Staring Contest!!

[Daniel Cadieux]

This feamle White-faced Meadowhawk (a type of dragonfly) allowed a ridiculously close approach, at times the lens only a few inches away from it. It was perched on a deck railing, which made it easy to focus and stay steady by slowly creeping the lens along the railing (at 1:1 magnification ratio) until the subject's eyes were in focus. It did not flinch at all, making my job easier. Very cool to see the compound eyes at full-size...quite an "in your face" photo shoot!

Canon 7D + 100mm f/2.8 macro, aperture priority, evaluative metering, 1/80s., f/7.1, ISO 800, no EC, natural light, handheld, FF excpet cropped a bit top and bottom. Toned down a few bright highlights on the eyes and face (burn tool).

[Dave Leroy]

Very well done. I like how the zone of in focus (circle of confusion??) is clearly defined. Nice symmetrical view as well. certainly sharp where it needs to be.

Dave

[John Storjohann]

Daniel, that's not only a very nice piece of work...that's a pretty incredible dynamic between the dragonfly and yourself! The crop works well with the composition...the detail in the eyes is amazing...and the shallow DOF keeps the decking from becoming a distraction. Nicely done! :cheers:

[christopher galeski]

nice image,good detail in the eyes,and I like the arched wings,and color of the DFLY,well done.

[Brendan Dozier]

Awesome looking image, Daniel. Like the super close POV, great detail on eyes, and nicely composed.

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Daniel. Isn't it fun when you find a cooperative macro subject? Great detail in the eyes - enhanced by the soft natural light, and good colors. This image is a great example of how narrow the DOF is at these close distances. The comp works, as presented, but you might also consider cropping about 2/3 of the OOF area off the bottom as an alternative. This would focus our attention even more on this cool meadowhawk and would remove some of the sharp area in the LRC which is (slightly) distracting. Very well done!

[Julie Kenward]

Loved this when I saw it on FB and I love it here. The DOF is perfect IMO and the amount of sharpness is incredible! You really got a great pose from him and the color saturation is the icing on the cake.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Thanks guys and gal...glad you like it!

[Ken Childs]

Hey Daniel, occasionally you get lucky and find a cooperative dragon and it looks like you did a great job of taking advantage of the situation! The light and colors look great! For my tastes I would have liked a fraction more DOF so all of the eye was sharp but this look good as presented. The LRC is a bit distracting so Steve's suggestion is worth looking into. Nicely done!