Flower Scarab

[Steve Maxson]

This Flower Scarab beetle (Trichiotinus spp.) was foraging on an ox-eye daisy back in July. It was a cool, dewy, early morning. The beetle was wet, sluggish, and covered with pollen. 40D, Canon 180mm macro, 1/100, f/22, ISO 160, macro twin flash, tripod, mirror lock, cable release. Comments are welcome.

[Julie Kenward]

Really nice image, Steve! You've got great focus and f22 seems to have caught everything from the dew to the tiny hairs on the beetle. You can't really tell that you used flash except for the small shadows on the back petals and they look really natural. Even though the beetle feels really centered, the flower is off center and I think that's carrying the composition here. I might have put the beetle in more of the ULC but this works!

[Don Lacy]

Hi Steve, Love the dew and pollen covered beetle, maybe another round of sharpening.

[Vida van der Walt]

Great shot with excellent detail Steve. Love how the beetle is covered in pollen. Great exp and I like the comp as is.:)