Hey! Outta The Way!
by Mochrie99

Comment by posthumous:
you've got to work on your dialog. ;) I like the chaotic composition, but I think it clashes with your attempt to tell a story that exists only in the foreground. Perhaps this is because the birds are centered vertically. That might be a mistake.

Hey! Outta The Way!
by Mochrie99

Comment by Limescope:
A very nice capture of a difficult subject. Focus is spot on. Well done.

Preening
by Mochrie99

Comment by MaryO:
Awesome capture and perfect DOF.

Preening
by Mochrie99

Comment by Scapeshots:
nice shot...the top green section seems a little grainy 6

Preening
by Mochrie99

Comment by andrewt:
great shot, shadow a little too harsh

Whuddup, Dude?
by Mochrie99

Comment by BakerBug:
Nice macro shot and good DoF. A little noise reduction would help.

Whuddup, Dude?
by Mochrie99

Comment by eostyles:
I have a photo very similar to this one.

...And Even The Insects Salute The Troops!
by Mochrie99

Comment by atupdate:
Hello from the Critique Club,

It's not very often I get assigned an image to critique that is very similar to a ribbon winner. So what is different between your image and the 2nd place image? First, I would have to say the lighting. Your image was obviously taken mid-day compared to the early morning light of the ribbon winner. You definitely had harsher lighting conditions to shoot under, which in turn made it tougher to capture the details of the grasshopper. Compositionally, I think your image is almost as good, as the angle of the other grasshopper provides a bit more depth to the photo. Background, I score this a tie, as neither background has and distractions of note.

What left is in the overall look of the grasshopper itself. Your image looks flatter than the second place image. Part of this can be attributed to the lighting but part is a result of the post processing. I see by your post processing comments that you used clarify, which is part of Paint Shop Pro. I would encourage you to revisit your post processing steps and play around with levels or curves. I think you will find that if you decrease the gamma in levels (the middle slider for input) and boost the contrast, the grasshopper will gain a lot more depth. The same can be done with just curves but is harder to explain in writing the curve shape that is required. If you have problems getting levels to do what you want, I would be more than happy to tweak it and send a screen shot of the levels settings. I really like this image and with a little more post processing it can become something special.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding this critique.

Tim

...And Even The Insects Salute The Troops!
by Mochrie99

Comment by amster:
Your title was helpful in pointing out something I probably would have overlooked. 8

...And Even The Insects Salute The Troops!
by Mochrie99

Comment by heathen:
wonderful detail and colors here...well done