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Four-spotted Chaser

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted May 27, 2011555 views16 comments

Four-spotted Chaser drying it's wings, thanks for looking.

1/60th @ f16 -1/3rd iso800 ( 95% of FF and surrounding vegetation plamped to give me the clear black BG. The BG is a stream bed that was in deep shadow )

There are a few more shots on my blog if anyone cares to take a look.

Andy...

Comments

16 comments

Comment posted by Gary Yeoh on May 27, 2011 at 10:38 PM

Andy:
A very handsome DF! I have never seen such pristine cellophane paper wings and the details on the body is stunning. Bravo!

Registered on September 1, 2009, 588 Posts, 8184 Comments

Comment posted by Herb Sennet on May 28, 2011 at 5:39 AM

Andy I like your image. Beautiful light and good composition. As Gary says the wings are amazing. The black background is in general no issue for me. But it will always give a less natural look. Like in a studio shot. Maybe I am wrong but it looks as if the image had some more serious noisereduction. Perhaps a hair too much for my taste. This makes the chaser a touch less natural.
But from a photographers point this can of course be a very valid choice. Keep them coming. I will look into your blog as wel.
Herb

Registered on September 20, 2009, 87 Posts, 106 Comments

Comment posted by Varina Patel on May 28, 2011 at 11:12 AM

This is nothing short of a masterpiece. The black background is very nice, and the clarity of the wings is spectacular. Just perfectly wonderful. Well done, Andy.

Registered on August 22, 2008, 45 Posts, 1578 Comments

Comment posted by Andy Shepherd on May 28, 2011 at 2:05 PM

Thanks for the feedback guys, cheers

Hi Herb,

I can appreciate your comments re the studio look, as for the excessive NR, I only applied NR to the final web image at the following settings in CS2, not being a PS wiz, are these settings too strong?

Strenght 10
Preserve Details 100
Reduce Color Noise 20
Sharpen Details 10

Andy...

Registered on September 24, 2006, 123 Posts, 1254 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Snyder on May 28, 2011 at 9:36 PM

Andy, wow. Those wings are totally stunning! Great work.

Registered on November 11, 2009, 45 Posts, 161 Comments

Comment posted by Monica Siri on May 29, 2011 at 11:35 AM

Andy,
the texture captured in the wings and the detail in the body are beautiful. Different and well executed image.

Registered on September 20, 2009, 132 Posts, 3764 Comments

Comment posted by Herb Sennet on May 29, 2011 at 12:08 PM

Hello Andy,

Nothing wrong with your postprocess, NR settings seem fine. You just have an amazing smoooth image here

Congrats!
Herb

Registered on September 20, 2009, 87 Posts, 106 Comments

Comment posted by Fabio Giarrizzo on May 29, 2011 at 2:58 PM

Excellent dragonfly image- Nice sharpness, detail and BG- Very well done, Fabio

Registered on December 3, 2010, 90 Posts, 1614 Comments

Comment posted by Mike Moats on May 31, 2011 at 8:20 PM

Super details Andy

Registered on October 20, 2004, 892 Posts, 6324 Comments

Comment posted by Andy Shepherd on June 1, 2011 at 3:25 PM

Thanks for the feedback guys, cheers

Andy...

Registered on September 24, 2006, 123 Posts, 1254 Comments

Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on June 2, 2011 at 12:07 AM

THought so! Just exquisite!
Congrats on an exceptional WP!
Sandy

Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments

Comment posted by mark cillo on June 3, 2011 at 11:48 AM

Really nicely captured! I like the black BG and the dof is really good with sharpness throughout.

Registered on July 27, 2008, 143 Posts, 1483 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Fach on June 4, 2011 at 11:18 PM

Andy: Pristine specimen and a flawless capture. Congrats on the WP. >=))>

Registered on November 1, 2003, 1805 Posts, 26981 Comments

Comment posted by Andy Shepherd on June 5, 2011 at 6:41 AM

Thanks to all for the very nice comments, they're very much appreciated

And thanks to the Mods for the WP, and congrats to all the other WP entries.

Andy...

Registered on September 24, 2006, 123 Posts, 1254 Comments

Comment posted by Cheryl Molennor on June 9, 2011 at 9:13 AM

How pretty is that. Great dof and sharpness Congrats to you

Registered on June 30, 2009, 300 Posts, 5051 Comments

Comment posted by Derrick Lipinski on June 10, 2011 at 12:58 PM

Perfect all-around in my opinion, Andy. The black background makes for a stunning contrast. Very nicely captured! Congrats on the WP!

Registered on October 5, 2007, 58 Posts, 2039 Comments