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Steve Maxson
05-04-2011, 04:20 PM
This is another Darner dragonfly nymph clinging to a decaying sedge stem and waiting for a prey item to come along. It has a mix of protozoans and algae attached to its exoskeleton. This image was taken in my 2-gallon aquarium setup. 40D, 100 mm macro, 1/250, f/11, ISO 100, MT-24EX macro twin flash (diffused), tripod, cable release. RAW file PP in CS5 - curves, vibrance, nr on background. I removed a number of tiny bits of debris from the water. All comments are welcome and appreciated.

Patrick Sparkman
05-04-2011, 08:30 PM
Another great one Steve! I love the background color and the prehistoric look of the photo. It reminds me of the artist's renderings of dinosaurs in old books. Very sharp and well composed. If it were mine, I might lighten the insect a little.

Roman Kurywczak
05-05-2011, 08:16 AM
Hey Steve,
Yep.....another killer pose. Agree with Patrick that the insect ......especially perch and legs could go a bit lighter.....but an easy fix for another winner!

Julie Kenward
05-05-2011, 12:37 PM
I'll make it three - I want to see the details of the insect just a little bit more. I do really like the pose and the muted BG but want that bug to shine just a bit more than he is.

Steve Maxson
05-05-2011, 01:29 PM
Thanks for the comments Patrick, Roman, and Jules. Both the dragonfly and sedge stem were dark colored so I didn't really notice that they might be too dark. :S3: Here is a repost that should be a little brighter - and I got rid of the red cast that I somehow picked up during uploading of the OP.:2

Julie Kenward
05-05-2011, 02:09 PM
That really did add some more interest, Steve! Nicely done!

Mitch Haimov
05-06-2011, 09:01 PM
Another winner, Steve! Especially the repost. Tight crops are popular on this forum, but to me a bit looser on the right would give your subject some breathing room and get the sedge edge out of the corner.

Ken Childs
05-07-2011, 12:18 PM
The repost looks great! I'm with Mitch on adding more space on the right....just enough to get the nymph's eye one step closer to the ROT position.

Patrick Sparkman
05-07-2011, 12:29 PM
Looks nice, especially the tonality change. I agree with Ken that a little more on the RHS would finish things off.

Brendan Dozier
05-08-2011, 01:31 PM
Super awesome nymph image, Steve. Really shows how well these guys can camouflage themselves. Repost looks great, agree more room on RHS.