Willow emerald

[Jerry van Dijk]

I wanted to try my hand at flying dragonflies today, but the pond I went had turned completely muddy and there was no dragonfly in sight. On my way back to the bushes I saw several Willow emerald damselflies that were quite cooperative. This one kept returning to its perch, even with me standing very close to it with my lens. Rather than depicting the whole animal (I already have some nice shots of that) I tried to play with forms and shapes at very low DOF. I wish I had stopped down just a little to get that left eye in focus.
Let me know what you think!

Nikon D7000, 200mm f/4 Micro, handheld, ISO-800, f/5.6, 1/200 sec, -1 EV.
Edited in ACR for color, contrast and basic sharpening, CS5 for additional local sharpening.

[Jonathan Ashton]

I like it very much the colour rendition is superb. I do agree however that a little more DOF would have been beneficial, the concept for the shapes is great. I think it is a good thing to have a little imagination and depict wildlife in a less than traditional manner. (I just wish I had a little more imagination at times!!)

[Jerry van Dijk]

I think it is a good thing to have a little imagination and depict wildlife in a less than traditional manner. (I just wish I had a little more imagination at times!!)

Thanks Jonathan! I see it as a process of development over time. I first learned how to perfectly capture a good picture of a bug or flower as is, when I got that part right I started looking for nice compositions and poses and I'm only just beginning to explore the more abstract an impressionist way of capturing subjects. The more impressionist style is really a big thing here in Holland and I'm really inspired by what folks are achieving here. Surprisingly, I do not see the style often here on BPN, while on the Dutch fora, impressionist style seems to be the norm.

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Jerry. This is an interesting and different look than what we usually see in this forum. Nice light, colors, and comp. For my taste, the image would be stronger if both eyes were tack sharp. :S3:

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Jerry, I really like the image design here...I too wish the eyes were sharper.