Budwing adult female

[yeatzee]

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Went out with a Nikon shooter yesterday because he needed macro's for his photography class, but did not have the proper equipment. Therefor he came to me and my Pentax (according to his professor Pentax isn't even worth looking at and is effectively non-existent ) for help

I only took four shots the whole day but this one came out quite good.

C&C welcome

 

[sbugir]

Alien!

BTW, I'm workin on it -.-

 

[kamakiri]

Off the cuff, I like it. Composition is like a crucifix. I like the visual pun wether intended or not.

I think the shot could be improved if done head-on. The spines from the left arm draw attention after the head/eye. The blurry left antenna is a bit distracting. So you're using a two strobe setup still? The one on your left is lighting the background? The differential in focus on the eyes is making a larger reflection in the left than the detailed small reflections in the right. Just happened that was in your focal plane.

Overall a really good shot, but I think a bit more experimentation could make it great.

 

[PhilinYuma]

Yeah, I like this too. I would go further and say that it is iconic rather than just a visual pun. Call it "Tenebris: Oratorio Depicto" ("Darkness: A Visual Sacred Song" or "A dark depiction of M. oratorio", or some such rubbish) to stick it to the sad little professor. He will still be a sad little prof. when you are a Photographer!

Again, though, look at the bottom 1/5 of the pic and ask yourself if it helps the overall composition. If so, keep it. If not...

 

[yeatzee]

Off the cuff, I like it. Composition is like a crucifix. I like the visual pun wether intended or not.I think the shot could be improved if done head-on. The spines from the left arm draw attention after the head/eye. The blurry left antenna is a bit distracting. So you're using a two strobe setup still? The one on your left is lighting the background? The differential in focus on the eyes is making a larger reflection in the left than the detailed small reflections in the right. Just happened that was in your focal plane.

Overall a really good shot, but I think a bit more experimentation could make it great.

i only took one shot (had to guess settings etc.) before handing the camera to my friend so he knew what he could get out of the setup. This was it.

Ha yeah I could not get her to drop those impressive arms.... she was pretty irritated with all my camera equipment surrounding her. Also, i agree I wish it was head on for DOF reasons aswell as what you said above. Maybe I should gaussian (sp?) blur the arm so it doesn't stand out? I agree about the antenna.

Actually this was a new technique i've been working on. Care to guess the lighting?

Oh and personally I think focusing on catch lights is a bit... tedious

 

[yeatzee]

Yeah, I like this too. I would go further and say that it is iconic rather than just a visual pun. Call it "Tenebris: Oratorio Depicto" ("Darkness: A Visual Sacred Song" or "A dark depiction of M. oratorio", or some such rubbish) to stick it to the sad little professor. He will still be a sad little prof. when you are a Photographer!Again, though, look at the bottom 1/5 of the pic and ask yourself if it helps the overall composition. If so, keep it. If not...

you lost me where i made red :lol: it is late here and im pretty tired so im giving myself the benifit of the doubt lol.

Ha I knew you'd say something about that..... i do not post cropped pictures because i want to hear what other people think will look good as a crop. I have trouble deciding personally

anyways like so?

 

[kamakiri]

Phil I only suggest a pun because of the 'praying' aspect...otherwise I'd have to agree with iconic.

The crop loses some of the proportions that I liked in the original shot. I'd say crop a bit less and 'delete' the wings that remain. And retain the crucifix proportions. In other words, I'd only crop to the base of the thorax.

Gaussian blur would be the right technique for the left arm IMO, but only if you know how to blend/feather so there is no obvious transition line.

Regarding the lighting, looks like the on board was main light, and that there was another filling from your left side on the mantis' upper-right.

 

[yeatzee]

Phil I only suggest a pun because of the 'praying' aspect...otherwise I'd have to agree with iconic.The crop loses some of the proportions that I liked in the original shot. I'd say crop a bit less and 'delete' the wings that remain. And retain the crucifix proportions. In other words, I'd only crop to the base of the thorax.

Gaussian blur would be the right technique for the left arm IMO, but only if you know how to blend/feather so there is no obvious transition line.

Regarding the lighting, looks like the on board was main light, and that there was another filling from your left side on the mantis' upper-right.

Alright I'll try that crop idea out

As for the blur, I was thinking simply trace the head and invert it so everything but the head is selected than gaussian blurring the selected.

So far so good Kamakiri! The onboard was used, and than the sun (notice the slight back lighting), and finally something entirely new to me... a reflector.

 

[PhilinYuma]

@Tanner: The part you put in red was just academic gibberish for an academic who appears to put more faith in names (camera brand names, at least) than in the pictures that they produce. Sadly enough, it is quite valid. If you follow the conceit (and I will not say "meme" even if you torture me!)of the crucifixion, then the dark background and low-key saturation are consistent with sixth - ninth hour when Jesus was on the cross, and made the famous prayer, spoken as a son of man in the words of King David (Psalm 22:1), "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" So "Tenebris: Oratorio Depicto", conflates "praying mantis" and "praying man" in the form of a cruciform Mantis oratorio. Such a performance, for me, is somewhat like a poodle riding a tricycle. Cute, but not life changing.

Backlighting? I thought that that was his halo!

I completely agree with Grant on this (make note. It may never happen again!). You need the length of the thorax and the abdomen to preserve the cruciform impact, so burning out the wings (or cloning, as we do in this modern age!) and reducing the crop to an effective minimum would be great.

And however pleased or less-than-pleased you may be with the final result, you have taken a nice macro snapshot and started turning it into a picture. And that is always worthwhile.

 

[kamakiri]

Alright I'll try that crop idea out As for the blur, I was thinking simply trace the head and invert it so everything but the head is selected than gaussian blurring the selected.

So far so good Kamakiri! The onboard was used, and than the sun (notice the slight back lighting), and finally something entirely new to me... a reflector.

Nice use of the light available. Best part of reflected light is that it's free. I did notice the slight backlighting and assumed it was from bounce from what I thought was the left strobe reflecting off something nearby. I guessed the exact opposite!

For the blur, if you do that in two steps, first to blur the arm that is in focus (to make it more closely match the other arm), then blur the entire background together as you are describing above. Just a suggestion if the single step doesn't do what you want.

Can't say I like quoting Ansel Adams...but, "You don't take a photograph, you make it."