Damselfly sp.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Camera Model Canon EOS 7D
Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/40
Av( Aperture Value ) 9.0
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO Speed 400
Lens EF180mm f/3.5L Macro USM +1.4x
Flash On
Flash Type External E-TTL
E-TTL II flash metering Evaluative flash metering
Flash Exposure Compensation -1 2/3
White Balance Mode Auto
AF Mode AI Servo AF
AF area select mode Manual selection

This is a similar but different shot to one previously submitted, depending upon viewpoint the distraction or enhancing little beetle has gone and it is also taken on a different flower head. I have processed a little differently this time and have perhaps got a little more colour and contrast. I initially processed the RAW file in DPP, just to see what the result might be, this lead me to thinking a little more contrast than the previous submission would help, then I used Adobe Raw followed by Photoshop.
I have borne in mind your suggestions regards cropping.

All C & C welcome

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Jonathan,
I think the colors are very natural in this one.....and the BG and comp work for me. As presented ....you know my love of the crop tool:2eyes2:....so either a bit off the bottom to emphasize the horizontal position.....or my actual preference....add a bit more back up front:wh!....Yes hard to believe.....but adding a bit up front will keep the flow more for my tastes as right now it seems a bit tight with the room at teh bottom. Just some suggestions to try out.....but another one very well done!

[Julie Kenward]

It's the red body, the green eye, the orange eye and the open mouth that have me falling in love with this one! Oh man this is sweet! Such fun to look around and see what all I can see about dragonflies...and a very nice diagonal angle as well. Agree with Roman on the crop but I still think this one is awesome!

[D. Robert Franz]

Great light and compostion here.....

[Ken Childs]

Hey Jon, this damsel is amazingly cool and you did a wonderful job of capturing it. The light, DOF, colors all look just right. I agree that more space is needed on the right. When you have something like this with a distinctive eye, try to get that eye near to a ROT position when shooting or cropping. With damselflies this is usually pretty easy.....with dragonflies, not so easy because the spread wings will sometimes make the crop look unbalanced if you put the eye in the ROT position. In that case, the crop is a lot more subjective.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Thank you very much for you C & C everyone, as always it is very much appreciated.:)

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Jonathan. Lots of good suggestions above. You did a very good job with the pose, lighting, sharpness, and background. I would agree with the suggestions that adding a little room on the right and maybe cropping some off the bottom would make the image even stronger. :)