Posted by David Taylor on August 17, 2007 at 6:05 PM
From The Merchant of Venice (II, vii) by William Shakespear. This fly was resting on a pear leaf when the sun came out and it began to sparkle. Species unknown.
Sigma SD14
Sigma 50mm EX Macro lens
f/10
Hand Held
Ambient light
RAW adjustment SPP3
Resized and cropped in PS Elements 5
I'm afraid I'm going to be a bit negative on this one and say it doesn't work for me.
The reason being I find the light far too harsh which has resulted in very dense shadows and a little too much glare on the leaf,also the shadow falling in front of the fly isn't ideal.
I can see what caught your eye though with the lovely sheen on the wings and golden pollen on the fly's body.
They're pretty accomodating subjects so perhaps it may be worth a re-shoot on a day with less direct sunlight, bright overcast or even completely dull overcast will work well, perhaps worth experimenting with a burst of fill in flash to try and still capture the pollen and sheen but without the dark shadows associated with strong directional lighting.
Posted by David Taylor on August 17, 2007 at 6:56 PM
Thanks Justin for your really constructive comments. It was because of the harsh sunlight I took the image, as it brought out the yellows and golds of the leaf as well. I left the shadow in the top left hand corner as an indication of how bright the light was. Unfortunately my on camera flash is not working for some reason , I must send it back to Sigma for fixing at some time in the near future, so at the moment I can't do as you suggest.
Posted by Andy Astbury on August 18, 2007 at 3:08 AM
David - Justin has covered the nits, but can I make a suggestion, certainly get your flash repaired, but if you can, get one of those Sigma macro ring flashes instead of using your cameras built in, it'll give you much better results.
Harsh light can be tammed easily with flash, or you could try a polarizer, though to keep with lower iso you might have to resort to a t-pod.
Good sharp image with plenty of detail all the same
Posted by Rob Fisher on August 18, 2007 at 5:05 AM
David,
What an interesting result.
I like the detail on the leaf, but agree that the light is a little harsh.
Rob
Posted by John Chapman on August 18, 2007 at 6:44 AM
Hi David I agree with the comments which have been made on this picture.
John
Aberdeen
Discussion
5 repliesSigma SD14
Sigma 50mm EX Macro lens
f/10
Hand Held
Ambient light
RAW adjustment SPP3
Resized and cropped in PS Elements 5
I'm afraid I'm going to be a bit negative on this one and say it doesn't work for me.
The reason being I find the light far too harsh which has resulted in very dense shadows and a little too much glare on the leaf,also the shadow falling in front of the fly isn't ideal.
I can see what caught your eye though with the lovely sheen on the wings and golden pollen on the fly's body.
They're pretty accomodating subjects so perhaps it may be worth a re-shoot on a day with less direct sunlight, bright overcast or even completely dull overcast will work well, perhaps worth experimenting with a burst of fill in flash to try and still capture the pollen and sheen but without the dark shadows associated with strong directional lighting.
Harsh light can be tammed easily with flash, or you could try a polarizer, though to keep with lower iso you might have to resort to a t-pod.
Good sharp image with plenty of detail all the same
What an interesting result.
I like the detail on the leaf, but agree that the light is a little harsh.
Rob
John
Aberdeen