Black-tailed Skimmer Orthetrum cancellatum

[Jonathan Ashton]

Hand held (shame on me!)
Camera Model Canon EOS 7D
Shooting Mode Shutter-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/320
Av( Aperture Value ) 5.6
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation +1/3
ISO Speed 400
Lens EF180mm f/3.5L Macro USM
White Balance Mode Auto
AF Mode AI Servo AF
AF area select mode Manual selection
Color Space Adobe RGB

I took this shot whilst on holiday in the Norfolk Broads, I had not seen this species before. All C & C welcome

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Jon, congrats on getting your first of this species. Good detail on the head, and at the end of his front legs. I like how the red 'perch' flows across the frame.

Hope you had a great holiday, and came back with lots of keepers.

[Markus Jais]

Beautiful shot with great selective sharpness and composition. I might crop a little bit at the top.

Markus

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Jonathan. It's always nice to score a new species! I like the diagonal of the perch and you have good sharpness within your DOF. I also like the comp - though I wonder if a little CW rotation would help (if you have the room). You might try brightening the shadowed portion of the thorax a little so we can see more detail in that area. I would also suggest toning down the bright area in the ULC as it tends to draw my eye away from your subject. This image has some strong elements and I think a few tweaks will make it even better!

[Jonathan Ashton]

Thanks for the feedback everyone, Steve I am kicking myself I did actually prepare an image with a brightened thorax and I posted the wrong one!!