Common darter (Sympetrum striolatum) (M)

[Jonathan Ashton]

I set up the perch in the knowledge that sooner or later a Darter could not resist the commanding view it offered over the pond. This one used the perch repeatedly to launch from and to catch prey - you can see the chitinous remains of his previous three meals stacked neatly on the perch.

Olympus E M1X
Lens focal length : 300 mm
Focal Length (35 mm conversion) : 601.0mm
Metering mode : Pattern
Exposure mode : Manual exposure
ISO Sensitivity : 1250
Exposure time : 1/3200 sec (Procapture Low)
F number : F4
Exposure compensation : -0.3 EV
Flash : OFF

ACR/PSCC

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Jon, glad to see the garden is now delivering Macro images. Not a fan of the Hazel, hard to tell what it is, could be a large wiggly worm... :bg3: what's the dark bud? Is there anyway the wings could have more definition, rather than a fuzzy area? I like the backdrop, but the darker, sooty RHS could be improved.

Juggling with some Curves and Luminosity layers I feel you can get some more tonal range, cropping and the loss of the Hazel is just personal.

TFS
Steve

[Jonathan Ashton]

Steve thanks for the reply:
Hazel - sorry it stays, it is the reason the dragonfly is there - that is where he eats his food.
The dark bud - ? that is the chitinous material I referred to - his previous three meals.
Definition - wings - yes different images have differing degrees of blur depending on wing position, the wings are slower at the end of the wing beat - I have sharper ones.
I note the colours you have on the dragonfly, I have to confess they are very appealing but they are a little over the top in terms of saturation compared to the day I took the images, nevertheless I take on board what you have done and future images will have a little more colour but not quite so much as yours.
Background yes could have been manipulated a little more, I am trying to keep modifications to a minimum because I may end up using some of the images I post and manipulation is permitted according to FIAP rules.
Thanks again I appreciate your comments - you make me think - no bad thing for an old git!

[Steve Kaluski]

Hazel - sorry it stays, it is the reason the dragonfly is there - that is where he eats his food.

Isn't there anything more appealing that he is happy to use whilst having his lunch, it's just a bit non-descript ?



The dark bud - ? that is the chitinous material I referred to - his previous three meals.

I would loose it.



Definition - wings - yes different images have differing degrees of blur depending on wing position, the wings are slower at the end of the wing beat - I have sharper ones.

I would try faster SS, but still have a little motion blur at the tips, just looks like a pair of Nora Batey's old wooly tights. :w3



I note the colours you have on the dragonfly, I have to confess they are very appealing but they are a little over the top in terms of saturation compared to the day I took the images, nevertheless I take on board what you have done and future images will have a little more colour but not quite so much as yours.

Subjective Jon, maybe if you were here you might like it?



I am trying to keep modifications to a minimum because I may end up using some of the images I post and manipulation is permitted according to FIAP rules.

Too much of a straight jacket and run by old fossils Jon, shoot for yourself. :bg3:



Thanks again I appreciate your comments - you make me think - no bad thing for an old git!

Me or You?

[John Mack]

Looks great. The curve in the perch is very neat. Killer background.