Neural Net
by LevT

Comment:
Ah yes--the glorious macro abstract. This is sublime.

Two-striped Grasshopper
by wildiris

Comment:
Outstanding, tack-sharp detail. Looks like something from a biology textbook!

Personally, I would prefer a slightly more generous crop to allow additional plant context and give the subject just a bit more breathing room and create a little more visual depth and contrast for the subject to "pop" against.

Suspended on glass
by Neat

Comment:
The image is fantastic. Tack sharp, superb detail, and an admirably compelling b/w conversion. Admittedly the framing treatment, while probably effective for a gallery-size print, diminishes the effectiveness of the overall composition for me in this context. It may just be me, though.

Wings of Summer
by nam

Comment:
One of my top picks this challenge. The color and level of detail here are amazing, and there's a rich sense of visual depth. My ONLY nit is that the eye of the butterfly--which is the natural focal point for the composition--appears a smidge out of focus on my desktop monitor. A wee bit of selective sharpening might clear that up. But it hasn't impacted my score today.

Skipper
by glad2badad

Comment:
Other than some miniscule hints of color noise in the hairs in front of the eyes and in the front leg area, this is about as flawlessly composed a macro as they come for me. The personality of the subject--such as it may be--reverberates, and the contrast of color tonality and DOF are incredible. My top pick this challenge.

Bee Butt
by NikonJeb

Comment:
The technical execution here is A+ for me. Love the contrast, coloration, and bokeh. The absence of lumination noise in the background is astounding to me!

For whatever its worth, I personally find the back of the insect less compelling a subject than either the front of the insect or the detail of the flower head alone. But that might just be my preferences. :-)

Skew
by NikonJeb

Comment:
I know the rules don't allow it, but a slightly higher crop that loses the foreground greenery would elevate this for me. I actually really dig the angle.

Twisted Dewey Light
by glad2badad

Comment:
The technique here is both understated and profoundly effective for me. I'm interested to learn whether this was a specialty lens or a free lens capture.

Rufous
by PapaBob

Comment:
Looks like a happy dance capture if ever I've seen one. :-P Seriously, though--stunning capture and sublime b/w conversion. Textbook-level technique on display here.

Flying High
by Pixelstate

Comment:
Right on. Nicely timed capture.