Lanternfly - Belize

[Steve Maxson]

This is one type of Lanternfly (Family Fulgoridae) that I photographed during the Bugshot workshop in Belize. The elongated protrusion from its head resembles a dragon head - but the bug's real "face" is tucked underneath. These are related to the small Planthoppers we see here in the U.S. I placed a large leaf inside my lightbox to give the image a "natural" look. 1D IV, 100 mm macro, 1/160, f/16, ISO 100, 2 radio-triggered 430EX flashes, AF, hand held. At this angle, the DOF does not include the rear portion of the wings. All comments are welcome and appreciated.

[Norm Dulak]

Great, Steve.

Thanks for this most interesting critter, and your description of it. The substrate is natural and beautiful, and the focus is sharp where needed. The raised leg conveys a sense of action. The false face and intricate wing pattern are interesting. My preference would be to crop about half off the bottom and to maybe add a little above if possible. There are also some areas of discoloration on the leaf to the right of the insect that I might try to clone out. But this is fine as is.

[Mitch Haimov]

Yet another extremely interesting critter, Steve! The wings are amazing. Leaf in the lightbox works very well--I'm glad the lines of the leaf angle in from lower left toward the lantern fly. The implied motion is also a plus. I'd be inclined to crop 2/3 to 3/4 of the negative space from the top of the frame (just tried it out with a browser crop).

[Jason Stander]

WOW! Oh this is stunning... excellent detail... perfect comp and exposure... thank you for sharing!:w3

[Jonathan Ashton]

A fine shot Steve great exposure and sharpness, yes you guessed I love the more natural background:S3: I prefer it infinitely to the white background. The crop is perhaps a little less than ideal, I am not exactly sure what is bothering me but I think possibly there is too much at the base - maybe a 3:2 crop would be better??