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View Full Version : Beetle portrait - from Costa Rica


Steve Maxson
04-11-2012, 12:37 PM
I found this very colorful beetle during my Costa Rica trip and photographed it in a portable light-tent studio that I brought with me. Its body is about 1/2 inch long and I think this is one of the Leaf Beetles (Family Chrysomelidae). 5D II, 100 mm macro, 1/200, f/16, ISO 100, MT24-EX Macro Twin Flash - flash heads hand held and fired downward through the translucent plastic of the light tent. NIK Viveza 2 used to brighten selected darker areas. All comments are welcome and appreciated.
Patrick Sparkman
04-11-2012, 10:06 PM
Love the color and the light tent gave a very diffused look on what can be a difficult subject. Good pose to get as much overall DOF as possible. For some reason, I feel that it needs a little less white space on the top. I would love to see what your "portable light-tent studio" looks like.
Ken Childs
04-12-2012, 11:00 AM
This bug's a real beauty and it's a perfect subject for the studio look! Your lighting did an exceptional job on a very difficult subject. Since the bug has a slight downward trajectory, I think I would have had the empty space below the bug instead of above it which would give it somewhere to go. The BG appears to have a slight yellow tint to it....maybe that's just my monitor. Overall this is another great job with your studio setup!

I would also like to see what your portable studio looks like.
Doug Brown
04-12-2012, 11:58 AM
A real beauty Steve! Expertly captured!
Steve Maxson
04-12-2012, 01:28 PM
Thanks for the comments folks! I have room all around on the original so recropping will be an easy fix. I can also work on whitening the background a little. I'll be posting more of these light-tent images so I'll have to take a photo of my setup too - it's crude, but effective. :S3: (And I'm already working on a more elaborate setup for my next trip down there.)
Ken Childs
04-12-2012, 01:34 PM
crude, but effective.
That describes most of my DIY gear! :bg3:
Patrick Sparkman
04-12-2012, 08:43 PM
Crud describes most of my DIY gear! :c3:
jack williamson
04-13-2012, 06:43 AM
Another very detailed bug from you Steve. The quality is amazing. I see the color in the BG but I like it.

Jack