Dandelion

Hi All,

Here's an older shot from my collection. The inner workings of a Dandelion.



Dandelion
Canon EOS 7D with a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM at 160mm EFL
1/500s, f/5.6 & ISO 200 - handheld

If I were to shoot this again, I would have traded some shutter speed for more depth of field.

However my question is really about cropping. This time I went for a landscape shot to show more of the seed heads of the dandelion. However would a tighter vertical be more interesting? Perhaps something that uses the radial lines below the core, guiding the viewer to the detailed inner structure of a dandelion.

Little Egret

Hi All,

This is a shot of a Little Egret in early morning light. The reason for the dark background was that I exposed the image for the highlights in the bird's feathers. Thus the shaded lake and trees in the background were very underexposed, creating an interesting spotlight effect.

Little Egret
Canon EOS 7D with a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM + 2.0x TC at 640mm EFL
1/1600s, f/5.6 & ISO 100 - tripod mounted

My question here is about the crop. Typically I crop my verticals to a 4:5 ratio, however with this shot the egret looks a little fat with that kind of crop. This is a 2:3 crop which I think suits the slender shape of an Egret. How about a square crop?

I'm also interested in your feedback about the negative space around the bird. How much is enough, on the top, left and right sides? I can't add any more from the bottom.

Jumping Spider

Hi All,

Here's a photo of a jumping spider. He was quite active, always looking straight at the camera as I moved around taking photos at different angles.

I quite like the surrounding complementary colours of the spider's environment which contrast with the neutral colours of the spider itself.

Jumping Spider
Canon EOS Kiss X digital with a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM at 160mm EFL
1/400, f/4 & ISO 400 - handheld

In this shot, I was going for an environmental portrait of a spider. So my question is, do the colours visually overwhelm the spider? Should I try to crop a little tighter to bring more focus to the spider.