Color camouflage

[Nancy Bell]

Earlier this season I watched many of these orange and black blister beetles on a clump of brilliant sunflowers. There were so many beetles it looked like beetle mania :S3: ! It was certainly the place to be to pick up a partner. I was especially impressed with how well these beetles were camouflaged by the brilliant colors of the petals and pollen, as well as the dark centers of the flowers.

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 100 f2.8 macro lens, tripod, 1/125, f5.6, ISO 2000.

[Steve Maxson]

Looks like quite a gathering - and a lot of competition for mates! I like the mix of colors and the comp. Good sharpness within your DOF. The pollen grains on the beetles add interest.

[Randy Stout]

Nancy:

Interesting lesson and image. I might be tempted to bring up the midtones just a bit, seems a bit murky on my monitor.

Cheers

Randy

[Jonathan Ashton]

Interesting colour palette I agree it needs a little more punch - maybe a little Selective colour Blacks- black. Also I would have used a smaller aperture.

[Nancy Bell]

Yes, murky midtones is exactly right. I just could not put my finger on it. Thanks! I'll try black. And smaller aperture too. I just didn't want any competing detail, but I was there long enough to experiment. Sometimes I get so absorbed in the thrill of the chase that I just don't try different approaches.