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Iain Barker
07-11-2013, 06:07 PM
I came across this Dragonfly while out with just my Nikon 300mm f4 AF ed and 1.4x sigma teleconvertor and though I would have a go at getting a closeup.
Nikon D7000 1/400 f8 ISO 800.
C&C welcome and appreciated.

Mitch Haimov
07-11-2013, 10:50 PM
You chose a tough perspective. Congrats on getting all four wings sharp. I suggest bringing the highlights down some.

Iain Barker
07-12-2013, 05:53 PM
Thanks Mitch.
Do you feel the whole image is to bright or just the highlights. I am never sure how bright the image should be as there is not really any clipping of highlights an macro photography like this is quite new to me.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Mitch Haimov
07-13-2013, 12:31 AM
I find the perch distracting and bright. The area between the wings adjacent to the thorax also seem bright; I'm at a loss as to what we are seeing there. BG could probably come down a bit too, but it doesn't bother me as is--may want to experiment and see what you think. Subject seems ok as is to me, tho I am not familiar with this species. Is the abdomen a little bright and/or a little over-saturated in the yellows compared to your recollection? There are others in this forum who are far better than me with color adjustments (and more familiar with dragons & damsels, which unfortunately are more-or-less non-existant here).

Jonathan Ashton
07-13-2013, 02:12 AM
Ian, you have the wings in excellent focus the head and body are not quite in focus, the background is beautifully subdued. I suspect the 300mm &1.4TC has not permitted you to get quite high enough to get the plane of focus quite right, nevertherless you are certainly on the right track. I think a smaller aperture would have helped, looking at the chaser the front left leg is as sharp as the wings. I would tone down the grass stem a little to avoid competition wit the dragonfly.

Iain Barker
07-14-2013, 05:31 PM
Thanks for all your helpful comments.
It was quite bright by the time I took the photo (around 10.30am) so it probably wasn't the best lighting to start with. I do remember the Dragonfly being quite bright when taking the picture.
I will play around with the image a little and try on tone down some of the brightness.

Iain Barker
07-17-2013, 06:34 PM
Here is a repost where I have tried to tone down the image slightly.
I think this is an improvement over my original post. Please let me know if you agree.