Assignment: Macro - Stained Glass

[Bill Dix]

One last macro before I go to the birds. I hesitated to post this - the concept is a bit obvious. But even the commonplace Monarch's wing is a work of art. Looked sharper before converting to jpeg. BTW, most of you probably already knew this, but I just learned that the black spot near the left side is what identifies this as a male - the spot where he stores his pheromones. Comments appreciated.

D90 with 18-70 @ 70mm, tightly cropped. ISO 200. 1/80s. @ F/13. HH, 0EV, AF-A, Aperture priority, matrix metering.

Bill

[Gus Cobos]

Hi Bill,
The color rendition and fine details are superb...this is one sweet image, I like the framing and deliberate crop...good show...:cool:

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Bill

Love this image Can't imagine a better way to clean up than isolating body parts !!! Neat and Big Congrats !!!!

[Jeff Cashdollar]

Nice color and detail, just a tad tight on the right for me - well done.

[Fabs Forns]

Very nice colors and composition as presented. You may try how it looks woth a bit less saturation on the reds, maybe more detail will show through.

[Bill Dix]

Thank you all. Fabs, here is a repost with a 15 point reduction in red saturation. I also ran another slight pass of sharpening (high pass filter - soft light at 50% opacity). There is a slight but perceptible increase in detail. Thanks for the advice.

Bill

[Harold Davis]

the repost is totally better than the original. not as much pixelation in the bg and the wing looks better also. thanks for the lesson about the spot id'ing the male. learn something new everyday!!

[Lance Peters]

Repost rocks - Id say you NAILED IT!!!

[Christopher Miller]

I've tried this same concept myself, Bill, but my attempts don't hold a candle to yours! :) Beautiful colors and details, and like the comp. Agree with Jeff on just a little more to the right; other than that, well done!

[Bob Miller]

Hi Bill,,,,Nice simple composition.Red on green bg works well! Repost is an improvement! Thanks for the Id tip...did not know that!

[Kerry Perkins]

Nice work Bill! The repost is better I think. Would agree with Jeff and pull the RHS out just a tad - almost touching the frame. Really like the bg colors and the nice curve of the wings. Thanks for posting!