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Steve Maxson
10-07-2010, 03:37 PM
The insect world is filled with mimicry, particularly among the Flower Flies (family Syrphidae) which are frequently mimics of bees or wasps. This Flower Fly (Temnostoma spp.) looks very wasp-like, but its head shape is that of a fly and gives it away - to a careful observer (as does the single pair of wings and the presence of halteres - the rudimentary second pair of wings). Members of this genus mimic Mason Wasps (family Vespidae, subfamily Eumeninae) and my reference book notes that they go so far as to wave their front legs in the air to mimic the longer antennae of wasps (as this one is doing with its right front leg). 40D, 100 mm f/2.8 macro, 1/160, f/16, ISO 200, MT-24 twin lites (diffused), hand held. RAW file PP in CS3 - levels, curves, saturation. I cleaned up some imperfections in the leaf. All comments welcome and appreciated.

Tom Redd
10-08-2010, 12:50 AM
Steve, very nice detail and focus and thank you for the educational info as well. I would consider a little more canvas above and below the wings, maybe even a bit behind him. Well done.

Melissa Groo
10-08-2010, 06:24 AM
Beautiful portrait Steve! Excellent clarity and detail.

Dave Woeller
10-08-2010, 06:54 AM
I would also like to thank you for the educational input on this fellow. I agree with Tom on a bit more canvas, but really like the sharpness and clarity that you've obtained.

Dave Mills
10-08-2010, 09:28 AM
Hi Steve, nice job on this! Very sharp with even lighting. Thanks for the info on the species...

Ken Childs
10-08-2010, 11:15 AM
Hey Steve, great work on the lighting on this! I'm fine with the tight crop but I started thinking this might look better rotated so the fly was looking towards the URC so I started playing around with different rotations and crops. I did like the fly better facing towards the URC but the overall image just didn't look right and I think that's because of the direction of veins in the leaf so I think your version is the best for this shot. I did like an even tighter crop from the right, just to the left of the 'p' in your sig because it removed those 2 open spots between the leaves which were slightly distracting to me and also has those veins radiating from the LRC. Overall it's another ripper shot!. :cheers:

Steve Maxson
10-09-2010, 03:00 PM
Thanks for the comments everyone. Ken, I agree that the leaf edges and open spots on the right are not strong points of this image. A crop would be an easy fix. :)

Julie Kenward
10-09-2010, 08:23 PM
Ken, I swear sometimes I think you can read my mind...

I also was going to suggest a turn of the fly in the frame so it's more along a diagonal line. I'd probably have moved the back legs to the ULC and the head more towards the LRC. Everything else - exposure, details, sharpness - all are excellent. I'm okay with the close crop (Roman would be LOVING this one!) but the diagonal turn would really have put this over the top for me.