Damselfly

[Steve Maxson]

This is one of the Spreadwing Damselflies - a female, possibly a Northern Spreadwing, though females of two other species are said to look very similar. This is also a composite of two images. I didn't plan it this way, but the wind was blowing a little and I ended up with some images where the head was in focus and others where the abdomen was in focus. I decided to try a composite based on Fabs's tutorial above and I am generally pleased with the result. 40D, Canon 180 f/3.5 macro + 1.4X, 1/250, f/8, ISO 100, tripod, cable release, macro twin flash set at 1/8 power as main light. I removed some flash-generated spectral highlights. Comments are welcome.

[Randy Stout]

Steve:

Very nice, seamless composite to my eye. Love the diagonal lines.

Might hit the eye with another round of USM, very nice colors here.

Cheers

Randy

[Julie Kenward]

I never would have guessed this was a composite, Steve. You did an excellent job using Fab's tutorial! I agree with Randy's comments - the diagonal lines and colors are wonderful, very nice crop - not too tight but nothing extra getting in the way - and also think another round of sharpening on the eyes would be a good idea.

[Ed Vatza]

Steve, it looks perfect to me! It's amazing what you can do with composites. Every aspect just looks perfect!