Syrphid Fly (Female)

[Mitch Haimov]

Here's another syrphid fly. It's a female this time and appears to be a different species than the individual in my prior threads.





5DIII, 65 mm macro lens, macro twin light (diffused), HH, 1/200 sec at f/14 and ISO 100, 2:1

All comments, critiques, and suggestions always very much appreciated.

[Diane Miller]

Mitch, another gorgeous capture! But I have to wonder if I would like the bright leaves / petals below the fly to have a lower exposure. They could be brought down without affecting the fly. And I think the same holds for the brighter OOF stuff in the UL.

But critique aside, this beast somehow reminds me of a sports car in a TV commercial!

[shane shacaluga]

Lovely details on the eye and thorax. The light is nicely diffused in this area

Agree with the brightness of the leaves/petals and unfortunate one is covering the abdomen

TFS

[Mitch Haimov]

Thanks, Diane & Shane. I guess the bright petals are a hazard of exposing for a relatively dark subject on a white flower. I actually did bring them down with a combination of a curve layer and painting on an overlay layer; the trick is knowing how far to go with that. They were white flowers so I didn't want to darken them so much they turn into grey flowers. Looking at it with fresh eyes, I agreed the brightest areas (primarily the blossom immediately below the abdomen), could come down a bit more, but the rest is dancing on the edge of looking too grey to me. Here is a repost after a little more painting on the overlay layer:



The differences are somewhat subtle; I don't know if I darkened enough for your tastes, but I'm at the limit of seems natural to me. Thanks again for the suggestions.

[Diane Miller]

Yes, I see now that's it's difficult to bring it down because it's OOF and there's no texture or features to darken. I'd agree more wouldn't look realistic.

Just a case of saying DOF limitations are part of photography. The wonderful detail of fly itself easily pulls attention away from the flower.