Syntomis Phegea worm (I think...) + fungus / Italy

[Horacio Scotti]

Hi,

Canon 30D, Tamron 180, F16, 1/8 sec, iso 200, fill-in flash, tripod. C&C please. :)

[Roman Kurywczak]

Welcome Horacio,
I really like the composition of the fungus and catepillar. I find the bright spot and diagonal line in the BG distracting as they are brighter than your main subject. Toning them down will definitely help.
Welcome to the forum,
Roman

[Horacio Scotti]

Welcome Horacio,
I really like the composition of the fungus and catepillar. I find the bright spot and diagonal line in the BG distracting as they are brighter than your main subject. Toning them down will definitely help.
Welcome to the forum,
Roman

Thanks for your comment Roman, I agree about the background...

but to change the background digitally is ethically a hard decision for me...:confused:

next time I will try to find a better angle :)

[Roman Kurywczak]

Thanks for your comment Roman, I agree about the background...

but to change the background digitally is ethically a hard decision for me...:confused:

next time I will try to find a better angle :)

Hey Horacio,
It is a tough decision to make and I love the response you gave me about finding a different angle! That being said..........dodging and burning have been going on for a long time in the old "wet" darkroom.........therefore at least dodging or burning IMO is acceptable. As for the cloning etc..........I think if Ansel Adams and others like him were alive today.........they would use PS as a tool to enhance their vision.......but I admire and applaud your ethics!
Roman

[Robert Amoruso]

Horacio,

The worm and fungus is great. Working to strengthen your backgrounds on future images will strengthen them greatly. Keep up the good work.

For this image, selecting the FG (worm and fungus), increasing the gamma (brightness) and contrast would de-emphasize the background which now is brighter than the FG. In the original image capture, fill-flash would have done this for you.

Of course we are trying to challenge your views, but adjusting the tonal range or scale in images dates back to to pre-digital days. But only do what you feel comfortable with. Thanks for posting.

[Robert O'Toole]

Horcio,
interesting subject. So this is a moth caterpillar eating a morel mushroom?

To get this situation with only more morel in the background would have been amazing. With this image the only weakness is the strong bright spots in the background which leads the viewers eye away from the subject.

Image manipulation ethics are a personal choice. I dont think a tonal change in the background is a problem for me, but if you do find this to be problem that is okay too.

Robert

[Robert O'Toole]

Horacio,

The worm and fungus is great. Working to strengthen your backgrounds on future images will strengthen them greatly. In the original image capture, fill-flash would have done this for you.

.

He did use fill flash Robert, he listed it in the tech details, you can also tell by looking closely at the catepillar you can see the flash. Otherwise it would be much darker and have much less detail i think.:)

Robert

[Mike Moats]

Hey Horacio, very cool image. Others have already mentioned the BG. Sometimes the BG's workout, and sometimes its tough getting the angle you what with a clean BG.

[Horacio Scotti]

Hi,

Thank you all for the comments; I agree about almost all comments and I'm happy because I post this for learn and to improve my tecnica.

I shoot the caterpillar in the wood under the trees, at 10 AM. There were zones of high light and dark shadows. Usually we have only few minutes - or seconds- before the subjet decides to change position or go away.

Yes, I use the fill-in flash, -2 stop compensation. Them, in PS CS3, I have applied a smart sharpen on FG and a strong noise reduction on the BG with a layer mask.

Roman: About Adams, ... may be :) ( but I agree about the beer :D)

Robert: I know nothing about fungus, this is the first time I have see a "Morel". Yes, the caterpillar is eating the fungus. Some experts from an italian forum say this is impossible, but the picture don lies :)

Thank you.

Horacio.

[Gus Cobos]

Horacio, Welcome to BPN...:)
Love the image, nice colors and background...:D