Blue-tailed Damselfly

[nick clayton]

Lincoln, Lincolnshire, UK. 13/07/13

Canon 7D
Sigma 180mm f3.5 macro
2s @ f/16
+1 EV
Aperture priority
ISO 100
Pattern

Levels
Curves
Saturation
Colour balance
Photoshop USM on subject only

The background is a pink flower

[Gary Esman]

Nice sharp eyes, beautiful background, love the symmetry. The OOF reed is a little distracting, being so bright my struggle to focus on the Damselfly. Gary.

[Mitch Haimov]

Love it, Nick! Perhaps darken the perch a bit? Couldn't ask for a better BG. Needs some dust spotting, which should be easy with that BG.

[nick clayton]

Thanks Gary and Mitch. I have reduced the brightness of the perch by selecting it and reducing the brightness in curves. I have also removed the dust spots with the spot healing brush tool, it's amazing how much the dust spots start to show when you stop down the aperture.

[stuart wanuck]

Great

[Nancy Bell]

Absolutely a very cool perspective!! The lovely soft colors of the bkgd add to the drama of the image. Great repost.

[Jonathan Ashton]

That's a cracker Nick, one of the shots that has eluded me so far, I have similar but not on such a slim stem, here you have the full impact of those compound eyes and the hint of the legs etc. The more subdued stem looks better in the repost but I am not too sure about the colours - or was it a female?

[nick clayton]

Thanks Jonathan

[Joe Murphy]

Great looking image & well spotted Nick.

[nick clayton]

Thanks Stuart, Nancy and Joe, your comments are very much appreciated.

[Jason Stander]

Hi Nick... super work... striking comp and angle... detail is great... the dof addes to the image... VWD!

[nick clayton]

Thanks Jason