s nice to see something fresh. Never came across these IRL, so this is second best. Do they have a scent at all?
Very good, Diane. I love the looks of the plant and as noted, the insects are a wonderful bonus. The tonality of the background works very well with the flowers and the composition is excellent. The “related topics” that showed up below the post had several other images of this species that you had taken and this is far and away the best of the lot in my opinion.
Thanks, @Preston_Birdwell, @Kris_Smith, @Dennis_Plank and @Bill_Fach! Kris, alas no scent! At least none I can detect. How do the insects find them? And I wonder if they are the same ones that plague my Iris flowers? I’ll have to have a closer look next spring when they bloom. Maybe @Jim_Zablotny can ID them?
I’m glad to help. These are probably Hylobatid dance flies (Anthalia species). They are predators that feed on small insects and are probably getting some nectar from the flowers. Comp is pretty good and I like the background color…Jim
