The alien world

[Geoff Warnock]

One of the nice things about macro is that you don't have to go far. This kind of shot really makes me feel that there is a world we don't experience down there, yet this is on my front drive.

Nikon D90, Sigma 50 mm macro, 1/100, f16, iso 200, one off-camera sb600 flash with large diffusor dome fired ttl by CLS. Effectively jpeg out of camera as I remember. hand-held (the beauty of pure flash lit macro!).

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4128/4960331778_491880417b_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/53654547@N02/4960331778/)
macro bug 1 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/53654547@N02/4960331778/) by Geoff Warnock (http://www.flickr.com/people/53654547@N02/), on Flickr

[Jay Sheinfield]

sharp, sharp, and sharp. Good capture. Personally, I would take a bunch off the top and bit off the bottom to reduce the OOF FG stuff. This comp could more square, or even horizontal if have more canvass, but that's my taste.

Maybe also blend in those back areas in the BG. Good work.

[Ken Childs]

Hey Geoff, this bug looks fantastic....nice and sharp and you did a good job with the lighting. The position of the fly is a bit too centered so it would be a good idea to crop a bunch off the top and if it were mine, I'd also crop enough off the bottom to remove the 2 OOF petals in the FG. It would be nice if the fly had more room on the right and left so next time out, consider shooting this as a horizontal....you want to get the eye of the subject near to a ROT position. Those dark areas of the BG can easily be lightened with a soft, low opacity bush. How big is this fly?

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Geoff,
Great comp advice given above.....it will make a bolder presentation and I myself like that.... but I still like the OP with more of the environs. You have it tack sharp where it needs it and the perch is what sets this one apart for me......very nicely done overall and with any direction you decide....always nice to have options that will work both ways!

[Geoff Warnock]

Thank you all. This composition had me thinking of magazine covers, but I can see why horizontal would suit this guy too. I didn't get a horizontal in the few seconds he sat still, but it wouldn't be too hard to create space to the right. I'll give it a go at some point. The fly (I haven't worked out an exact species) was some 6-7 mm long. I was searching the hedges for anything interesting.

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Geoff. You did a very nice job of getting this interesting fly in sharp focus. There are already some excellent suggestions above to make the image even stronger. You might also consider brightening up the front of the face just a bit as it is presently in shadow. :) Keep them coming!