single photos Widow Skimmer

Just shot it . . inspired by this discussion

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00Lxvc

Nice photo with nice back round. A little dark which effects the Aesthetics rating.

It was about 1:30PM . . . full overhead sunlight. I was more concerned with minimizing highlight burnout than blocked up shadows on his underside. Shadows/highlights in PS helped a little, as did lowering the white point a bit. If he's still around later this afternoon, I'll take another crack at him.

Carl, this image is very pleasing to look at with nice crisp detail in the closest wings, the head and the legs. The background colour goes a long way toward emphasising these details and makes the image striking. Aesthetically, in my opinion, this is a clear 6 (very good). As for originality - well, it's a close-up of a bug on a stick, and pictures like this have been around since the beginning of photographic time. So, from an originality viewpoint I would rate this low average, however it is improved to an extent by the background colour which makes a nice change from green. Any finer technical details won't impact on the ratings as they don't fall under either of the two rating categories. My only comment would be that decreasing the aperture by an f/stop and increase shutter time may have helped bring the furthest wing and the bottom end of the body into sharper focus - however this would have been at the risk of losing crispness through movement.

 

There - that's what I think in a couple of words!

Thank you for your comment.

 

Proper execution of technique IS part of the aesthetic rating. . . more important than inherent beauty of the subject. Most people don't get that.

 

Even if it were possible to get him to stand perfectly still with no wind, you would end up with clearly defined T-111 siding on my house as the background. UGH! I would rate this about a five for aesthetics, assuming this guy isn't allergic to full or partial shade which would provide the lower lighting contrast that you want. Originality shouldn't be that high either, although, as you say, the unusual background helps.

 

You do need the right equipment to get a printable version of this shot (minimum cropping) and you have to understand the DOF issues. Mine is OK, but there are a number of really good bug shooters whose shots deserve more visibility than this one. That is, after all supposed to be the point of ratings system.

Very nice shot Carl, I actually like it more than the shot I took. It's well separated from the background that can distract from the main subject. The DOF is fine in my opinion, what is sharp, the head and part of the wing, stands out.

Both our shots suffer from harsh lighting. Keep looking for those opportunities when subject, light, and composition converge. :-)

Carl, check out the top page for nature images for the past year. It seems the rating masses are pretty fickle and ratings are not truly representative of objective and informed judgement. I like this image for its unusual colour combination which I personally find pleasing. And the head is in focus, which is important. Unfortunately the wings, which can provide such aesthetic detail, didn't make it here. Most of the dragonflies in my garden are the spindly ones, but every now and again one of these whoppers visits and they are quite happy to sit in the same spot long enough to provide photo ops. I have a photo that's been languishing in my image files for a year so maybe I'll post it out of curiosity.

Looking forward to seeing your version. I have a couple more of this guy featuring the wings, but I liked the emphasis on the head and stalk here. I've also reprocessed this to get the color temp right. My house is a dark reddish brown, not purple.