Wasp after a sugar fix

Welcome Paul pleased you have joined. It is a good forum and I hope you get as much out of it as I have. You have acheived good detail on the head though a background colour that is very different from the wasp would help extenuate this further, also it would be better with with the tail unobstructed and i would avoid subject dead centre. But it is as you say a pleasing pose and a good first post. I have not taken a macro shot ever so others may give better advice

Welcome Paul, You've chosen one of my favourite subjects as your first post. I wish the wasps in my garden would choose my ivy flowers and leave my pears alone. Only kidding, they're quite welcome to feast on the ones pecked by those accursed blackbirds. I'm a bit of an iconoclast so I don't mind dead centre and BIF.

I find your image a little harsh on my monitor, did you diffuse your flash?

When I was shooting 2D, I tended to use f14 to f18 for good DOF at macro distances, mind you I am now using f9 on my 3D Fujifilm W3, which is its minimum aperture and getting good results (for me )

I also like to get up close and personal, between 2 and 3 inches, for maximum magnification using my set-up.

Keep those macros coming.

Thanks for taking the time to comment and make me feel so welcome Phil and David!

Phil, thanks for the critique. That makes perfect sense and very useful, I'll bear your advice in mind when composing and backgrounds. I normally try and avoid dead centred shots, but this one slipped through!

David, also thanks for your comments! I didn't diffuse the flash and I agree with you about it being harsh, I'll try out a few diffusers next time. I'm also a wasp fan, even though I've been stung by the blighters lots of times!

Thanks guys, this is a fantastic forum!

Hi Paul
Good to see a new participant on the forum. You will enjoy it.
The comments so far make sense and I would add trying a vertcal crop.
Cheers
John R

Thanks John, It's great to feel so welcome on here. Thanks for the crop suggestion as well!

Hi Paul & welcome to the forum. I am not a macro man but this looks pretty smart although I would echo Phil's comment about the BG. As you have them visiting regularly perhaps you could experiment by hanging your own back drop of a colour that works well with the wasp

Bob

Thanks Bob, cracking idea I'll give that a try!

The centred composition works well in this instance and given the available information it is difficult to envisage a subject placement that would work better. The bright brown object in the background is a major distraction, but I guess you knew that already. As David has already indicated, using a diffuser with the flash would remove that harshness and improve the lighting. I would sggest the Westcott Micro Apollo, though others may have alternative suggestions. Hope you're enjoying the 7D.

Hi Phil,

Thanks for your comments. I suppose I could have composed it with more of the flower in the frame, but that may distract the eye as well? I'm going to try a few backrounds, once the damn rain stops!

Thanks for the diffuser suggestion, I'll order one up. The 7D is an amazing bit of gear, I'm very impressed by the detail coming off the sensor and the focus system is a huge improvement. Thanks for making the buying decision an easy one!

Cheers,

Paul.

Welcome to the forum, Paul

This is a good opening image of a pretty overlooked subject matter, keep em coming.

Andy...

Thanks Andy!