May 2020 .. AGGHHHH .!!!. what was i thinking ... looking back on this edit i'm almost horrified .. so over the top .. the unedited photograph is so much more appealing .. :(
i found out what this little insect is today .. 9th jan 2009 .. i was thinking he was a very small robberfly but he's just a fly .. a Long legged fly (Family Dolichopodidae) .. he was very very small, probably a bit more than 1/8" or 3mm body length ..
info on long legged flies can be found here the exciting story goes like this .!!.
i was looking for this sort'v insect after taking a photograph of one yesterday and not getting his eye in focus (a movement of less than 1mm will put you off) .. i wanted to put a photograph of one in the free study thinking the iridescent beauty might appeal to the voters!!!
i went into the grass near our house in the early morning because insects are more dopey at that time, and saw this little guy on a leaf .. unless you were actually searching for him you wouldnt see him ..
i got down to his level and took a couple of pics and then noticed something moving and blurred behind him .. in a fraction of a second he'd caught this even smaller insect ..
it was an extraordinary moment .. !! ..
a million to one chance .. !! ..
hoping to score better than a mid-6, but i spose many of the voters wont like seeing one insect eating another one .. :)
[Dec. 2nd, 2008 03:49:45 PM]
i've had a couple of negative comments about my processing during the voting so here's the original unprocessed photograph so ppl can compare them ..
its an improvement if you view full-size .. and this is the same sort'v fly on the ladybird that the iridescent insect is eating to give you an idea of its size .. its a small ladybird ..
used Canon Speedlight 580EXII with a Sto-Fen Omni-Bounce plastic diffuser fitted over it - ..
also Canon Extension Tube EF12II ..
Statistics
Place: 2 out of 417 Avg (all users): 7.2573 Avg (commenters): 8.5926 Avg (participants): 7.2966 Avg (non-participants): 7.1698 Views since voting: 11373 Views during voting: 338 Votes: 171 Comments: 93 Favorites: 52 (view)
Yar's Revenge comes to mind.....used to play it on the old 2600...awesome picture lovely colors it almost looks like to paintings on eating the other..
I didn't get a chance to vote during this challenge, but this would easily have gotten a 10 from me. I absolutely LOVE your post processing, it really makes it very unique, and it's actually quite beautiful - and I never ever thought I'd say *beautiful* about a "bug" picture; but this isn't just "any" bug picture!
Roz, this is absolutely amazing. Fascinating to sit and look at and marvel at the detail, the color, the tiny-ness of it all! What a gorgeous photograph, and how cool that your hard work is rewarded with a ribbon in a FS no less! You really do have a marvelous ability to take the ordinary and make it extraordinary, both in the way you see things and the way you process them to share your own special view of the world. Thank you for that!
ROZ!!!
Congratulations on a fine entry and a fine finish. Of course if it is the definitive bug, it's from Roz. I just didn't really "look" at the front page until now and then your name and great image just popped out.
Congratulations Roz! With a photo like this you were bound to fly to the ribbons. Amazing details and the iridescent colors and the moment of this fly catching a smaller one. Keep the bugs coming.
It is so great to see you on the front page again! This image is amazing, your processing is FABULOUS!! Huge congratulations, you so deserve the ribbon :-)
It's nice to see that you started with an excellent photo, so the processing is not just putting lipstick on a pig. Holy cats, that's a lot of processing! It's a testament to your skill that I voted high on this way (I tend to be wary of "overprocessing"). Gorgeous photo.
Awesome shot Roz! Congrats on the ribbon - very very cool shot. I have tried some shots like this in the past, and this stuff is hard to do - and you did it sooooooo well!
I also like both versions. The added processing brings the details out. You can see that it is processed quite a bit but the added detail is interesting. I also see that you used f/10 which brings the best out of the EF100mm macro lens (peak performance is in fact f/11).
I'm very interested in which lens set-up and what type of flash you used though (twin flash?). I know that the image details say 100mm 2.8 macro. BUT... the uncropped image shows that your lens is able to fill the frame with approx 3/8" of focused subject (roughly 1/8" bug plus space). With the 100mm macro lens I can only manage 1". With an added 68mm of extension tubes (the entire Kenko kit), the frame can focus on 3/8". I assume this is what you did but I'm not not sure.
I like "extreme" macro photography a lot and see from your portfolio that you are one of the masters on the site. So I am very curious how you do it and what you used in addition to the 100mm. Maybe a "How'd They do That" on the matter would have been interesting for a few of the members - at least for me! :)
I actually like both versions and don't have a problem with the one that is processed. Thanks for sharing. I always like to see what you do to make your photos pop. Congratulations on your finish.
Way to go Roz! I am happy that you caught the "camera bug" a couple of years ago. It's fully developed now, and I am happy to be one of the lucky people who got to watch your progress to this point. Big congrats on the red, and an incredible macro shot.
HOLY COW Roz, this is spectacular. What amazing luck and thoughtfulness to go out in the morning to catch this guy. Wonderful image and one I am pleased to fav. A big congrats on the red, in a FS too, impressive.
The best macro I've seen in a while. Love the golden colors and the way you arranged the DOF as if with a paint brush. In all the right places. While some might think this is over processed I like the whole thing. My vote for blue. 10 Congrats.
Out-worldly disturbing yet beautiful image. The metallic look works well. I'm fine with the smaller fly not being all in focus, as it makes the viewer look again.
a dangerous world
Add photograph to your favorites
Add photographer to your favorites
Photographer found comment helpful.
