DragonFlies that I shot today at Two Ponds NWR - Comments welcome

[cgipson1]

All shots ambient light and handheld...

First one I have managed to catch in the air..... pure luck!

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[jrice12]

IMHO...
#1 is in-flight which is rare to get. Back-quarter view is ok here because it is "flying away" and so makes sense.
#2 Highlights harmed by lighting. Wonder if close cropping on head would work (maybe not enough resolution).
#3 Good specimen but maybe not enough color contrast with weed(?).
#4 Background is good and contrasts with subject (color). Would have like the lighting to have gone in reverse (bright at lower-left, darker to the upper right).
#5 Color scheme works well here but exposure might be up too high.
#6 Good one. Background is perfect, color contrasting is good, clarity is good, subject has interest. Esp. like the angles of subject and stick ("Y"). Front eye slightly out of focus(?).

[Schwettylens]

Very nice. I can't even focus on a still dragonfly and you manage to get one in the air.

[cgipson1]

IMHO...
#1 is in-flight which is rare to get. Back-quarter view is ok here because it is "flying away" and so makes sense.
#2 Highlights harmed by lighting. Wonder if close cropping on head would work (maybe not enough resolution).
#3 Good specimen but maybe not enough color contrast with weed(?).
#4 Background is good and contrasts with subject (color). Would have like the lighting to have gone in reverse (bright at lower-left, darker to the upper right).
#5 Color scheme works well here but exposure might be up too high.
#6 Good one. Background is perfect, color contrasting is good, clarity is good, subject has interest. Esp. like the angles of subject and stick ("Y"). Front eye slightly out of focus(?).

Thanks for the feedback... I didn't do hardly any touch up except for crops, and a little sharpening.

Highlights were harsh on so many.. it was like 1pm in the afternoon, and HOT! Still fun though....! Sunny days are best.. because I need to keep the shutter speed up, and I like keeping ISO as low as possible. These were all done with my 28-300, mostly at full zoom. Hard to get close to these guys.. I would love to use my Macro lens on them!

[cgipson1]

Very nice. I can't even focus on a still dragonfly and you manage to get one in the air.

hahaha.. I got Lucky, Schwetty! Two Ponds is right across the street from where I live.. so I go over there often. Come on over!

[EquineArt]

Wow they are all awesome!
I share the same feeling as Schwettylens about trying to focus on them
Very well done!

[cgipson1]

I took what JRice said.. and modded 3 and 5. Upped contrast, saturation.. and also got rid of some distracting highlights...





Better? I have to admit my PP skills need work...

[cgipson1]

Wow they are all awesome!
I share the same feeling as Schwettylens about trying to focus on them
Very well done!

Thank you, I appreciate it! It is good practice!

[Schwettylens]

you did quite a bit of digital crop right? Your DOF is pretty deep. Doesnt seem possible if you had shot it really close using macro.

[2WheelPhoto]

Wow, nice. You should be a salesman for Tokina macro division

You just answered for me "how sharp can a 100 2.8 shoot" and I'm already extremely pleased with my Tokina 11-16

[cgipson1]

you did quite a bit of digital crop right? Your DOF is pretty deep. Doesnt seem possible if you had shot it really close using macro.

Yes.. lots of crop on some of them! I am usually lucky to get within 2 to 3 feet of these guys... so use my long tele zoom.

Wow, nice. You should be a salesman for Tokina macro division

You just answered for me "how sharp can a 100 2.8 shoot" and I'm already extremely pleased with my Tokina 11-16

I was actually using my Nikon 28-300 zoom... I wish I could get close enough to them to use the Tokina... I would love it. Occasionally I will run into one that will let me close, but usually have the wrong lens on, lol!

Yesterday was practice for Handheld shooting, Ambient light shooting, and working on the steadiness component of Handheld Shooting. So I didn't even try to change lens.... Maybe I will go over with my Macro lens today if I get a chance.... see if I can find a friendly one!

[cgipson1]

Wow, nice. You should be a salesman for Tokina macro division

You just answered for me "how sharp can a 100 2.8 shoot" and I'm already extremely pleased with my Tokina 11-16

This may give you some idea how sharp my Tokina 100 is! Tight crop on a Grasshopper picture... check out the texture on the cheeks! I love it!

[2WheelPhoto]

^^^nice! did you have kenko extension tubes on the zoom lens for the dragonflies?

[cgipson1]

^^^nice! did you have kenko extension tubes on the zoom lens for the dragonflies?

Nope! Can't get that close to them... Extensions cut the usable focus range down quite a bit.

[jrice12]

May want to work with the gamma curves instead of bright/contrast for these as well. For direct sunlight problems I find that a reverse "S" curve works well. Increases dynamic range of low and high lights at the expens of the mid-tones. This allows more detail at the bottom and top end and if you do it carefully you don't lose much in the mid-tones. Also try gamma adjust on individual colors to see if you can bring a greater separation of background and body etc.