close up at the pond and chat

Challenge #8 in the Photo chat series. Hosted by AndrePooh, barb_s.

Challenge has finished

***This is a complex challenge, please read the instructions and the and the comments first.*** Enter one photo showing little things, flora, fauna that are associated with ponds and ditches and also enter a -dummy- photo as shown in the example below as a second picture, see for elaboration the comment in the example. Then give constructive comment on all other photos. Eventually you can enter a second improved version of your first picture by withdrawing the dummy and use that free slot.

Show full rules

Announced:

Sunday, 22nd January, 2012 (GMT)

Submissions:

Sunday, 29th January, 2012 – Saturday, 4th February, 2012 (GMT)

Voting:

Sunday, 5th February, 2012 – Saturday, 11th February, 2012 (GMT)

Processing rules:

Post processing is as cosmetics, use a little and it enhances the end result artistically. Use too much and the result is blatantly artificial, which is frawned upon in this challenge. So HDR and standard basic post processing is okay, as long as it is not overwhelmingly noticable.
No composites, we want honest pictures

Capture date rules:

No restrictions.

Additional rules:

ENTRANTS MUST HAVE >25 POST/COMMENTS!
Each entrant must, on their honor, write a helpful Comment/Critique for the other 19 entries during the entry pase. It should be describing what they like and/or dislike about the photo, and what they may have done differently,
After receiving comments you can enter a second improved version of your first picture after withdrawing the dummy
Include "second version" in the title.
DO NOT WITHDRAW THE FIRST PHOTO THOUGH. we should be able to compare them.
To allow proper evalutation and balance loading times, the longest side of the submitted picture should be between 1000 and 1600 pixels
The number of participants is limited to 20. It will be announced in the comments when the challenge is full. Expect DQ if you enter after that.
Comply with the standard DPR decency rules.
Failure to comply with these rules may result in DQ.

Maximum number of entries per user:

Maximum number of entries in challenge:

submission
phase has

ended

30 entries

voting
phase has

ended

583 votes

Slideshow 4 / 33 Full size Next Challenge Previous

sunbathing

by boar

4^th place

3.235

low

high

I'm not in macro photography...But from time to time...

Camera:	Canon EOS 450D (EOS Rebel XSi / EOS Kiss X2)
Lens:	18-55 IS Kit
Submitted:	Monday, 30th January, 2012 08:31 (GMT)
Taken:	Saturday, 30th July, 2011
Focal length:	55 mm
Shutter speed:	1/200 sec
Aperture:	F8
ISO:	100
Notes:
Views:	172
Galleries:	View this photo in boar's gallery

Provide complaint details

Your complaint (along with the complaints of others regarding this entry) will be reviewed by the challenge owner. Depending upon the nature and applicability of the complaint, the entry may be disqualified. In extreme circumstances the user who submitted the entry may receive a ban from the challenge or series in question.

Reason:

	Violates rules of the challenge
	Spam / Commercial
	Trolling / Abusive
	Sexual content / Not family friendly
	Other

Comments:

Saving ...

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Entry comments

Total comments: 15

exceptional clarity, but a liitle bit of room can be given.awesome..

0 upvotes

Interesting subject and needs a lot of patience to capture this well as i too have tried out one. Great work..

0 upvotes

nice shot dont change it

0 upvotes

Nice shot of this little guy. Love the colors. I like it.

0 upvotes

Same as everyone else. Nice colors and clarity. Just opening it up a bit would be good.

0 upvotes

what a beauty, really.

0 upvotes

All the comments are essentially the same, for good reason! No further "tweaking" necessary as far as I can see....... Beautiful shot.

0 upvotes

You should do macro photography - this is just beautiful.
The frame is to tight, especially the sides. Can you add some space around the dragonfly?

0 upvotes

Nice and sharp! Good work. I think a little more room around the insect would help. The subject looks tightly contained. That's all I can think of here - it's an excellent photograph.

0 upvotes

Very nice capture of a dragonfly.

0 upvotes

Beautiful shot, great capture, particularly getting the dragonfly's eyes in focus; (what stunning colours in those eyes)! You've applied a very tight crop, perhaps a little more latitude?

0 upvotes

Great shot. Details, colors are top notch. I would like to see more room around it, maybe a bit more saturated and darken

0 upvotes

nice one

0 upvotes

it's a great photo: nothing more to say...

0 upvotes

Ok...stick a fork in me...I'm DONE! -This is a fabulous shot. The clarity and detail are superb, and of course the subject is just fantastic. You cropped very tightly here, and normally I'd want to see more "breathing room" around a subject, but the composition (diagonal of the insect's body leading beautifully into the frame of your image) really makes it work nicely. My focus is indeed this dragonfly and all his ferocious detail! Did you use a touch of HDR to bring out the contrast? If so, you've done it beautifully! Wouldn't change a thing! Congratulations. This is really exceptional work!

Comment edited 10 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

Total comments: 15

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