Sinister

[Steve Maxson]

Not what you want to see if you're another aquatic invertebrate - because you are about to become lunch! :eek: This Darner dragonfly nymph (Anax spp.) was photographed in my 2-gallon aquarium setup. 40D, 100 mm macro, 1/250, f/16, ISO 100, MT-24EX macro twin flash (diffused), tripod, cable release. RAW file PP in CS5 - curves, vibrance, NR on background. I cloned some flash-generated spectral highlights and a number of tiny specks in the water to clean up the image. All comments are welcome and appreciated.

[bhavya joshi]

The alien invertebrate has landed in Steve aquarium.. be careful Steve.. :bg3: just look at his face.. its looks like alien.. excellent macro.. just Remove white spot on eye.. :5

[Patrick Sparkman]

Cool eyes and mouth parts. Like the composition. There appears to be a greenish cast to the highlights on the top of the insect.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Very nice shot indeed, I appreciate the effort gone into this image. I like it as is, I appreciate the slight touch of green but I think we can be tempted to make things a little too perfect (unless the image is purely for display purposes). I remember last year discussing the cleaning up of detritus in the water I think this looks OK but in the real world I would not expect crystal clear water.

[Jerry van Dijk]

This sends shivers down my spine, Steve! It's unusual to see these critters so close by! How do you come by these nymphs? Are they easily spotted? I only caught one unseen in a random scoop with a net in the pond, just by luck I think.

[Brendan Dozier]

This is awesomely cool, Steve. Love the low angel, head-on, super close-up. The details on the eyes and face are outstanding. Agree about slight green on top of head, but very nicely done! :S3:

[Mitch Haimov]

Another impressive piece of work, Steve! Greenish cast doesn't bother me.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Wicked cool Steve!!! I love the position of the legs and the sharpness on the face is off the charts!!! You could consider cropping off the bottom.....to where the L leg comes out just above the LH corner.....but just personal preference there.....this one rocks!:cheers::cheers::cheers:

[Steve Maxson]

Thanks for the comments folks!

I've often thought that these, and similar, insects were likely the inspiration behind many of the scary aliens we see in movies. :S3:

I checked the original RAW file and there is a slight greenish cast in the highlights on the top of the eyes - not sure how it got there, but it might be a reflection off of some of the green plants in the aquarium.

Jonathan: I recall the discussion last year about how much, or whether, to clean up bits of debris that are always present in the water. This is, to at least some degree, a matter of personal taste. Use of flash tends to make this debris stand out much more than it appears to under ambient light and, in my view, it is just clutter that adds nothing to the image. :S3: I prefer to remove most of it so that it doesn't distract from my subject.

Jerry: I am fortunate enough to live in an area where there are a lot of small woodland ponds that host a large diversity of aquatic invertebrates. I have some nets that are designed for collecting aquatic inverts that I sweep back and forth in the water and whatever I catch, I catch - sometimes, it's one of these guys. :S3:

[Andrew McLachlan]

Steve, this is fantastic. Awesome sharpness and very scary looking - glad I ain't a bug!

[Ken Childs]

Hey Steve, one of the best so far....definitely the stuff nightmares are made of!

My first thought on that green was that it was algae so IMHO, I think it looks completely natural. :S3:

[Jason Stander]

Great shot Steve... nicely exposure... stunning detail... and a great find... TFS... VWD!:w3