Red-Legged Grasshopper

[Paul Lagasi]

I took this image today of this colorful grasshopper...I tried my best to blend the background, making it appear natural, did it work?..It almost has a HDR look to it...Hope you like it..

D300 Nikon
105 2.8 macro
f20
1/60
iso-800
NR ran twice
handheld
cropped

[Desmond Chan]

Hmmmm....I'm seeing some fringes showing up in the top half of the photo. I think the grasshopper could be brighter and has more contrast. I think the background does look natural...I mean, if you didn't say anything about it, I wouldn't have thought it was anything but :)

[Jonathan Ashton]

Very nice shot, ideally you needed to be a little lower and the camera back need to be tilted slightly to get the tail sharp. I think you did a good job on the background, I can see some minor fringing wheer there is sharpening/noise reduction. I f the image is cropped i would suggest make it a little less big in the frame but I appreciate you may have done this because of the foliage.

[Vida van der Walt]

Ditto very nice shot Paul. Some good advice by Jonathan regarding the camera angle. Lovely detail and I really like the vibrant green of the bg and vegetation.:)

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Paul. Nice detail on the grasshopper. I don't really mind that the abdomen is a bit soft, though Jonathan's comments are valid. A lower viewpoint would give you better sharpness, overall, but would also give you a side view of the head rather than a view of its "forehead" that you have here. Neither is necessarily better than the other - just different. Was the grasshopper this blueish-green color or is there a green cast to the image? To my eye, the background has a "processed" look to it, although I might not have noticed it as much if you hadn't mentioned it. :)

[Paul Lagasi]

Thanks everyone for comments
...This Grasshopper was tough..every time I tried to move to get the right angle he'd shy away from me...I checked back to the original Steve, the hoppers color is what came out of camera. I always include what I've done to the image...;)

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Paul,
Agree you have to tweak the BG .....blowing it up when you work on it will help make your task easier. Can't add much to the excelllent advice above.....we can only hope we find them in a better location!

[Dave Leroy]

Very nice shot Paul and a job well done.

I have been trying hard to get one out in the open with some sort of clear bg and am finding it very tough to do.

Lots of good suggestions given.

[Julie Kenward]

I, too, see a little haloing around the antennas and head but it might be less evident if you pulled the green saturation down just a pinch. I think for field conditions you did VERY well. There's foliage but not distracting in any way - and the greens all give it a really nice "summer" feel.