Emperor dragonfly

[thijs broekkamp]

This morning i went out again to photograph some dragonflies and damselflies. C&C much appreciated.

Canon eos 30d with sigma 150mm f2.8
tripod, remote shutter, iso 400, f11, 1/25e. Put up some brightness and contrast and saturation, sharpend in cs3.

http://i957.photobucket.com/albums/ae54/thijsbroekkamp/_MG_1514bwrktsrgb2.jpg

[Julie Kenward]

Thijs, what kind of camera and lens did you use? Did you do anything in post processing? Make sure you give us as many stats as you can so we can help you!

You've got really good details on the head and body of this one. I wish the prominent wing wasn't quite so blurry at the tip - maybe a better angle? I also think you could increase your exposure here a bit more and give the eyes and body a bit more sharpening.

[Cheryl Flory]

Thijs, how did you get this close? I tried this morning and couldn't get within 12 feet! which is no good when you have a macro lens on instead of the zoom. lol

I like how you cropped to bring attention to the head. It looks like the back front leg is the sharpest part in this image. maybe if you add contrast to the eye, it would make that look sharper. I also like your details in the wings.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hi Thijs,
In this one the comp isn't working for me.....As Jules stated on the DOF on the wing....it takes away from the excellent sharpness of the face and feet. I am wondering if a similar comp but perhaps a vert concentrating on the near wing/face/ and a bit more room above branch? Just a thought for next time out.

[Ken Childs]

I'm with Roman on this one. A vertical crop would be ideal but with what you have here you might get something good with a square crop, mainly getting rid of the OOF parts of the wings.