Hoverfly on Aster

I tried to take this shot with a minimum depth of field, so just the

stamen and the bee's head would be in focus. The shot was taken in

natural light. I would love to hear any comments and suggestions you

might have on dof, composition, lighting, etc. Thanks.

I like the shot, but would like it more with more of it in focus. In other words, I think I would have like it better had you not tried for the minimum DOF. In my macros, I always try for the max DOF because you lose so much DOF as a result of the magnification.

I like it. I think the colors work well together. I suppose it could benefit from a little more of the image being in focus, but the important parts are clear. The texture of the out of focus flower against the maroon background (what is that, anyway?) is very pleasant to look at.

If I remember correctly, the background is made up of red-turned leaves in shadow. Mark, you may be right. In hindsight, I wish I had taken another shot at f/16 or f/22 for comparison (I took this at f/5.6 I believe). I've been experimenting with shallow dof and selective focus to try to create patterns and splashes of color and to remove distracting elements. Here I knew that the background would end up almost a solid color and the petals would become almost splashes of light as you moved away from the stamen. Thanks for the comments.

If I were shooting for minimal DOF I would want results like this!!!

 

A++ perfect 10

 

 

The narrow dof combined with wonderful composition and great subjects definitely moves this pic from 'Natural history recorded' to 'Art'. Nice work!

Perfect, Great Shot!!!

Great shot!

But I think it's a hoverfly

Silly me. I made the change in the title.

Gorgeous color scheme and a beautiful shot. I happen to like the ultra-thin DOF. Very, very nicely done.

perfect macro