Syrphid Fly

[Paul Lagasi]

This Syrphid Fly ... (toxomerus marginatus ... LOLOL...yes I finally bought a good insect textbook)...was captured today on a flower...could probably use another round of noise reduction but I didn't want to lose detail, colors and insect make up for it....Thanks for looking
D300
Nikon 105 2.8 macro
iso-500
1/400
f/9
cropped
handheld

[Julie Kenward]

Paul, you crack me up! I'll be calling on you now for all my insect I.D.'s. :D

I'm not sure I love the crop here because the insect is so centered but I also understand why you did it - the color on both sides is gorgeous! If you have more room you might try tilting the insect about 20-30 degrees CCW and see if that helps take away from the "centered" position a bit. And if you don't want to run more NR, try opening a levels adjustment and raising the midtones up about 6-12 points - sometimes that's enough to pull that little bit of noise right out. Might also try lightening the head just a bit so it doesn't look like it's so far in the shadows compared to the rest of the insect.

[Steve Maxson]

Good sharpness on this little guy, Paul. Jules makes some good comments above. For me, the mix of lights and darks in the background is distracting - especially on the left side of the image. You might consider cropping some off the left and toning down some of the bright spots that remain. :)

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Paul,
Yep.....I'm with Steve on this one.....the mixed light is hurting the overall image as the LH side draws too much attention away from the bug. If the eyes were lit a bit better....perhaps that would lessen the impact but it is best to use even natural light and avoid mixed light all together. Diffused light works best.

[Paul Lagasi]

Thanks Everyone, for comments..