Scarce chaser

[Jerry van Dijk]

Today I had another go at the dragonflies at the University campus. I had the comments of my recent dragonfly images I posted here fresh in mind (angle to the sun to avoid highlights, focus on the head instead of the abdomen and a face to look at :w3), so I managed to get quite a decent shot of this female Scarce chaser (Libellula fulva). It seems that the pond the University decided to dig to compensate for expanding the campus into natural areas starts paying off!
I cloned out the highlight on the eye. I'm not sure whether I like the result, it makes the eye look a bit flat IMO. Comments welcome!

Panasonic DMC-FZ18, handheld, 83 mm (500mm eq.), ISO100, F/6.3, 1/200 sec, EV +0.2, RAW. ACR 5.0, CS4, exposure, levels, fill light, clarity, vibrance, sharpness, NR, cloned out highlight on eye.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Very good shot, the light is ideal - not a reflection of highlight anywhere. I suspect the colours are very accurate but you may wish to consider increasing the contrast just a little to give it a little more pop. Alternatively a broad unsharp mask would do the trick

[Brendan Dozier]

Beautiful shot, Jerry, and like the pose with wings folded forward. Wonderful exposure, and fine details, the orange coloring contrasts nicely with the soft light green BG. Diagonal perch adds to a pleasing composition. Agree about adding a bit of contrast to make it pop.
Well done!

[Mitch Haimov]

Very well done, Jerry. I agree with all of the above comments. Hard to weigh in on cloned out eye highlights without seeing the before, but I suspect I may prefer it with the highlights. We do desire catchlights in the eyes of vertebrates, after all.

[bhavya joshi]

Nice shots..Like angle, Details on wings, Light and Green BG.. Agree with above comments also..:S3:

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Jerry,
I do like the comp very much and the added contrast should be the final touch. I really like the sharpness and the BG! Very nicely done!

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Jerry. My first thoughts upon seeing this were - great pose, good sharpness, comp, and background, but it looks like it was shot in a light haze. As the others have noted, more contrast will take this one over the top. You might try adding black to the blacks in a selective color adjustment. :S3: Like Mitch says, it's hard to comment on the eye without seeing the before & after versions - you could try leaving just a small highlight to see if you like that better.

[thijs broekkamp]

Nice sharpness on the whole chaser, a bit light and a bit too much on the right side on the frame for me.

[Jerry van Dijk]

Hi all, thanks for commenting. I took it back to the drawing board and came up with this adjusted version, which 'pops' a lot better! The main problem with the lack of contrast was that I adjusted the exposure and used some fill light to bring out the shadows, washing out the blacks and colors in the process.
I brought back the exposure compensation to 0, added contrast, added to the blacks, upped the vibrance a little and did some fine tuning with levels and clarity. I had to slightly adjust the white balance as well to keep the colors natural. I also slightly changed the position in the frame. I used the original version with the highlight on the eye and decided I liked it better than the cloned version.
Thanks again for the valuable comments!

[Jonathan Ashton]

Jerry I like the image very much, I have another version for you to have a look at, I lowered the brightness and added some Selective Colour to the Blacks, I also applied a little Selective Sharpening 50/0.1. (I did not use the Vibrance).

[Randy Stout]

Jerry:

Love the detail in the near wings, hairs along the body, prefer no catchlight.

Brightness between your repost and Jonathan's.

Bit more contrast than the orginal is a plus.

Hope to see some dragonflys here soon.


Cheers

Randy

[Mitch Haimov]

Jerry's repost is my preferred interpretation. Definitely has the most life in the eye. Love the wing shadow at the bottom of the perch. BG and perch could be a little darker. I also think cropping 1/2 to 2/3 of the negative space from the left would improve the composition. Nice work.

[Jerry van Dijk]

Hi all, thanks for all the new comments! Jon, thanks for taking the time to work on my image. I like your version, especially the dragonfly now looks just right and natural. The BG in your version feels a bit dark, so I think I'm with Randy in choosing a brightness inbetween both versions. The funny thing is, I think your version actually approaches the cameras JPG version of the image! With some images, I find that I'm not doing a better job with the RAW processing than the camera.
Mitch, regarding the composition: cropping from the left would move the head away from the ROT hotspot in the UR corner, as well as leading line of the perch that ends there. I find that in the current composition, the eye is drawn towards this spot where all the action is happening, so I'm reluctant to crop.

[Ken Childs]

Hi Jerry, this capture looks great! The comp looks good as is and the sharpness is great throughout. I agree the op needs a little boost in contrast. As to the colors and brightness, I would also prefer something between your repost and Jon's version. With some added canvas and a little cloning, this could also make a great looking vertical.

[Jerry van Dijk]

Thanks Ken, I'll do some more work on the brightness and colors.