locust/grasshopper

[John Chardine]

Note sure of the difference, and maybe it's just a size thing. Anyway this one was big.

I didn't like the OOF leaf the animal was on so I cropped for a closer look at the head and body, which removed most of the offending leaf. The white filamentous object LR is a down feather from a gannet chick.

Cropped, evened out BG and resized/sharpened using Genuine Fractals (thought I'd give it a try), and ran some NR on the BG. Comments welcome.

Date: 22 September, 2010, Time: 1652h
Model: Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
Lens: EF100mm f/2.8 Macro USM, 100 mm
Program: Aperture Priority
ISO 1600, 1/400s, f/4.5
Exp. comp.: 0.0
Flash: on (mounted on camera)
Handheld

[Nick Palmieri]

Hey John, I like this a lot. I like the diagnal position in the frame and the detail in the bug is nice. Very nice post processing. TFS

[Ken Childs]

John, this 'hopper looks good and sharp and as Nick pointed out, the diagonal positioning of the bug is really nice. I agree with your decision to crop the OOF leaf but the perch is still a bit busy. I think I'd like to see a bit more room in front of the bug might slightly darken it overall using SH and then boost the contrast just a bit. I really like to sharpen the antennae on my bug shots and it's easier than many people think, at least when using Photoshop. Select an antennae using your favorite selection tool(s) and make a new layer (Windows ctrl + j) with the selection. Use your favorite sharpening method and maybe add a little contrast until it looks OK. Flatten the layer and if necessary, use a brush or the clone tool to remove any fuzzy edges.

[Steve Maxson]

Hi John. I think you'll be safe calling this a grasshopper. I looked through my reference book and within the same families some are called locusts and some are called grasshoppers - so it looks like a common name issue (if someone knows otherwise, please let us know). The diagonal comp works well for this portrait, you have excellent sharpness within your DOF, a clean background, and you have very good overall IQ for ISO 1600. One of the first things I noticed about the image were the detailed filaments of the feather, and then I started wondering what those were (i.e., these were distracting me from your main subject). As much as I like birds, I think, in this case, the avian element is detracting from your image. :) IMO, the image would be stronger with more DOF to sharpen the mouthparts and the top of the head and back. If the flash was your main light source, you might have tried some larger f/stops - maybe f/7 or f/8 would have done the trick. :)

[Cheryl Flory]

like everything about the image, but think I would try increasing the blacks in places, or lowering the blues in the blacks. I think that would add some depth/contrast/perceived sharpness in the body and eye.
I'll have to try your tip on sharpening the antennas, Ken. thanks.

[John Chardine]

Thanks for the great comments so far. I'm going to work on the image a bit more.

Wikipedia has a great article on locusts, which it says is refers to the swarming behaviour of any grasshopper. Read on here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locust

[Allen Sparks]

Hi John, Nice detailed shot with good clarity and I like the subject position too. I agree with Ken on darkening the subject to make it pop a bit more from the background. I like the filaments on the perch as a point of interest but that is just personal taste.

[kostas nianiopoulos]

A super image of a super little guy , verry verry good , well done !!!

[Steve Maxson]

Thanks for the great comments so far. I'm going to work on the image a bit more.

Wikipedia has a great article on locusts, which it says is refers to the swarming behaviour of any grasshopper. Read on here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locust

This was an interesting read. Thanks for posting this. :)

[Art Kornienko]

The light seems a tad harsh to me but love the shot otherwise.