Dragon [Archive] - BirdPhotographers.net

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Ian Cassell

07-29-2010, 10:27 PM

Canon 7D
Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ 50mm
1/1000 sec @ f/7.1 ISO 400 Handheld
Crop/Sharpening in CS5/GF6.0
NR in Noiseware Pro

I probably could have gotten away with a bit less DOF, but I'm afraid of losing focus when I handhold. Is the BG far too distracting?

Ken Childs

07-30-2010, 07:54 AM

Ian, the answer to your question is definitely yes. The dfly looks good but it's disappearing into that BG. If it was possible, you should have dropped down closer to the dragon's level so the BG was further away. You can try blurring the BG but I don't know if you can take it far enough to salvage this shot but it's worth a try.

Julie Kenward

07-30-2010, 08:14 AM

Boy, it really is a sharp image of the df but yes, the BG totally swallows the insect up. Ken is right - dropping down even to the insect makes a big difference. You had a ss of 1/1000 - should be plenty of room to drop down and handhold and still get a crisp image.

Matthew Pugh

07-30-2010, 08:18 AM

Hi

An attractive dragonfly and certainly an image that catpures his details nicely. But as already mentioned the angle to the subject it not ideal, and hence the resulting backdrop look that rather muddy's the overall images appeal

Often I find angle finder useful in situtions of this sort, it allows you obtain a very low angle without breaking your back, hopefully that makes some sense to you

All the best
Matthew

Roman Kurywczak

07-30-2010, 10:55 AM

Hey Ian,
Yep....BG kills it. I will offer this.......I don't think you needed to drop the DOF....but with that lens, perhaps! You need to find/use a BG that was further away or get lower like the recommendations above. Often times when doing macros.....I look at the BG and surrounding more .....that what I am actually shooting! Make a note to yourself how close you were to the subject.....and how close the BG was to the subject......next time out in the field......put the BG further away.....making a conscious effort to do that (not always easy!).......you will see a big difference that plays in how the BG looks! A slight angle change or view.....can make a huge difference.

Jonathan Ashton

07-30-2010, 10:56 AM

Lovely dragonfly shot but the background unfortunately spoils it. I have recently taken my best shots ever of Southern Hawkers in the back garden - perfectly sharp - tripod MLU you name it... but the background detracts totally!:2eyes2:

Mike Moats

07-30-2010, 10:56 AM

Hey Ian, it is almost imposible to shoot any subject from overhead as the distracting ground cover will always cause you to have this cluttered BG, even when shooting wide open. As mentioned shoot from a lower angle, aiming your camera above all the ground clutter. You did an excellent job capturing the D-fly. Remember that the BG is just as important as the main subject.

Ian Cassell

07-30-2010, 11:01 AM

I was afraid of that :(

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions. I took this in a cemetary in NJ while the rest of my family was doing gravestone rubbings. The bug was on a short weed stalk just above grass level (the infamous BG for the image) so I really should have opened the lens up wide to even think of getting something useful. I really wanted to get those wings so I didn't shoot from the side (which would have lessened the BG "noise")

Jim Bridges

07-30-2010, 11:03 AM