Another Blue Dasher

[Ken Childs]

Canon EOS REBEL T1i
Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS @ 260mm
Manual mode
1/320"
F16
ISO:200
Canon 430EX: On, Fired
LR & CS3

I did a lot of clean-up on the branch. Cloned over some light areas where parts had broken off and darkened the entire thing. It's also been stained.

I'm wondering if I should take a bit off the top and bottom, making it into more of a pano crop.

Yes Jules, I know the BG is gray but I like it that way. :D

[Paul Lagasi]

I really like the colors of this guy, I've never seen one this color, we have Whitetails up here but not with green eyes...very striking....well done
Not sure about taking from the top but you could lose some from the bottom...

[Nick Palmieri]

Great perch, nice BG and great details in the DF. Very nice job on this guy! TFS

[Julie Kenward]

Yes Jules, I know the BG is gray but I like it that way. :D <!-- / message -->
And Ken, this time, so do I! This one has a tint of blue to it so it looks great with the df.

I would take a bit off the bottom and move that stick more to the 1/3 horizontally. Super pose and you did a great job on that perch, ken!

[sandy richards]

Great color, detail, and perch.
I'd also suggest a bit off the bottom.

[Allen Sparks]

wonderful catch - nice clean up on the branch. I can go for losing some off the bottom too.

Question: how do you shoot these macros with the 100-400mm lens at less than 400mm? I would think that the minimum focusing distance of the lens would mean you would be at 400mm all the time and about 6 feet away. The max macro magnification is 1:5 so I am thinking that filling the frame with these small subjects would be tough even at 400mm but you do a great job even at shorter focal lengths.

[Ken Childs]

wonderful catch - nice clean up on the branch. I can go for losing some off the bottom too.

Question: how do you shoot these macros with the 100-400mm lens at less than 400mm? I would think that the minimum focusing distance of the lens would mean you would be at 400mm all the time and about 6 feet away. The max macro magnification is 1:5 so I am thinking that filling the frame with these small subjects would be tough even at 400mm but you do a great job even at shorter focal lengths.
This is a fairly big crop but all those extra pixels make it so I can still have a decent image.

[Anita Bower]

Great image! Good job on the branch. I generally don't like grey bg, but, like Jules wrote, this one works b/c it is dark and has a blue tint. Lovely!

[Anita Bower]

Forgot to say that I'm in favor of some cropping.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Ken,
Besides crop off bottom.....this one works very, very well! I actually like the BG because if it was too blue.....would compete with DF! Very nicely done!

[Jonathan Ashton]

Lovely shot, great colours and angle,I am really envious of the way you manage to minimise reflections off the wings and show the veination so clearly.