A few from the Garden and nearby

[davholla14 1]

A solitary bee which let me try stacking Anthophora plumipes
Bumblee bee IMG_1781 by davholla2002, on Flickr
A hoverfly which didn't
Hoverfly IMG_1788 by davholla2002, on Flickr
A moth, which like many moth photos (not just mine, misses something, I have seen very few photos of moths which have a wow factor)
Moth IMG_1817 by davholla2002, on Flickr

 

[Steven Dillon]

I'm not much of a bug guy, but I have composed a few. Perhaps with the moth, the perspective just doesn't show enough. I mean, I wouldn't have even known that it was a moth without your description. If your intent is to show how it can hide or blend in, then you've accomplished that. Most of the wow factor pieces I've seen have the insect displayed in a way that it is easily identifiable or features their colors/patterns. Macro can be challenging and live bugs aren't easy either.

 

[davholla14 1]

I'm not much of a bug guy, but I have composed a few. Perhaps with the moth, the perspective just doesn't show enough. I mean, I wouldn't have even known that it was a moth without your description. If your intent is to show how it can hide or blend in, then you've accomplished that. Most of the wow factor pieces I've seen have the insect displayed in a way that it is easily identifiable or features their colors/patterns. Macro can be challenging and live bugs aren't easy either.

It was a moth on an egg carton, I could have tried putting it on a white background. I will have to think of that next time I buy eggs.
With moths, it is not just my photos - I rarely see a photo of a moth and think I wish I had taken that.

 

[Gary A.]

The camera angle/perspective on the fly has delivered the most dramatic image. I imagine that a similar approach with the bee and moth would have increased the impact of those images. Good job on close-up/macro photography. I like the ends of the moth's wings.

 

[davholla14 1]

The camera angle/perspective on the fly has delivered the most dramatic image. I imagine that a similar approach with the bee and moth would have increased the impact of those images. Good job on close-up/macro photography. I like the ends of the moth's wings.

Good point - I should have laid down on the pavement to photograph the bee - the wife would not have been happy with me.

 

[Steven Dillon]

I'm not much of a bug guy, but I have composed a few. Perhaps with the moth, the perspective just doesn't show enough. I mean, I wouldn't have even known that it was a moth without your description. If your intent is to show how it can hide or blend in, then you've accomplished that. Most of the wow factor pieces I've seen have the insect displayed in a way that it is easily identifiable or features their colors/patterns. Macro can be challenging and live bugs aren't easy either.

It was a moth on an egg carton, I could have tried putting it on a white background. I will have to think of that next time I buy eggs.
With moths, it is not just my photos - I rarely see a photo of a moth and think I wish I had taken that.

Perhaps you just discovered a very important part of the equation: shoot what gets you excited. That might even sound cliche, but there is so much truth in something just that simple. I find that some of my best work ends up being those pieces where I was almost giddy when seeing the image on the LiveView screen before I even pressed the shutter. When you can feel it in the camera, for me at least, that's what it's all about. I want to capture those moments. In those cases, you might not even care what anyone else thinks of it because you like enough that it doesn't matter.

Regards,

Steven