Water Scavenger Beetle

[Steve Maxson]

I photographed this small black Water Scavenger Beetle (Family Hydrophilidae) in my 2.5 gal aquarium setup last summer. It is clinging to a dead bulrush stem - to give a sense of scale. 1D IV, 100 mm macro, 1/125, f/16, ISO 160, 2 remotely fired 430EX flashes (manual mode, diffused), tripod, cable release, live view manual focus. I removed some of the floating bits of debris in the water and ran nr on the background. All comments are welcome and appreciated.

[Norm Dulak]

Hi Steve.

This is an interesting beetle, well captured with your fairly sophisticated setup. Use of the dead bulrush stem was a good idea. I think if it were mine I'd crop some off the top, to a point that just retains the bubble above the beetle. Well done.

[John Robinson]

Steve
We have a relative of these over here. Much bigger I think and protected by law as they are very local Good to see freshwater stuff posted as it is my favourite group which I,ve done much of over the years. If I may be critical and I hate doing this but I feel a smaller stem would emphasise the beetle more. The water level where the stem joins the surface seems a little odd some how. No big deal though. People don't realise how much stuff tjhere is out there in the watery places !
John

[Jonathan Ashton]

Hi Steve, I suspect the original had little head room and you have recropped and used content aware fill?? Or is it an internal reflection? Either way the images is super but I am a little uneasy about the top from where the stem changes direction. I would have personally tried a little straight forward cloning of the stem from lower down so that the direction of the grooves in the stem was maintained. As ever you really have the lighting and exposure under excellent control.

[Jerry van Dijk]

Very nice capture of this critter, Steve. I do think the beetle is a bit lost in its surroundings. I might consider cropping this as a horizontal, starting at the top.

[Nancy Bell]

Steve, your aquarium stuff is always interesting and provides a view into a world most of us don't see. Since this is a small beetle a finer/thinner/less bright perch would emphasize the beetle more. And I do agree with a small crop off the top since much of that is blurred and visually confusing. I like the gracefully waving green veggie stuff in the bkgd and how the light hits it. As someone who ages ago got a Masters in Entomology I love seeing the water insects in water and not on pins!

[Mitch Haimov]

I always enjoy your tank images, Steve. As always, the lighting is spot on. Comp works well, as do the the BG plants. Ideally, the stem could be a little thinner, but a fairly minor point.

[Steve Maxson]

Thanks for your comments everyone!

Just to be clear - The beetle is resting very near the surface and the camera was pointed slightly upward. Thus the slightly blurred area at the top of the frame is the water surface as viewed from underneath. :S3: The points regarding different cropping options and stem size are well taken.