DPChallenge: A Digital Photography Contest You are not logged in. (log in or register
 
Challenge Entries
Portfolio Images
Bee in blackthorn
Bee in blackthorn
hajeka


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Insects II (Minimal Editing I*)
Collection: 2007
Camera: Canon EOS-20D
Lens: Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM
Location: At home
Date: Apr 9, 2007
Aperture: f/7.1
ISO: 400
Shutter: 1/1000
Date Uploaded: Apr 9, 2007

Did only see flies and this bee today (and a lot of (too) small mosquitos). Did made one shot while the bee was flying, but it wasn't good.

Some crop here would be nice, but it's minimal editing.
Just resized and (standard) sharpened.



Statistics
Place: 96 out of 180
Avg (all users): 5.6327
Avg (commenters): 5.6667
Avg (participants): 5.4000
Avg (non-participants): 5.8108
Views since voting: 920
Views during voting: 284
Votes: 196
Comments: 4
Favorites: 0


Please log in or register to add your comments!

AuthorThread
04/26/2007 11:11:03 AM
Hi from the CC,

This image is a great capture of one of nature's most beautiful insects. The colours are beautiful and the whites look white; there's no under or overexposure to be seen anywhere. You've frozen the detail of the bee quite well, although the detail of the wings is lost in that dark portion of the background. Other than the wings, though, the bee is a strong aspect of this shot.

I am absolutely amazed at your depth of field in this shot. How you got this blurred background at f/7.1 is quite a feat, especially considering that the leaves behind the bee look big enough to be quite close. Surprises aside, however, you have blurred what needs to be blurred and focused on exactly what should be in focus (and indeed it is!).

The branch provides a very strong line in this photo. The camera could have been rotated slightly to give a more perpendicular line, but I really don't mind it how it is. If you had done so, that blurred branch in the background would have also served nicely as a dominant horizontal line.

Obviously you couldn't zoom in closer with your prime lens, but I would have suggested getting slightly closer to the action to provide a tighter shot of the bee. If you look at the entries that placed in the top 10 in this challenge, you'll see that all of them fill the frame with the insect. Obviously, nature hardly gives us the time to "fine tune" our shot, so you did a great job of working with what you had to just get the shot.

Overall, a very nice shot with great colour, detail, and depth of field. This image could have been improved by getting a tighter (closer) shot of the bee, getting a better (lighter) background behind the bee to emphasize its detail, and watching your lines (horizontal/vertical and their placement). Since none of these could be achieved based on the nature of the shot and the editing rules for this challenge, all I can really say is great job!

Regards,
Geoff Ball

Message edited by author 2007-04-26 15:13:45.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
04/22/2007 06:47:18 AM
Good shot, focus looks nice and crisp although framing could have been a little better.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
04/16/2007 10:24:52 AM
Very nice fuzzy bee. Looks like a very young bee. Great dof also!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
04/16/2007 09:31:20 AM
Very pretty, lovely spring photo. Bee is a bit lost but the clarity and detail in the photo is excellent, especially on the flowers.
  Photographer found comment helpful.


Home - Challenges - Community - League - Photos - Cameras - Lenses - Learn - Help - Terms of Use - Privacy - Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 04/05/2025 12:34:28 PM EDT.