Guess it’s time to judge this thing , so here goes …..
@Slartibart : Great “Day-Glo” caterpillar . Are they really that color , or was it fluorescing under UV light? Nice job ! , and thanks for the I.D..
@tizeye : Never had much luck photographing jellyfish . This is much better than my feeble attempts . I wasn’t able to get the EXIF data off the image , but I suspect you were working with a pretty slow exposure/big aperture/high ISO .
@OldMacs4Me : This just pops out ! Nice colorful image that shows that good shots can be taken without high end equipment . An old favorite of yours for good reason !
@ imac wannabe : One of those tiny wasps that seem to be all over the place in the summer . Nice job keeping the wasp in focus while having just about everything else out. I like that you’ve captured the iridescence in the wings . Macro lens , Phone , or just a big crop?
@oblomow : So did you meet the aliens ? Bit out of focus , but not surprising considering you were probably dealing with less than optimal lighting , plus the jellyfish’s motion . Are the four semicircular orange-ish things a result of bioluminescence , or some sort of reflection?
@ Janichsan : An interesting capture . I haven’t seen a mantis in my yard for a few years . I had to Google to see if the little bug was a male , but apparently it isn’t . Maybe it isn’t even a mantis .
@katbel : Nice job getting an image of a (to me) difficult subject with lots of detail . With an iPhone no less !
@ Darmok N Jalad : When I was a kid , we called these things skatebugs . Never thought to try to capture an image of one of these . I like how you’ve captured the depressions in the water’s surface where the bug’s legs are in contact . Done with the 100-400?
@ squawk7000 : Good head-on shot . Taken with a longer focal length? Maybe stopping down a bit would have brought the back ends of the wings into focus a bit more , assuming you weren’t deliberately going for an out of focus background . But I’m speaking after the fact . Bug photography is pretty challenging .
@ Hughmac : Ladybug ! Helios 44-2 ? Is that an adapted M42 lens? Anyway , a creditable effort in capturing something really small . Nailed the DOF ! I’ve always had problems imaging these things as the details in black head seem to get lost . Lightening the blacks never worked too well for me .
@ mollyc : Nice …Lots of detail in this image . I like how the background color approximates that of the subject without distracting from it . A bit tighter crop on the bug might bring out even more detail .
@ VulchR : Thought we’d see more dragonflies . But this is a good one . Lots of detail on the wings and body . Did you take this in the cool of the morning when bugs are slow , or was it just cooperative?
So now for the results … Remember that these are just opinion of an old guy with the beginnings of cataracts who wears bifocals and in no way represents any kind of expert opinion whatsoever …
Third Place :
@mollyc and
@katbel
Second Place :
@Darmok N Jalad and
@imac wannabe (tie)
First Place :
@OldMacs4Me
Congrats to all ! On to the next one ,
@OldMacs4Me it’s all yours!
