Touching my toes

[Steve Maxson]

This a Backswimmer nymph (Order Hemiptera, family Notonectidae) photographed in my 2-gallon aquarium setup. It is resting at the surface, upside down, which is its normal orientation. They breath air at the surface, are predators (note the beak pointing rearward between the front legs), and feed on other aquatic invertebrates, snails, and small fish. This one is about 6 mm in length with adults being about twice this size and having fully developed wings. 40D, MP-E 65 mm, 1/250, f/16, ISO 100, MT-24EX macro flash (diffused), tripod, cable release. RAW file PP in CS5 - levels, curves, saturation. I removed small bits of debris from the water, cloned some flash-generated spectral highlights, and toned down the brightest parts of the background. All comments are welcome and appreciated.

[Mitch Haimov]

Okay, Steve, this one looks like the stuff of nightmares! :eek: Nice contrast between the very peaceful seeming greenery, which makes a lovely BG, and what appears to be evil incarnate. Excellent detail once again; the soft leg coming towards us does not bother me. Perfect placement of the subject within the frame. Thanks for another biology lesson and another fine image!

[bhavya joshi]

Another nice image.. Steve.. Nice green BG and details.. I think You have full tank of mysterious creatures..:bg3: but no problem.. you are teaching nice biology to us.. waiting for more...:S3:

[Kaushik Balakumar]

Amazing details and sharpness. If you had'nt mentioned the "resting upside down" part, I would've thought that you've inverted the image in PP.
Also the plants offer nice pattern to the BG.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Steve,
Another really cool one! You know my preference for tight crops......so about and inch off bottom and right would make this stronger for me.......but it does look very natural as presented. Is there any way to get this so you can see the water surface? I think that would take this to a whole other statosphere! I still think this is awesome as presented!!!

[Andrew McLachlan]

Very nice Steve as usual! :5

[Brendan Dozier]

Very cool, Steve, awesome exposure, color, details and like subject placement in comp. Also like it rotated it 180! :S3: