Teneral damselfly

[Jonathan Ashton]

Tripod, mongoose head
Camera Model Canon EOS 50D
Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/15
Av( Aperture Value ) 16.0
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation -1/3
ISO Speed 400
Lens EF180mm f/3.5L Macro USM & polariser
Image Quality RAW
Flash Off
White Balance Mode Daylight
AF Mode Manual focusing
Color Space Adobe RGB

I suspect this is a common blue damselfly, this is one of the few images I have made using manual focus, I must admit I can't remember why, probably I couldn't get a convenient focus point or maybe there wasn't enough contrast to focus on Auto. I deliberately left the OOF stem on the right, I think it helps demonstrate a little authenticity, same goes for the slight smudge/streak on the left and the small amount of noise.
All C & C welcome.

[John Storjohann]

Nicely done...strong composition with great leading lines..subtle, almost pastel colors...I like the texture and tone of the background. Enjoying your images.

[Maureen Allen]

Beautiful detail on this, Jonathan. I'm also very much enjoying these images.

[Nick Palmieri]

Nice capture. Don't mind the OOF stem on the right. I am a little distracted by the OOF stem on the LHS of the frame. An easy fix if choose to remove it. Nice job!

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Jonathan. Yet another strong damselfly image! Nice light, good sharpness and detail, and I like the diagonal of the comp. There is some posterization in the background and I'm not sure how noise adds to the "authenticity." Overall, this is very nicely done!

[Jonathan Ashton]

Thanks for the C&C everyone, much appreciated, not sure about the posterization (?) I haven't spotted it yet?? The noise bit is n't necessarily related to authenticity - more originality (I didn't see the need to muck about with it if you get my drift) I would be interested to persue the posterisation though - thanks again.

[Steve Maxson]

Thanks for the C&C everyone, much appreciated, not sure about the posterization (?) I haven't spotted it yet?? The noise bit is n't necessarily related to authenticity - more originality (I didn't see the need to muck about with it if you get my drift) I would be interested to persue the posterisation though - thanks again.

What I was calling posterization was the less than smooth gradation between the lighter and darker areas of the background - particularly to the left of the damselfly. I do have to admit that this seemed much more pronounced yesterday than when I look at it now - I wonder if it might be an issue with my monitor more so than an issue with your image??