_MG_9181

I always appreciate and respect any feedback you provide and try to

learn from it. I will reciprocate for all who comment. I value honest

feedback and try to do the same for others as best as I can. Thanks.

Have fun shooting.

Dave,

this is a great eye-level view with tons of detail.  I am always amazed at what you can see with a macro lens.  Good shot.

Nice details. I wish you would have the whole wing span... The background is very grainy. It was shot at ISO 320, so I am assuming this is from post processing. If you are sharpening the image, make sure you only sharpen the insect. I also would like to suggest you use spot metering instead of pattern. Hope this is helpful.

Regards, Line

Line, thank you for your thoughts and suggestions. They were very helpful and greatly appreciated. You noticed the grain in the background and this made me think more about how that happened and how to fix it next time. I did not sharpen in post processing. So I started to look for another cause. I was using a telephoto (70 to 300) with a "filter" on front that allows you to focus closer. I also noticed that on this shot I did not use a flash. The original out of camera image was dark as seen here.

Bill, thanks for your comment. I was actually trying out some configurations using my telephoto lens to see if I needed to buy a macro lens. I found that an extension tube behind the telephoto lens worked pretty well for me. This image was taken with a macro filter in front of the telephoto lens. I got some good shots with this configuration, but happier with the extension tube.

Thanks Dave d

Dave, I am no expert on noise and can only speak from my experience with the D300. Assuming that you shot this at a low ISO, areas that are dark on an image when lightened tend to show grain more than the lighter parts of your image.

When this happens and I need to reduce the noise, I work on a layer and run it through topaz deNoise (many other software to do this) and then brush in only the parts that needed the noise reduction.  

I agree with Tony that the grain is from lightening the shadows... As said, using software you can easily adjust that. I use Define from Nik collection... Another option is to only brighten the subject and leave the background dark.