Hi Jonathan. Excellent sharpness throughout and I like the double diagonals of the damselfly and seed head in the comp. I think a couple tweaks would make this strong image even better. You might consider increasing contrast a little to give the backs on the legs and abdomen some pop. I would also suggest blurring/toning down the light area just to the right of the seed head as it is just distinct enough to draw my eye. Overall, this is very nicely done.
Thanks Steve - good points - and noted. I had actually popped the blacks a little already but I take your point, the pale area - got to admit I missed it!
I'll start by saying I love image just the way it is.
Personally I would have pushed the Contrast up a bit and dropped the Brightness a bit. The goal would be to lower the light level of the background.
Great work!
Thanks for posting
Hi Jon, Steve covered my thoughts exactly. Boosting the contrast enough to get the blacks looking good and cleaning up the right side is all this needs to take it to the top! You might try grabbing some of the green from the left side and then lightly painting over the right side.