Chris Brogden writes:
> " Born Again " by David A. Mann, New Zealand
>
> Not bad, David. The background is beautifully out of focus, and I love
> the almost ethereal look of the shedded skin. You also captured the event
> at a particularly good moment, as it's just pulling itself out but hasn't
> emerged completely. I love it!
Thanks for the comments, Chris. It's good to get someone else's point of
view.
I really like using shallow DOF in my macro shots. It helps to isolate my
subjects from what are usually very distracting backgrounds. Plus it
generally allows me to shoot handheld which fits my 35mm "style" well. And
after having had Superia 400 enlarged a few times, I like to be able to use the
Reala instead...
> Moving closer to the insect would have
> made it a little larger (not a big deal) and would have removed some of
> that out-of-focus (rock? wood?) in the foreground that I find a little
> distracting.
I think you might be right there. I was pushing the (technical) limits for
getting that shot though, so more magnification would have given me even
less DOF and been more susceptible to shake. But that doesn't excuse me
for not cropping it!
BTW the foreground is indeed rock, covered in some strange moss-like
stuff. Often when shooting with limited DOF I'll move around the subject to
get my plane of focus in exactly the right place. I'd seriously love a tilt/shift
macro lens, as absurd as it'd look, but at the time I didn't consider my focal
plane (I hate it when I don't look at the _entire_ viewfinder - it's so easy to
just look at the subject).
> The insect itself is still a little blurry, but I think that
> works well with the muted colours and soft tones.
I must admit that the scan doesn't do justice to the print (that's on top of the
lens being wide open). The scanner itself is pretty soft and I'm only just
starting to pick up the workings of Gimp (a photoshop clone). Hopefully by
the next PUG I'll have gotten the "feel" of the Unsharp Mask tool.
Cheers,
- Dave
David A. Mann, B.E.
email [EMAIL PROTECTED] * http://www.digistar.com/~dmann/
"Why is it that if an adult behaves like a child they lock him up,
while children are allowed to run free on the streets?" -- Garfield
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