Odonata - A study

Messiah Khan

Messiah Khan

Santa is your dad
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2,666
Name
Alasdair Fowler
Edit My Images
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All shots taken in the garden today, using natural light. :)

1.
Order_of_the_Odanata_by_MessiahKhan.jpg


2.
Its_a_close_thing_by_MessiahKhan.jpg


3.
We_see_eye_to_eye_by_MessiahKhan.jpg
 
I can't get over how cute the little critters are! :) Well done, as always :D
 
The first is the best for me. The composition, colour, focus, everything is perfect.:clap:
Have you managed to get any of your bug pictures published yet? they must be up there with the best of them(y)
 
Susane said:
I'd like to say something constructive but....:bang: :clap:


Edit; Oh and...WOW!
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:D x

scraggs said:
Superb shots with fantastic detail
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Cheers :)

Miss McT said:
I can't get over how cute the little critters are! :) Well done, as always :D
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Thank you. Aye, they can be pretty cute, although some insects just get more ugly the closer you get.

ben g said:
The first is the best for me. The composition, colour, focus, everything is perfect.:clap:
Have you managed to get any of your bug pictures published yet? they must be up there with the best of them(y)
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Thank you. Nope, ive not had anything published, sold or similar. Im starting to enter competitions though, and im taking part in a couple of exhibitions at the end of the month. In addition my website is undergoing changes to allow me to sell prints directly off there, so hopefully i'll start seeing sales etc soon. *fingers crossed* (y)
 
These are beautiful. You've raised the bar again I think.(y)
Really nice.:)
 
Very sharp shots MK, it looks as though it has just emerged and is still drying.:clap:
 
G_Dem said:
That 3rd one is unbelievable MK. Greats shots.
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Thank you :)

Chopski said:
These are beautiful. You've raised the bar again I think.(y)
Really nice.:)
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Cheers. Lets hope I can keep raising the bar until the money starts pouring in, lol.

Madpup said:
The last for me, super detail.
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Thanks.

zozman said:
Absolutely superb.
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Cheers.

madmitch said:
Very sharp shots MK, it looks as though it has just emerged and is still drying.:clap:
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Thank you. Well thats what I thought it was doing at first, but its now been there over 24hours. It keeps moving a bit, but its klinging to the same twig. I think it must be i'll or dying.:(
 
It would be a shame if it's dying, but it has given you the chance to get shots that would have been near impossible.

Well done again MK (y)
 
Another stunning set:clap:

If you could just cut-n-paste the above into every macro thread you start it'll save me some typeing(y);)
 
That first one is...........well, CAN a photograph be perfect? :shrug:

(y)
 
I had taken a few pics of the same yellow beasty and was really quite pleased with them, but yours are just so fantastic!

Do you mind me asking what setting you used for the first one. I have a canon 100mm macro lens but haven't captured half of the detail that you have:bang:
 
TomB said:
It's not dieing, it just MK has a split personality - his evil side gets up in the middle of the night to superglue insects to twigs!
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Muahaha. The evil me comes out!:LOL: Either that or my split personality is infact a dragonfly, and this is simply a selfportrait. (y)

Janice said:
That first one is...........well, CAN a photograph be perfect? :shrug:

(y)
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Yup, a shot can be perfect imo. This isn't though, and any photographer would be lucky to get one in a lifetime. But from time to time a shot will come along that is simply magical inwhich it couldn't be bettered. I can but keep trying to attain such a shot.

shooting star said:
I had taken a few pics of the same yellow beasty and was really quite pleased with them, but yours are just so fantastic!

Do you mind me asking what setting you used for the first one. I have a canon 100mm macro lens but haven't captured half of the detail that you have:bang:
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Cheers. Its all in the exif data;

Orientation of image: 1
File change date and time: 2007:08:11 18:39:34
Image input equipment manufacturer: NIKON CORPORATION
Image input equipment model: NIKON D40X
Software used: Adobe Photoshop CS3 Windows
Person who created the image: Alasdair Fowler
Copyright holder: Copyright of Alasdair Fowler
Exposure time: 0.05
F number: 10
Exposure program: 1
ISO speed rating: 200
Shutter speed: 4.32193
Aperture: 6.64386
Exposure bias: 0.333333
Maximum lens aperture: 3
Metering mode: 2
Light source: 0
Flash: 0
Lens focal length: 150
Sensing method: 2
Custom rendered: 0
Exposure mode: 1
White balance: 0
Digital zoom ratio: 1
Focal length in 35 mm film: 225
Scene capture type: 0
Gain control: 0
Contrast: 0
Saturation: 0
Sharpness: 1
Subject distance range: 0
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Hope that helps. :)
 
I really need to get the Sigma 150mm!

