Hoverfly

Our family was renting a cottage in southern Sweden, and while there wasn’t that much time for photography there was a big stand of rather tall thistles growing on the side of the road next to the cottage full of interesting tiny critters (there might be a few bug+thistle images coming up…). One calm morning there were plenty of hoverflies enjoying the nectar supply. This is probably my favorite of the bunch I took.

Specific Feedback Requested

The thistle is perhaps even more colorful than the fly in the original capture. I tried to balance the saturation and impact of both - did it work out?

Technical Details

Is this a composite: No
Canon EOS RP, Laowa 100m f/2.8 ultra macro, diffused flash, hand-held @ f/11, 1/180s, ISO 400

Standard crop, noise reduction, and selective sharpening. Tried to balance the color and saturation of the flower and fly to be balanced. The moire in the fly’s eye is the result of downscaling and is not present in the full-size image.

Ingemar, this is an excellent capture of both the Hoverfly and the Thistle. Wonderful details in the Hoverfly. The colors look fine to me. I love the composition, and can certainly see why this was one of your favorites.

What is not to love, Ingemar. Complimentary colors, great detail and composition. Very nicely done.

Wonderful detail on the fly! I’m surprised that f/11 got so much in focus at that much magnification. Although the flash gave you a high equivalent ss, it took great skill to nail the focus. The colors look perfect!

Hi,

Very nice photo. Details and comp are wonderful…Jim

Ingemar: Terrific shot with marvelous detail in the eye especially. I also like the BG. Wonderful image.>=))>

Ingemar, this is a fine look at both the thistle and the hoverfly. It’s always a treat to get clear eye facets and they show well here. The thistle’s color look just right.