Here is a shot taken at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens here in Nashville. D300, 105 Macro, 1/80 at f8, 0EV, center weighted, ISO 200, 0 flash (didnt have one at that time) Gitzo tripod. C/C appreciated.:) I little soft I think and could use some NR???? I know I shouldnt critique my own before others perhaps, but I am trying to recognize before hand what others will be suggesting.:)
good self critique!! i was thinking maybe a little higher ISO so you could boost your shutter speed. and you could even open up wider too. you were at f/8, so if you were at f/5.6 and ISO 400, that would have put you at 1/150s. that is the first time i ever tried to calculate ss!! al, tell me if i'm wrong.
as far as the compo, i would have liked to have seen the bee's eyes. and the hotspot or white area above the flower is somewhat distracting too. you might could fix that spot, though.
You are both getting very good at this critiquing thing! Shellie, you got a nice composition and good focus and detail on the bee but it does detract from the overall image that he's not looking at us. I know...tell a bee to move and they almost never listen! Next time, wait and see if he won't make that move on his own and THEN click that button. Also, the two hot spots are a bit distracting but they could easily be cloned out with PS. The good news is you did a fine job of getting up close and catching the details of the bee and flower and all are nicely in focus.
I like the crop better Shellie Name is fine and you should place it !!!!
Did reduce noise but does look a little blurry Maybe the extra magnification !!! Keep in mind with these close up insects you need to vary your dof depending on bg Sometimes is good to go for lots of it others better to minimize due to clutter !!!