by Steve Havert
This is my first post so I welcome feedback on my description as well as the photo itself.
Canon EOS XTi with a 70-300mm Canon lens, 1/200 @ f/11, ISO 400
I was on a garden walk in Port Orchard, WA and came upon this bumble bee checking out a Purple Cornflower (Echinacea). It was a gray day, hence the ISO 400.
Comments
9 commentsWelcome to NPN! A nice photo with good detail. Other than the subject needing more room to "breathe", the composition is pretty good. I look forward to seeing more of your work in the future. Be sure to join in making comments and critiques as you go along. That goes hand in hand with submissions, and is an excellent opportunity for growth as a photograper.
—Phil Hodgkins
Hi Steve. Let me join Phil in welcoming you to NPN and to the macro/close-up gallery. This is a fine first post. I like the comp as just as presented. While I understand Phil's point about "room to breathe," and I would agree if the subject was just the coneflower. The main point of interest in this image, IMO, is the bee, and more space makes the bee smaller. You want the subject (the bee) large enough to see this nice detail you acheived, so I like this as presented. I also like your dof management for the flower and bg, and the bee is perfectly positioned in the frame. So well done, all around.
Welcome! Great subject, good composition, clean background all with good detail. Can't ask much more than that. Well done. Hope to see more posts soon.
Beautiful colors. Stands out well against the bg. I like all the nice clean details. Welcome to NPN!
Thanks everyone for the encouraging feedback. I really appreciate it.
- Steve
Hey Steve,
Man !
Welcome and as mentioned, nice first post. Good details and colors in the Bee and the Flower however if it were mine I would lighten up the dark areas of the Bee to gain more detail. Phil is the premier flower guy as you will soon learn and therefore it is no surprise he would recommend more room for this image. I would tend to agree with Scott in this case however, that the Bee is the main subject and would suggest an even tighter crop which this image appears to be able to handle. Leave the left side and top alone while removing a bit off the bottom and right side, this would place more emphasis on the subject and the center of the flower making this an even stronger image IMO.
Mike,
Thanks for the suggestion! I agree that it makes it a stronger image. See attached.
-Steve
Welcome to NPN, Steve. This is an excellent first post with lovely colors and details in the flower and a nicely sharp bumble bee. I like your composition and especially the gentle colors from the subdued lighting. For me, the repost seems to emphasize the flower more (due to miving the bee more into in the center of the frame), so I prefer the original.
Hello Steve, Natural colors and good detail. I like the repost and your crop. Welcome to NPN!