Thanks for that David and I welcome your comments but it would also be useful to me if you said why..? Does the eye need to be higher in the frame i.e. on the thirds, do I need more insect in the frame and less plant..? All useful tips if I can get a general idea of what people think.
For me Brett, I'd like to see more of the insect. I find the cut off point on the left to be a bit 'harsh' (for want of a better word). Detail is superb and a delightfully smooth background.
I didn't say why because I am having difficulty putting my finger on quite what it is, but somehow for me the composition just doesn't gel. Technically it is excellent, the subject is in focus and the background is diffuse. Perhaps it is the way so many things are cut off - the top of the plant, the wings and the thorax. Having said that, I have tried an even tighter crop and that didn't work for me either. Perhaps I just like to see whole dragonflies.
As a study of the detail of part of the insect, it works very well indeed. Compositionally if more of the base of the abdomen was included so it could disect the bottom LHC at 45 degrees might be an improvement. but that is purely a personal liking.
I actually really like this crop. I think it would be difficult to add more insect without showing the whole thing. The plant isn't too dominant here as otherwise this may not have worked
I'm on the fence here Brett . On one hand the detail and technicalities are fine .But compositionally I'm drawn to the thorax rather than the head /eyes .As David says its difficult to put ones finger on why its a difficult image to assess pictorially .Putting the eye at a third may just shift the balance .
Technically the background, colours and detail are excellent, but compositionally, as already mentioned, for this angle, the full dragonfly is my preference. From my experience, a more frontal view seems to work better for a tight crop, however with the plant higher than the head of the dragonfly, this might not work in this instance, for future shots and assuming you have the space and conditions, might be worth trying a series of shots through the 180 degrees to see what works best.
As everybody else has already said it is technically excellent.As for the cut off point when zooming in like this it obviously becomes more personal.I don't think there is a right or wrong way(as the diverse comments have shown).Personally I prefer the whole insect,like David,but you're opinion is the most important at the end of the day.
wow what detail,I would prefer to see the whole thing but understand why you have shown it this way,the detail is amazing,would love to see the whole image to
technically very good Brett, but I would agree that the composition doesn't quite work as it is. I've always found partial shots of dragons to be difficult to compose as they often don't quite look right without the whole body in frame. A nice find though and I hope you find plenty more over the summer
Discussion
15 repliesKind regards,
Brett
Canon 1D MkIII, Sigma 150mm Macro
1/40 sec @ f10, ISO 400
Tripod, Full Frame
David
Kind regards,
Brett
David
Much appreciated.
Brett
Technically the background, colours and detail are excellent, but compositionally, as already mentioned, for this angle, the full dragonfly is my preference. From my experience, a more frontal view seems to work better for a tight crop, however with the plant higher than the head of the dragonfly, this might not work in this instance, for future shots and assuming you have the space and conditions, might be worth trying a series of shots through the 180 degrees to see what works best.
Heath
Phil.
Brett
Just so you know this is Full Frame and is therefore the whole image..!
Brett
Matt