Are you looking at me?
by ciaeagle

Comment by bsluijk:
Good advice from Ann on the diffusion panel. You nicely positioned the focal plane on the entire insect without making it all look staged. I agree on the crop, that could be a little tighter.

Are you looking at me?
by ciaeagle

Comment by Dennisheckman:
Well done on getting the whole bee in focus. The crop could be tightened up a bit as the others have said. Sounds like you might be hooked already.

13 Shades of Gray ...
by ciaeagle

Comment by Garry:
For something as bright and colorful as nail polish, I don't get the choice to use B&W processing. In color this would undoubtedly pop!!

Are you looking at me?
by ciaeagle

Comment by Kroburg:
Focus on the bee and the green leaf are good, DOF is really nice as well. Would change the crop a bit, to get the bee out of the centre even more.

Blooming Soon II
by ciaeagle

Comment by Kroburg:
I like this one more, good job!

Blooming Soon
by ciaeagle

Comment by Kroburg:
I like the buds and spider (noticed it even before I read your comment) and the DOF is great. Agree with HarveyG about the use of space. But keep on with this, I think your lens is very good for this kind of photography.

Reflections
by ciaeagle

Comment by Kroburg:
I know when that happens, having the wrong settings, makes you feel stupid sometimes. But I think it's not too bad on this one, and you managed to create a peaceful image with nice soft colours.

Who?
by ciaeagle

Comment by Kroburg:
Although a pity that leaf is partly in front of his face, I like this one, with the focus beautifully on that yellow eye.

Are you looking at me?
by ciaeagle

Comment by Ann:
Not bad at all...

How much cropping is this? If it's anything close to the full frame, you're doing great. Shooting from a little lower angle would get the bee in front of a darker background, which would help isolate him better. Another thing to consider, especially if you have a patient husband, is to get a diffusion panel of some sort (either a shoot through umbrella, the diffusion panel from a 5 in 1 kit, or something like that), and have hubby chase bees with you, holding the panel so that the light on the bee is more diffuse. With bug photos, it doesn't have to be a very big panel, obviously, so his arms won't even get very tired. Tell him it's an opportunity to bond. I'm sure he'd go for that.

Blooming Soon II
by ciaeagle

Comment by bsluijk:
I also like this crop better than your first one. Great tool, a macro lens. Gives you a new look on life ;-). I like the resonance of yellow: sharp in the buds, blurred and offset in the BG.