backstage_owl

This is a really interesting and well executed photo.  I really enjoyed reading about how you set it up.  

The detail and the pose are striking.  Is this 1:1 macro or is the magnification pushed even further than that?

This is so incredibly creative.  The subject matter is interesting and the DOF works really well.  Is the bubble a real soap bubble or is it something like clear acrylic?

Very lovely.  You captured the moment quite well.

This is a nice and moody shot with the intense oranges.  I love that you have such harsh contrast in the foreground with your main subject standing among the trees, yet you can make out the definition of the tree in the background.  Makes for a cool layering of your scene.  I think that the crop that you did in the BW version really brings the image into perfect perspective (though still keeping the color).

In a shot like this, the background is really distracting from your main subject.  While you keep your focus on the subject, work with your aperture to adjust the depth of focus.  The stuff behind your subject will blend into the background so it doesn't detract from what you really want the viewer to be looking at.  Also, to keep your photos interesting, sometimes it helps to try to step back and put a different perspective on the scene.  This one for example, turn 90 degrees and instead of just a branch hanging in front of the viewer, you could have a tree of unknown size growing up from below the frame.  Use your imagination and some pretty cool, creative stuff can emerge.  

I prefer this photo over "Garden Spider 2".  The darker background really makes this creepy guy stand out. 

Your title really nails it!  The colors are spectacular and contrast perfectly with the greens in the background.  The level of detail is also nice.

Great detail and DOF.  Your subject really "pops" from the background.  The harsh angles makes the composition interesting; it makes the grasshopper really look as though he's about to leap away at any moment. 

Fantastic detail and composition.  The contrast in all of the shades of green is also quite impressive.

When I first saw the thumbnail of this photo, I thought it was an aerial shot of tents or buildings in a desert when the sun is really low in the sky.  What you've done in creating this "city" (at least by my eye) of nuts and washers is quite cool.  

I think you did a great job catching all of the detail in such a delicate scene.

I love this photo.  The contrast between the blues/purples and yellows are spot on!  The curves and outlines of the petals seem to liven up a seemingly still scene.  This and the explosion of color create a superb cacophony of emotion!

Found this little guy outside my front door. Having never seen one before, I

found him quite interesting and went for the camera. Thanks for viewing!

I have a great chess set which I picked up on a trip to Florence. I don't

actually play chess so the current Macro Monthly Photo Project inspired

me to fake a game to create this stand-off between Knight and Pawn.

Thanks for viewing!

Ever wonder what's inside of your computer's hard-drive? All of your data is

written to silver mirrored platters. I was disposing of some really old drives

and pulled all of the platters. Before destroying them, I figured they should

get the opportunity to have one last "hurrah". Using by bathroom as a

makeshift studio, here is what you get when Febreeze is sprayed on a

mirrored surface. Thanks for viewing!

The clarity of the fine details is impressive.  This is a really interesting photo!

To me it looks a little bit busy.  I think Tony hit it on the nail with his suggestion, a little more contrast and cropping will knock this one out of the park.

This is a really nice capture.  The way the lights in the background seem to fall into the glass is really cool.  The simple colors also really strengthen the image; too many colors and they would be too distracting, but the image would also not be as interesting if the photo was just all blue.

I will also say that I prefer this color scheme over your other two versions.

And because I don't have any real studio equipment, here's a shot of my rig.   To get the lighting just right, I hand-held the flash while using a hot-shoe extension cable.

This is the original photo I took while just messing around. 

Yesterday I was just messing around where my friend works waiting for his

shift to end. I started playing with the Tailors' pencils laying around and

thought they were interesting. I lined up a shot and was pretty pleased with

the composition. Today I decided to try again at home with lighting that I

could control so that I could get a nice, clean photo. This is the end result.

My original proof-of-concept and a shot of my setup are posted in the

comments on this photo.

I found this wall randomly while walking around the city. It was a little out of

place in the particular neighborhood, but the colors jumped out at me. In

reality, these blocks are squares and I felt that shooting head-on would

have been a tad boring.

I was intrigued by the sheer scope of the scene as I walked up to it... the

single photographer choosing his shot among all the subjects in his vast

surroundings. However, did I go too wide on this shot and utterly dwarf the

photog?

Saw this guy barking up a storm at all passers-by. That was actually the

shot I intended. However once I lined up my shot, he seemed to mellow out

and be more curious about what I was doing.