Hand held Canon 1DX Canon 180mm macro & Ring flash -1.6EV ISO 16 1/250 sec f11
I placed the grass stem in a crack in a gate so I could get the desired background
Obviously moving the grass did not disturb the beetles! Great side views of both beetles with great details. They're a nice bright orange and the contrasting black eyes and antennae make them eye-catching. I would probably crop away much of the negative space on both sides and top. As is, the beetles appear fairly small and the bkgd too large.
Lovely color, detail and body language! I think I could vote for a slightly tighter crop. I'm undecided about the soft focus on the grass near the bottom -- a focus stack would have been interesting to compare.
Thanks for the feedback everyone, the crop is the ratio it is because I may be using the image, I think however I could crop a tad tighter.
The subject was small the temptation was to go in very close but then there is a lack of DOF. Focus stacking is not practicable when I am out with Barney (my dog) and hand holding