Another Dragonfly (Damsel)

Again At 200mm with sigma 55-200. The DOF is not perfect what do others think. No processing done on this either JPG straight from the camera.
[IMG]http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z307/50crates/IMGP0675.jpg[/IMG]

Very good, I'd be tempted to sharpen a little. It's a Damselfly BTW.

Regards,

John

Nice colors Pete, so much better than your last lot, perhaps a touch sharper on the head would make it stand out. Is there a reason why you are only shooting JPEG:

Davex.

Davex, I shoot RAW + Jpeg. I have the pentax raw software and CS5. To be honest I havent spent too much time refining the raw images I have taken but they are there if i need them. The main reason for this is I do not fully understand the best way to work on an image. I know that all images are different and will require differing amounts of work but at the moment I'm not sure what represents a default way of working if you like. For instance is sharpening done first or last, and similarly with contrast and all the other tweaks available. At the moment I am trying to get the image right at the camera so that it needs very little post processing. After all I would prefer to be out taking pictures than sat in front of my computer (although i login here most nights )
I also read an article by some well respected photographer who's name escapes me who never bothers with raw at all and just edits the jpgs produced from camera. His images are stunning. I can however see the benefits of raw.
This forum helps, I gain lots of useful advice.
Incidentaly waiting for the next article in John's series in the Mag.
I will have a go at a little sharpening on the image.

You would probably benefit from a dedicated Macro lens for this sort of shot.You would get a lot more detail.

If you have a birthday coming up, ask for a copy of Real World Camera Raw, excellent book IMHO.

Regards,

John

Thanks for the comments and encouragement. The real world camera raw book is available at Amazon for £23 so i'll be getting that.
The data for the pic is :
Focal Length 200mm
F Stop F6.7
Shutter speed 1/180
ISO 200
Aperture Priority
No exposure compensation
sRGB colour space.
I would like a dedicated macro lens (amongst others) but for the moment I will have to stick with what I have, although I do check ebay from time to time in the hope that I spot a real bargain.