You pictures just looks awesome with it!

Josh
 
Bit late to the party but WOW, great series, very well done (y)
 
Absoloutly amazing, how did you get such a defined black background for the first two?
It looks so good!
Brilliant photos!
 
I'm coming to your house when i pick my 30D and tamron 90mm macro up :D

Simply stunning shots MK :)
 
Simply stunning!

I'm holding you personally responsible for a large dent in my wallet, MK. I thought I'd make do with the macro facility on my Sigma. But I've just sent some cash to Kerso for a Nikon 105 VR.
 
I think when I can afford it I might buy the Sigma 105mm - would like the 150mm but can't afford it really for that much extra.
 
Save for the 150 Ewan MK has proved that size does matter and that extra 45mm is the difference between good shot and no shot.
 
:clap: nuff sed
 
5bjoshua said:
I really need to get the Sigma 150mm!

You pictures just looks awesome with it!

Josh
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Cheers. It certainly is a great lens.

oliver9523 said:
wow @ the detail in the eyes in #3
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Thank you.

pxl8 said:
Bit late to the party but WOW, great series, very well done (y)
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No problem, the party is never ending here. (y)

minimeeze said:
These are great! I love the colour & detail in the first one.
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Cheers.

dd-photography said:
Absoloutly amazing, how did you get such a defined black background for the first two?
It looks so good!
Brilliant photos!
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Thanks. For the background I used a little screen I have made out of black felt and some wire. Due to the light (The tinfoil reflector was throwing light onto the background), the background can come out looking a bit grey, so I had to up the black levels in lightroom to push it to pure black

Matt said:
Excellent stuff Mr Khan.
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Thanks.

wez130 said:
I'm coming to your house when i pick my 30D and tamron 90mm macro up :D

Simply stunning shots MK :)
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Hehe, your very welcome to come over. but the better places to go would be the local wildlife reserves. This weekend im hoping to head out towards Seal Sands, and the attached marshland which should contain a few creatures like this. Low Barns, near Bishop Auckland is also a favourite haunt of mine.

kendo said:
Simply stunning!

I'm holding you personally responsible for a large dent in my wallet, MK. I thought I'd make do with the macro facility on my Sigma. But I've just sent some cash to Kerso for a Nikon 105 VR.
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Hehe, nice choice. I was debating between the 105VR and the 150mm Sigma before I got mine, but in the end I thought the extra 45mm would be more important than the VR. I would still like to try the 150mm VR though, as often when I get close enough to get 1:1 with my 150mm, I can easily move in close enough to get 1:1 on 105mm. and doing most of my stuff handheld, the VR would be quite usefull.

madmitch said:
Save for the 150 Ewan MK has proved that size does matter and that extra 45mm is the difference between good shot and no shot.
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Well as mentioned above, the extra 45mm is very usefull, but how much of a difference it makes in reality I don't know. Also the 150mm is harder to use due to the shallower dof, and needing a higher shutter speed to handhold it. So I can testify that the 150mm is a great lens, but im not entirely sure that its black and white as to which is best. I would like to trya a 105mm sometime, as well as a much shorter 50-60mm one.

oldgit said:
:clap: nuff sed
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Thank you.

photostar_1 said:
Effin' 'ell, MK, these are just fantastic especially numero 1.

Good luck with all your plans.
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Cheers. :)
 
Just seen this as well, brilliant stuff (y)

Messiah Khan said:
Thanks. For the background I used a little screen I have made out of black felt and some wire. Due to the light (The tinfoil reflector was throwing light onto the background), the background can come out looking a bit grey, so I had to up the black levels in lightroom to push it to pure black
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Any chance of a piccy of the set up, sounds good
 
grumpybadger said:
Only just caught this thread - stunning MK, simply stunning...
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Cheers. :)

dod said:
Just seen this as well, brilliant stuff (y)


Any chance of a piccy of the set up, sounds good
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Thank you. :) Yeah sure, i'll take a pic of it when I get chance. Its very 'ghetto' though. D40X; £320, Macro lens; £320, Tripod; £170, Making the best light out of a piece of tinfoil and your mums old curtains; Priceless. :LOL:
 
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