Fig feast

[Vida van der Walt]

I found this feeding fruit fly on a fig tree in my sister's garden. Unfortunately I forgot to reset my camera after playing around with another lens and only realized after wards that the iso was set at 800! I will go and visit her again to see if I can't get some better shots whilst the tree is still in fruit. The fly was not placed correctly in the frame so I had to rotate, crop and add a bit of canvas in an attempt to rescue the shot. I also used a slight gaussian blur on the bg as the seeds were a bit distracting. Also sharpened and NR.
Canon 5D Mark11
MP E 65mm; MT 24EX
apert f11; ss1/200; iso 800

[Ken Childs]

Vida, I'm really starting to get jealous of you and that lens! ;)

The focus on those beautiful eyes is fantastic! You might try a bit more canvas on the top and the right and that orange glob near the bottom center is a bit distracting. Have you tried cloning that out?

[Vida van der Walt]

Hi Ken. Thank you kindly and I'm glad you like.:) I'm also not 100% happy with the comp but I framed this shot wrong when I took it. When doing the pp I tried every comp possible and found that more space on top and to the right made the space behind the fly too large and overpowering. I really needed more space all around to place the fly in the right spot. Wish my cloning skills were up to it! Ditto with regard to the yellow seed and cloning. Hopefully I'll get a better image when I return to the tree.:)

[Julie Brown]

Vida, I'm jealous of that lens too!:) The eye detail on that fly is awesome. :cool: Thanks for sharing your process.

[Allen Sparks]

Amazing detail on that eye! brilliant shot.

[Ken Childs]

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p193/kjchilds/BPN/img-387-a-birdphot-edit.jpg

Just a quick play to give a visual to what I said earlier. I extended the canvas with a combination of cloning and Photoshop's smudge tool and cloned over the seed at 50%. Now I have to stop playing and get to work or my wife is going to kill me! :D

[Vida van der Walt]

Thank you for the great feedback Julie and Allen. Much appreciated.:) Ken, thank you too for taking the time to rework the image. Great PS skills! I definitely prefer yours without the yellow seed. Now if you could please remove the ones on the right as well... ;):D I still prefer my comp with less space behind the fly but know it is not perfect.:)

[Julie Kenward]

I think you gave a good self-critique and I do like Ken's post as well. Those eyes! My goodness! The detail that you get with that lens is simply amazing.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Love the eyes. Yellow seed is not an issue for me. I am sure you can create a better comp in future. Simply adore these Vida pictures. :)

[Markus Jais]

Great shot. Awesome colors. I like the red of the flower and the blue of the eyes. Great detail and sharpness.

Markus

[Christopher Miller]

Vida, I agree with your self-critique on the comp. I also think a lower angle would have been nice, but I love the colors and amazing detail in the fly's eyes! :)

[Vida van der Walt]

Thank you Jules, Akos, Markus and Christopher. Always appreciated.:)

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Vida, I like the comp as is, and what incredible colours on those eyes. The seeds dont bother me whatsoever. Another well executed image from you. You cease to amaze me.

[Declan Troy]

Wow. Perhaps my mother wouldn't have been so annoyed at my genetic experiments with fruit flies in the basement if she had seen this image to learn how beautiful they can be. Might have made her brown eyes blue.

[Peter Farrell]

Super detail and color on the head, tfs

[Vida van der Walt]

Hi Stu, Declan and Peter. Thank you for the great feedback.:) Declan, genetic experiments in the basement!:eek: Sounds scary!;):D

[Declan Troy]

Now Vida, nothing sinister. The field of genetics "started" with a study of pea flowers but the majority of what is known about the principles of genetics has come from studies of fruit flies. They have lots of mutants, fast life cycles, easy to breed and as a bonus the larvae have spectacular chromosomes. Anyone venturing into biology gets some hands-on time with fruit flies. Now taking them home is not a usual practice and I'm sure the mothers of my town quickly put an end to the idea! The textbook publishers should have arranged to get photos of the various mutants from you.

[Vida van der Walt]

Hi Declan. That is very interesting information and something I did not know. One of my neighbours is an entomologist with our Agricultural Research Council and I know they work with fruit flies because of the danger the flies pose to crops. He helped me lure fruit flies to my garden once by providing me with a piece of jelly like substance that attract the male fruit flies. Although they are a big problem for agriculture I still love them for their beautiful eyes. I also find it interesting that their sizes can differ so greatly. I've photographed really tiny 2 - 3mm fruit flies that feed on the pollen of daisy like flowers and found it quite a challenge to capture the tiny eye detail.:)

[Anita Bower]

Stunning colors. And those eyes! I like the cloned yellow seed in the second version. :)

[Mike Moats]

All I can say is Awesome Vida. Love eveything about it.

[Vida van der Walt]

Hi Anita and Mike. Thank you for your comments. Highly appreciated.:)

[Harshad Barve]

You gotta love those eyes here Vida , Spectacular image
TFS

[Vida van der Walt]

Thank you for the great feedback Harshad.:)