Blue Damselfly

[Bill Jobes]

After a long hiatus, I headed to the fields with a macro lens, and saw this blue damselfly.
Nikon D3
Nikon 60mm Macro w/Kenko 25mm extension tube
Hand-held; no flash
1/1000, F/8, ISO 800, Manual
TIA for the C&C. :S3:

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Bill,
Impressive that he let you get that close with the 60mm macro! This one is tough as you have a great angle to the damsel and very nice perch. Might be a bit tight on the tail end for some.....but I like them tight so not an issue for me. Main issue here fo rme are the BG elements intersecting the damsel......especially the one at the head. I'd tone that down even more (if I remember correctly.....you don't remove stuff). If I am incorrect and yo uhave no problem with digital removal.....both blades should go although in the latticework of the wings....it will be a bit challenging.
Glad to see you getting out and posting!

[Bill Jobes]

Thanks, Roman ! This image was the best of several attempts.

I tried for a head-on view, but it wouldn't tolerate that, so I approached cautiously from the back. I used a combination of AF and shifting body positions to finally get a clear focus.

Point well-taken on the BG. You are correct in recalling that I am usually reluctant to revise 'reality' too much, but I will do so in extreme cases, especially if I'm preparing an 'art' print, as opposed to an environmental nature photograph.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Bill you have a fine shot there, my C&C are similar to those of Roman. Firstly I would suggest it is perhaps just a little tight in the frame and the dry grasses in the background preent a minor distraction. The main point I would raise however is the use of the extension tube, from my perspective I think you are making your job more difficult, I think it would be hard enough to get the image with out the tube I don't see the advantage of using it for this particular shot. The DOF is fine but marginal, the tail just goes slightly out of focus. I cannot help but think had you taken the image without a tube and bit further away it would have been a little easier and you would have better DOF at a slightly lower magnification.

[Allen Sparks]

Hi Bill, not much to add but I do like the color and sharpness on the head and thorax.

[Bill Jobes]

Thank-you Allen and Jonathan for the reviews and comments.

What came first, the tube or the fly ?

Jonathan your points on the extension tube are appreciated. But I ventured out in fact in search of higher magnification possibilities. I was actually hoping to get a head-on closeup view of an insect -- any insect. But this damselfly had other ideas !

Thus, I settled for the lateral view, as I really wished to document the wonderful color of this particular flyer. It was a challenge, believe me, doing it handheld in an awkward crouched-down position ! :S3:

[OvidiuCavasdan]

I like the colors in this one, sharp where it needs. A cleaner bg would have been nice but it's not easy to shoot these with a smooth bg...so I think this is well done.

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Bill. Very nice colors and good sharpness except, as mentioned above, for the very tip of the tail - certainly not a deal breaker. Lots of good comments above for you to consider. These guys are often found in grassy areas so getting a clean background is a challenge. If you can tone down the brightest stems in the background, that would go a long way towards strengthening your image. :S3: