Some six legged friends

pathoulihan1 · Sep 8, 2011

Just a few from the backyard, feel free to let me know what you think. Or not, either way, hope you enjoy!

Applehead · Sep 9, 2011

nice photo's!

JustinZ850 · Sep 9, 2011

I'm jealous of the fly shot! I can't seem to get any to sit still enough for me when trying to shoot them

cgipson1 · Sep 9, 2011

Nice shots... #2 and #4 especially.. sharp!

pathoulihan1 · Sep 9, 2011

Thanks all! The fly was very cooperative, surprisingly. Normally I hate the little buggers, but they are pretty photogenic.

sniperbob13 · Sep 15, 2011

Nice shots. Like the assassin bug nymph (maybe a Zelus sp.)

jrice12 · Sep 15, 2011

Just my opinions:
These are fairly good shots.

#1 could tolerate a little contrast boosting, missed the focus on the head I think. And the house needs paint.
#2 is a bit busy, focus is good.
#3 Lot of background there, would like to see tigher framing and not in center (bug at 1/3rd from left with some bottom cut out?).
#4 Lighting angle was a bit unfortunate, body is perfect but head got into the shadows. DOF may be a bit too much. Good color contrast. Best of the set.
#5 Bit in the shadows without gaining much in the background. Bug blends into the color scheme a bit too much.
#6 Bug definitely blends into background, but here the background has some interest with COC etc. Missed the focus on head (hit the shoulders). Brightness could come down some in PP.

pathoulihan1 · Sep 15, 2011

Thanks for the very contructive critique jrice12. My camera has a standalone flash (no option for outboard). So I've been trying to get creative with DIY diffusion and lighting. I've said it before, I still have a lot to learn when it comes to framing the shots, getting the focus correct, and then processing appropriately. One of my biggest problems is my own excitement. I get very zoned in when I find a subject to photograph and I forget to be patient and think about what else is in the shot besides the subject. And, as anyone who has tried insect photography can attest to, sometimes you only have a limited number of shots to try before your subject disappears, so I need to learn to really create a nice photograph in my mind before I just start panic shooting to get the subject photographed.

jrice12 · Sep 15, 2011

I don't actually do many bugs (or things that can run away) because it's too hard to compose on the fly and you wind up with great shots only by random chance! PP and cropping and so forth can bump a photo up a notch but in the end it's the original photo that makes it go and here I find that taking LOTS of shots of a subject increases the chances of a good one (my number is 1 in 50) - even if you have to follow them around the field. Even then you might not get a good one so you wind up throwing out a lot of shots... or, as is often in my case, ALL of the shots! What I am saying, I guess, is that you have to use a critical eye and be willing to toss out entire sets if they don't make the grade, no matter how much effort you put into them. And believe me, hitting the del key on 3-4 hours of hard work is not easy! Now you know why I have a lot of mushrooms in my portfoilo :lol: