What technical feedback would you like if any?
What artistic feedback would you like if any?
Pertinent technical details or techniques: Canon 30d, Tamron 180 macro, 1/200 @ f/11, ISO 400
(If this is a composite, etc. please be honest with your techniques to help others learn)
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Wish I had more depth of field in this image but this was taken back in my photographic infancy when I had no idea what I was doing. Some say I don’t now but that’s another story.
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3 Likes
Now that I put on my glasses, it looks like maybe I over sharpened the image and should have cloned out the dead bug in the water.
This is sweet, Michael. Yes, more depth of field might have been nice, but you had the depth where needed with everything from the flower center forward in good focus, including the damselfly. I like the glow in the center of the flower. Very nice work.
A gorgeous flower with a nice little bonus, Michael! I don’t think the DOF is a problem here as it’s perfectly sharp where it counts. I also, personally, like the dead bug. For me it’s one of those little real nature things that make it unique and believable.
Michael, I think this looks great as it is, with the focus on the damsel and his environment (the lovely Lilly). I’m with Gary in feeling like the bug adds a touch of reality to the viewing. BTW, the damsel is a male Fragile Forktail and he’s got a lot mites on his abdomen, adding to the complexity of the environment.
Thanks for the info @Mark_Seaver
Michael, this looks pretty good to me. The dead bug is barely visible in the deep shade, so I had to look around at the larger image to spot it. It seems you handled focus on the center pretty well considering the limited DOF at close range (sometimes it’s surprising how critical close up focus can be even at f/11). It’s frequently is my knee-jerk reaction to over sharpen flowers, where in reality most parts, especially the petals, have a nicely soft texture.
Maybe just me, as a general rule my preference is to frame single subjects with a little more breathing room to include the environment, an important component for me. Granted you have a little room, but another advantage to having more space is that it almost always offers a more forgiving DOF at a given subject distance and focal length. A further advantage is you then have the option of cropping to suit your taste. Overall I think it’s a fine looking, well exposed bloom, and with a damsel right where it needs to be.
Looks excellent to me. Very nice distribution of Lily petals, perfect luminosity on the foreground and background to make the flower and bug pop
Wow! This is stunning 
. I was just looking through older posts on my phone and this baby caught my eye. Love the light and texture on the white , clarity throughout, dragonfly bonus … and that dead bug I was like what? Where? Had to zoom in to see it. This is beautiful
