Black Darter

[Jonathan Ashton]

Canon 7D Canon 180mm macro ISO 800 1/160 sec f13 fill in flash -1.66 (Probably hand held but cannot swear to it)
This shot was taken on the Norfolk Broads whilst out walking with my family, my son was also taking images - really must get him to start posting again!)
Processed prior to my current processing regime, now I think there would be a little less noise.
Unfortunate the grass stem was dry and therefore pale in colour, I have toned it down a little.
All comments welcome

[Dave Leroy]

Nicely done Jon. Not much to do about the grass stem. From my limited experience, if you move to eliminate them another appears or the darter moves off. I really like the colors in the darter and good use of dof settings. .

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Jon. Nice diagonal comp and good sharpness on the dragonfly. The position of one of the wings on the far side is a little odd and sort of makes the head appear encased in a "bubble." Do you recall if that wing was deformed? You might try toning down the light stem a little more and I would suggest cropping the narrow vertical "stripe" along the right edge of the frame. Otherwise, this is nicely done!

[Jonathan Ashton]

Thank you for the comments Dave and Steve, the stem is a little less than ideal I agree, the wing was not to my knowledge deformed, I think it is just the angle at which it was captured at.

[Bill Jobes]

Excellent capture of the darter, Jon. I love the sharp detail pretty much extending from head to tail.

I note your observation on the noise, and while I don't find it particularly objectionable, it is noticeable.

As for the grass stem, the portion shaded by the wing is slightly darker, with more detail. You could consider toning down the rest, top and bottom, to emulate that level.