Blue tailed damselfly and...?

[Emja]

I managed to leave work a little earlier than normal today and take a wander around a local lake in the early evening sunshine. I was really happy to capture these, although the second isn't as sharp as I'd like, as a breeze kicked up very annoyingly! The bronze on its body was gorgeous in the sunlight, but as usual I'm not sure what it is.

blue tailed damselfly by Em Jay, on Flickr

black and bronze by Em Jay, on Flickr

 

[-Oy-]

Mayfly

 

[Emja]

Mayfly

Ah - thank you Dave. I've only seen the nymphs before...so much to learn

 

[GardenersHelper]

I love the clarity and colours of those Emma, and the way the subjects stand out so well against the lovely backgrounds.

 

[Graham]

2 lovely shots Emma, The 1st shot you could lose a tad on the left side and its a shame you cut the top off the grass, its always nice to get the whole environment in shot.
2nd shot is another superb shot, again lose some on the right to the annoying diagonal grass to lose it.
Other than that 2 great shots and the Mayfly dont look that soft to my eyes.

 

[Emja]

I love the clarity and colours of those Emma, and the way the subjects stand out so well against the lovely backgrounds.

Thanks Nick - the colours were absolutely beautiful - the bronze on the mayfly was amazing - something I've never seen before.

 

[Emja]

2 lovely shots Emma, The 1st shot you could lose a tad on the left side and its a shame you cut the top off the grass, its always nice to get the whole environment in shot.
2nd shot is another superb shot, again lose some on the right to the annoying diagonal grass to lose it.
Other than that 2 great shots and the Mayfly dont look that soft to my eyes.

Thanks Graham - great feedback. The damselfly shot did have the top of the grass in (just!) but I usually try to stick to traditional sized crops in case I want to print and I was worried it was a bit lost in the frame. I've gone back and had a play with the crop - I don't know if either of these look better? The portrait feels a bit tight to me.

 

[Graham]

Ouch, that 2nd shot is a bit too tight, give a bit more to both sides and I think your done.

 

[susiejb]

Smashing shots Emma

 

[Graham]

Thanks Graham - great feedback. The damselfly shot did have the top of the grass in (just!) but I usually try to stick to traditional sized crops in case I want to print and I was worried it was a bit lost in the frame. I've gone back and had a play with the crop - I don't know if either of these look better? The portrait feels a bit tight to me.

View attachment 66530

View attachment 66532

Heres my crack at a edit on your Damselfly and a tweak here and there with PP
How does that look Emma ?

 

[Neil Burnell]

2 lovely shots Emma, the edit including the top of the grass you have done is spot on, I prefer the wide format with a little more space

 

[Emja]

Heres my crack at a edit on your Damselfly and a tweak here and there with PP
How does that look Emma ?
View attachment 66556

Thanks for taking the time to edit, Graham. The crop looks good - maybe I need to think about moving away from conventional crops if I'm not planning to print - but I don't think I mind the extra room too much in this shot. I completely agree about the top of the grass though - I'll watch that in the future! The damselfly looks vibrant and stands out nicely in your edit but I'm so sure about the more defined background with the pp tweaks - what adjustments did you make?

 

[Emja]

2 lovely shots Emma, the edit including the top of the grass you have done is spot on, I prefer the wide format with a little more space

Thanks Neil - I think I prefer the edited wider shot to the original, too.

 

[Emja]

Smashing shots Emma

Thanks Susie. There were two very noisy barbecues going on round the lake just metres from the damselfly - it was quite surreal to be photographing it so nearby!

 

[Pick]

two well captured shots there, and like the edited shots better

 

[Graham]

Thanks for taking the time to edit, Graham. The crop looks good - maybe I need to think about moving away from conventional crops if I'm not planning to print - but I don't think I mind the extra room too much in this shot. I completely agree about the top of the grass though - I'll watch that in the future! The damselfly looks vibrant and stands out nicely in your edit but I'm so sure about the more defined background with the pp tweaks - what adjustments did you make?

Hi Emma,
Glad you like my edit, imo whatever you want to do, frame or sell, always try to get all the picture, ie the grass, feet/tails/wing tips or whatever in shot, maybe some bits could be cloned / faded out, see where I'm going.
OK in lightroom, I done this.

I hope this helps.