Perched
by icecold1980

Comment by icecold1980:
Thanks, everyone! There were tons of dragonflies around me, all ready for the posing. I tried capturing one in flight while it was hovering in place, but that was extremely difficult!! I did not originally intend for this to be a high key image, but when I previewed the first few shots, in order to bring out the detail in the insect, I had to tack on more EVs, which of course, started to light up the background, but I was just amazed at the detail the lens was able to capture (cropping even more revealed the texture of the compound eyes). I didn't want to ruin it by having my subject blacked out. Thanks again!

Perched
by icecold1980

Comment by blindjustice:
The photography/art of the shot is good, but the subject is amazing.

Perched
by icecold1980

Comment by Revecca:
I just love the posture of the bug in this image, I think it's an excellent capture. I'm not sure if I'm a big fan of the overblown background, especially for this image, but that's what this challenge is about so... I guess I can't complain! LOL

Praying for Life
by icecold1980

Comment by icecold1980:
To Revecca - Aside from moonlight, the primary light for the flower was a flashlight.

Praying for Life
by icecold1980

Comment by Ja-9:
I'm sorry to say that in comparison to the other entries of this challenge this just does not appeal to me...I'm not trying to be offensive...sorry

Praying for Life
by icecold1980

Comment by singhmv:
This is hard to justify as an outdoor shot.:(

Praying for Life
by icecold1980

Comment by mariuca:
This shot has a great, great potential - a lovely idea but not taken IMHO too far. I do not like the place of the cropping of the flower, the light is too big, too much like the star of the Magi - perhaps a hint of light, a small dot would have been enough. But a truly appreciate the approach.

Praying for Life
by icecold1980

Comment by Revecca:
The picture is beautiful, but I don't see how this could be natural lighting if you took it an nighttime?

Apart from Myself
by icecold1980

Comment by Alicia:
Greetings from the Critique Club! You requested an indepth critique of your image and here it is:

The premise of this photo definitely differs from the rest of the pack. I commend you for experimenting and coming up with a fresh take on the challenge topic. DPC being a literal kind of world, I'm sure there was some confusion over your work, which is probably reflected in the 4's you got, as well as your overall score.

To address a few technical issues: Though I like that you used BW for this photo, the tones are somewhat flat. A bit more depth and contrast would probably help this pop more. Also, there is a bit of a disconnect between the background and the subject (arms). As a viewer, I'm seeking for a tie-in between the two - I'm seeking the story. My sense is that this disconnect cost you a few points as well.

The arms occupy the bottom 2/3 of the frame, leaving the top sort of flapping in the wind - so compositionally, this could have probably been a little tighter.

That said - I still think this is an awesome image, very out of the box. I always love seeing someone taking a topic and intelligently interpreting it, which is what you did here.

Best,

Alicia

Apart from Myself
by icecold1980

Comment by icecold1980:

Originally posted by Tacoma28: Is this a double exposure, I thought this was basic editing

No, this was a single exposure. Because it was so dark outside, I could stand in front of the camera for a long period of time and not get exposed. I took advantage of that and used an external flash to light parts of me in various locations. I actually had a different idea in mind, but similar to this, but didn't have time.