Visitor To a Christmas Cactus

[Norm Dulak]

Nikon D300 w/105mm f/2.8 Nikkor Micro vr lens, tripod mounted
ISO Equiv. 640
f/22 @ 1/60 sec
Flash augmentation: single SB-R200 strobe, reflected off silver screen, under camera commander control

What better way to celebrate the Christmas season than with an image of a Christmas cactus! And what better way to enhance that image than by putting a stink bug on it!

I say that, because although most Marylanders abhorred a recent invasion of Asian stink bugs (also affectionately known as "brown mamorated" stink bugs), I rather like the critters, as long as they are not dropping on me en masse as I enter my home!. So I used my artistic license to put the two together. :p

It's not a composite. The bug was placed on the flower and allowed (in fact, encouraged with a tooth pick!) to walk around.

What do you think?

Norm

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Norm,
I like the lighting you have here on the Christamas cactus.I don't even mind the stink bug.....although I would probably prefer it w/o him!.......but I am wondering about the stem. Perhaps it is because of the whiter BG or the delicate colors of the bloom....but it just draws the eye too much IMO. Perhaps a bit of lightening.....even though it is that color in reality......just to soften it's impact a touch. I like the presentation angle you chose too. Very nicely done!

[Dave Leroy]

Lovely looking flower.

I really like the nice soft lighting and the flow of the flower petals.

I am like Roman about the bug. I am ok with it, but flower has a lot of appeal to be seen alone also.

Dave

[Ken Childs]

Hey Norm, I really like the colors of this flower and you did a good job with the lighting. I agree with Roman that the darkness of the stem/leaf is somewhat distracting and that you should try to lighten it up a bit. I think that simple tweak will really improve this already interesting shot. :)

[Norm Dulak]

Thanks everyone for the comments! :)

In response to the stem darkness issue, I've gently brightened that structure to a point that I hope will suffice in this re-post.

I'm sorry though to hear that no one else is enamored with my little critter! :( Because the flower is quite beautiful in its own right, I might post one of a number of images I captured of the plant alone. But if I did that, I probably would include a reasonable amount of the supporting stem structure also, because I think it provides a counter balance to the delicate flower. The stem structure won't, I hope, be too dark!

In this thread, I eliminated as much of the stem as possible, since my focus was on the flower with its visitor.

Happy Holidays!!!

Norm

[Aidan Briggs]

Good comments above. I like the white BG and the flower. The stink bug adds interest, but I think it would work better with a slightly smaller insect.

I like the repost better.

Looking forward to more!!

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Norm. A very nicely done flower and I like the repost with the lighter stem - but I'm a bug guy so I like your stink bug - very sharp and a good pose. I typically think that an insect adds interest to a flower image - though some of the flower folks don't seem to agree. :)

[Norm Dulak]

Hi Norm. A very nicely done flower and I like the repost with the lighter stem - but I'm a bug guy so I like your stink bug - very sharp and a good pose. I typically think that an insect adds interest to a flower image - though some of the flower folks don't seem to agree. :)

Thanks Steve. I really am with you on this! :)