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David Gancarz
09-05-2010, 05:31 PM
Thank you Roman for your excellent pointers. I took your advice to heart and found this very willing subject on my Pipevine plant with which to practice. This is uncropped -- I'd be interested to see what folks think about the crop, or lack thereof. The subject is relatively small in the frame, but I do like the OOF pipevine leaf that frames the subject and places it in its natural environment. Also of note is the batch of Polydamas eggs, which have been laid at the base of a young shoot of the host plant, as is typical of this spp. The caterpillar has no interest in the eggs (so far as I know). I simply waited for it to move into position so as to capture two life cycle phases in one image.

Camera Model Name : NIKON D300
Lens: Nikkor 105mm Macro
Exposure Time: 1/40
F Number: 7.1
Exposure Program: Aperture-priority AE

Jay Sheinfield
09-06-2010, 05:46 AM
Just a bit too centered for my tastes. Saying that, I love the BG green leaf framing the bug. Maybe just pulling in the LRC would do it........see what other's think.

Great HA on the bug being angled toward the camera, it adds another level of interest.........check that, it adds a huge level of interest. imo. Can you brighten up the eye a bit?

Ken Childs
09-06-2010, 06:32 AM
David, this one is better than the previous shot and it has great possibilities to be even better! Those eggs are a fantastic bonus!

Here's what I did.
Grabbed a sample from the darker areas of the BG and using a soft brush with a low opacity, I painted over the lighter areas in the LL and UR so the leaf would have more definition. If I had more time to be careful, I might do the same in the LR. Did the same type of paint job on the lighter areas of the perch (quick, poor job but it will give you the idea of what I tried to accomplish). Added some contrast. Cropped just a bit tighter. That OOF leaf by the eggs is a bit distracting but it's part of the story so it's not really a problem so I left it alone.

Roman Kurywczak
09-06-2010, 10:03 AM
Hey David,
This one is much better compositionally.......glad you found a willing subject! I think the eggs add another great element and I don't mind the leaf off the branch either. I like Ken's darkening of the leaves but like Jay, I felt the centered comp was taking a bit away from the image. I decided to play with the crop tool a bit and see what I could come up with. The repost show a offset comp now which works better for me but let me know what you think. Overall though in the OP.....I think you did an excellent job in the field following some of the suggestions and even w/o the crop......you did a very good job overall!

David Gancarz
09-06-2010, 11:49 AM
Ken: The brush is a good idea for cleaning up the corners and the blown highlights on the stem. Jay and Roman: I also like your crop suggestions, though I would like a bit more space below the subject. The heart shape of the background leaf is still evident with your crop, which I feel is important in that it puts the critter in its proper world. We have a big crop of these caterpillars this year!

Jonathan Ashton
09-07-2010, 03:56 AM
A very interesting image, I appreciate the resubmissions, I think the last by Roman is slightly better from a compositional point of view, I would still be tempted to do a little more brushing on the left hand side.

David Gancarz
09-07-2010, 09:14 AM
Here is the final version. Thanks to all for a very instructive thread.