Rose Gernade
by thundercatcher2003

Comment by debitipton:
love roses. this is nice but seems dark and may lose some of the details as a result.

Rose Gernade
by thundercatcher2003

Comment by FrankRobinson:
lovely detail and focus - I would have been tempted to rotate for a little more diagonal angle to lead the eye in from the corner maybe.

Sunny Flowers
by thundercatcher2003

Comment by Jib:
5

Sunny Flowers
by thundercatcher2003

Comment by cpanaioti:
Interesting idea to try a cutout on a black background, however the technique has been executed poorly leaving a large grey area between the vase and the flowers on the right as well as some haloing around the vase itself.

Sunny Flowers
by thundercatcher2003

Comment by macrothing:
Not sure what you did here to the flowers and vase in pp, but the burning around the whole of the rest of the image is obvious.

Sunny Flowers
by thundercatcher2003

Comment by njsabs:
Nice color combination. I see some lighter area's of black? Did you burn out the background a bit more?

Sunny Flowers
by thundercatcher2003

Comment by MaryO:
There's an area of background to the right of the vase between it and the flowers which is completely washed out, while the rest is jet black. The flowers are mostly washed out, too. If that's on purpose I don't get what you're trying to show me with the processing.

Sunny Flowers
by thundercatcher2003

Comment by BAMartin:
You seemed to have darkened the background, except where you can see it through the flower stems.

Sunny Flowers
by thundercatcher2003

Comment by KarenNfld:
I am not sure what you did to the background, darkened it I supposed, but you missed a huge spot between the flowers.....that is grey, not black.

Hopper
by thundercatcher2003

Comment by KaDi:
Greetings from the Critique Club

Macros of insects are fun to look at and a challenge to make well. What I like most about macros is the way they give me leisure to study the details of small creatures. I like the textures in their bodies and wings. So, to me, it's important that those details are crisp and the whole image is enjoyable to view for a period of time.

Here I have to agree with comments about the overexposure. A quick look at this image's histogram proves the point. Enhancing the darker tones would help to bring out the details.

I also find this a little too yellow. It may be that the leaf was close to that color but it's just not appealing. A little desaturation on the green and yellow hues would make this easier to spend time with. It would help enhance the reddish tones present in the grasshopper's eyes and wings.

The composition is okay. I'd prefer to see a bit more of the hopper's body but that's just my personal preference. In general I like the subject's placement within the frame.

The factor I think holds this image back the most, however, is the lack of focus on the eye. Perhaps that could be fixed in post-process...but I doubt it. It's really important to get the eyes of animals and humans tack sharp when shooting. It's just human nature to look at the eyes first and repeatedly as the viewer explores the image.

Overall, I think it's a nice grab shot. It's hard to impress DPC viewers with anything less than a near-perfect bug shot since there have been so many in challenges on the site. That may be true with other subjects as well...we're always looking for a little extra to surprise us.

Congratulations on making it through your first challenge without too many scars.
Keep shooting!