Don't Bug Me!

cromwell

I took these this evening. Going for the the literal sense of, "don't bug me", along with a bug as a model. Since they were getting so comfortable with each other, I wish I would have placed the mantis on the back of his head facing the camera. Maybe I'll try it tomorrow. All I did was place the mantis on the arm of the couch, tell Winston to stay, and let it happen.

Overfocused

#2!

SeascapeS

2 or 3 - I love Wilson. Missed him! Where do you get those mantis's on demand?

cbbr

Definitely #2 - Great look!

sapphire73

What fun! #2 is my pick as well.

cromwell

Thanks everyone. I was leaning towards number 1, but I guess 2 would be more suited for the theme.

SeascapeS wrote: »

2 or 3 - I love Wilson. Missed him! Where do you get those mantas's on demand?

Thanks. From different people online.

Molotov Everything

I like 2 the best and I'd pick it over #1 because they're interacting with eachother (even though the dog looks like he couldn't care less). With #3 the mantis I think is too small in the frame, it kinda looks like it could be a leaf or something.

GretaPics

I agree with the others for #2. How do you handle these bugs anyway? Are they slow movers? I steer clear of most bugs so am not familiar and am amazed! GP

Overfocused

mantises are slow ones, yea

WhatSheSaw

Definitely #2! It is great to see Winston again.

cromwell

Thanks everyone.

GretaPics wrote: »

I agree with the others for #2. How do you handle these bugs anyway? Are they slow movers? I steer clear of most bugs so am not familiar and am amazed! GP

I let them crawl up on a wide stick and then roll it off where I want to place it. They usually just stay basically where I put them. They are very quick though. When it finally walked up on Winston it ran to where it was in picture 3 in a blink of an eye.

GretaPics

cromwell wrote: »

Thanks everyone.

I let them crawl up on a wide stick and then roll it off where I want to place it. They usually just stay basically where I put them. They are very quick though. When it finally walked up on Winston it ran to where it was in picture 3 in a blink of an eye.

Wow - thanks! I've never even seen these where I live. GP

kdotaylor

I'm also liking #2.

travelways

Very nice

I like #2 best but I wish the dog was looking somehow to the invader....

I was thinking about a shot like this but I don't have any pets. I'm surprised I haven't seen more shots like this in the contest...

cromwell

I guess number 2 has it, but I just did a reshoot. So what do you think about this number 4? Better?

Overfocused

nodnodnodnodnodnod

nodnodnodnodnodnod

nodnodnodnodnodnod


I think the pose is best in #4, but the bug is shown much more in #2. For the theme I think #4 is best.

Also, I think a crop would strengthen it a lot since you don't need as much info of the dog... something like this to enhance the bug's presence:

sapphire73

Like many other, I picked #2 before seeing #4. I like both of these options. I wouldn't have thought that a tighter crop on #4 would make a difference but I think it does strengthen it. Great concept and execution!

cromwell

Overfocused wrote: »

nodnodnodnodnodnod

nodnodnodnodnodnod

nodnodnodnodnodnod


I think the pose is best in #4, but the bug is shown much more in #2. For the theme I think #4 is best.

Also, I think a crop would strengthen it a lot since you don't need as much info of the dog... something like this to enhance the bug's presence:

Thanks a lot for your time and suggestion. I actually spent more time playing with the crop than I did post-processing the entire image. I almost called it done with a crop that was in between what I posted and what you posted. Now you got me thinking again. I just can't handle his whole right ear being totally gone like that....just makes it feel too cramped to me.

sapphire73

I can see leaving a bit of the R ear. What I didn't take the time to say, was that a tighter crop (not suggesting how much) seems to create the illusion that Cromwell is trying to look up at the bug rather than you or your hand or something.... For what it's worth.

Overfocused

cromwell wrote: »

Thanks a lot for your time and suggestion. I actually spent more time playing with the crop than I did post-processing the entire image. I almost called it done with a crop that was in between what I posted and what you posted. Now you got me thinking again. I just can't handle his whole right ear being totally gone like that....just makes it feel too cramped to me.

I can see that viewpoint, yeah...

My final suggestion would be a 1:1 square crop. It does a much better job at keeping the balance. It keeps enough of the ear and cuts out the excess border information:

cromwell

Thanks again to both of you. I did just upload a cropped version to the contest. Going square for a standard print size wasn't too important to me, since it probably won't ever be printed to hang on a wall, even though I was playing with square crops yesterday. I think cropping some off the top helped as much as anything and I never even tried that until your suggestions.

sweetharmony

I think the square crop has it for me! Looks quite balanced......such a super, super idea.....

silversx80

Love it!