Todays pics...

[Satchmo]

...as promised in my post yesterday. I'm fairly sure the Dragonfly is a Brown Hawker but I'm new to all this so if somebody could confirm that will be great

As I mentioned yesterday I visited the spot where I had seen them land and unbelievably within a few minutes of me arriving at the location one plonked itself about a foot away from my feet!! He/she left and a few mintues later the second one breifly obliged also. Then, of course, they taunted me for the next 3 hours and wouldn't stay still. I did have Damselflies landing on various parts of my body however

I am extremely happy with the pics as I wasn't sure I would be focused on any of them because both encounters were so brief. The only problem is that the sun was right above and there was no getting away from it. I had a negative exposure set but obviously not enough. Any tips on how it could have been improved are more than welcome. Here they are:









Brown Hawker Exuvia (I think):



Peacock Butterfly:



I'm really happy with these pics.

What do you lot think then??

Cheers

[nutmeg]

Nice pics - I can see why you're happy with them

Looks like a female Brown Hawker to me (but I could be wrong with the sex). Way better than the couple of shots I've managed of a Brown Hawker - which was rather obscured by foliage.

Love the Peacock - nice and colourful

[wildone]

I opened your Peacock Butterfly in Photoshop Elements and adjusted the lighting and came up with this

Felt that the emphasis needed to be on the insect so have overlightened the flowers. I hope that you approve.

wildone

[wildone]

Satchmo, have done the same with your Exuvia


I wonder if you didn't over compensate for the bright sun and ended up with dark subjects.

Apart from the lighting they are extremely good images especially with a point and shoot camera. As has already been said focus is spot on.

wildone

[Satchmo]

Nutmeg, I think it's just beginners luck. This is my second day of photographing insects ever and to get a Brown Hawker (which I have been told are hard to get to pose) to land in touching distance......!! I liked the Peacock too, especially the copper coloured hair on it's back.

Wildone, I need to learn how to do that stuff. I do like the clarity of your improvements and I think they work well but I am not too sure whether altering images is for me. I'm a purist, which I know is silly especially with the technology we have nowadays.

Thanks for your comments guys

[wildone]

Just a quickie Satchmo. You altered the image when you adjusted the camera for a bright day.
wildone

[Satchmo]

I see what you're saying but in my eyes they are different things. Altering camera settings changes the way the camera interprets what it sees (so to speak) whereas PS etc. is altering the finished image. As I said, it maybe that I do get into photo editing, but for now I'm being stubborn because I don't know how to do it

Thanks for your efforts though, definitely food for thought.

[Interpreter]

They look first class to me.

[Ollie]

Congratulations you did really well with the Brown Hawker under difficult lighting conditions
Roger

[mh68]

Well Simon.....focussing is excellent, as is the framing of the shots,good subject size too so you must be getting the hang of creeping up close
The only minor point is, as you say, the exposure on some of them, and to give credit where its due they havent turned out that bad at all considering what the light must have been like.That Exuvia shot is great, you`ve managed to capture plenty of detail without blowing the highlights too much.Same with the Peacock, dark butterflies on bright yellow flowers are never easy in any light and youve done very well there.You`ve still managed to get plenty of detail on the butterfly without blowing the yellow flowers too much, and i think the shadows on the butterfly add a lot of depth to the image.
As for the Brown Hawker shots those are very good too considering how difficult theyre said to be to approach.Closest I came to a Hawker shot today was a blurred mess as the Hawker flew off as the shutter went on my only chance with these of the day.Again, with the Hawker youve got a dark coloured dragonfly on a pale very reflective branch so it was never going to be an easy shot.Even with being slightly overexposed you havent blown too many highlights.For a first serious attempt theyre very very good, and as you`re obviously thinking about what youre doing they`ll get even better with practice.Must say i`m very impressed mate.

Mark H