Grasshopper

[digiman]

I know it's not the best shot ever, but I was so chuffed to actually get a shot of this, I just had to post it!

Shot handheld with a 70-200f4L


Grasshopper by Garry Mac, on Flickr
Exposure 0.002 sec (1/640)
Aperture f/7.1
Focal Length 135 mm
ISO Speed 400

Thanks for looking,

Garry

[tesarver]

Re: Grasshopper

Nicely spotted Garry. However he seems to blend in very well with the environment. So if you don't mind I had a little play to bring him out.



I've deleted it from my desktop and will delete it from here if you don't approve

Tom

[digiman]

Re: Grasshopper

Hi Tom. I am delighted with this edit I was thinking of doing this, but wasn't sure how to seperate the insect from the background, because there is so little contrast. How did you do it? I have Photoshop Elements5 and LR4.4. Can this be done successfully using either or both of these?

Very nice Tom,

Thanks again,

Garry

[tesarver]

Re: Grasshopper

Hi Garry,

I'm glad you like it. What I used was Elements 11. I created a duplicate layer , converted it to BW, darken the image and added more contrast. Next I converted that layer into a mask and exposed the grasshopper from the bottom layer.

Elements 10 gave the ability for layer masks, however you on Elements 8 you could create a adjustment mask and do the same thing. Not sure about 5

Tom

[digiman]

Re: Grasshopper

Had a little go at an edit myself

IMG_1433-Edit.jpg

Came out not too bad I think! Over did the grass a little, but it's a start!

[tesarver]

Re: Grasshopper

Nicely done Garry You just need to do his legs as well

Tom

[digiman]

Re: Grasshopper

ooooooops! Poor guy

[Stan]

Re: Grasshopper

these guys can be very difficult to spot and tend to jump out of the frame as you are about to shoot so well done

Stan

[digiman]

Re: Grasshopper

Thanks Stan. I was determined to capture one of these little guys. They are so quick, and so well camouflaged. The most tricky part was pin pointing them, as they stop making any sound as you approach. Using the 70-200 helped greatly though.

Thanks again Stan, comments much appreciated,

Garry

[DeeGee]

Re: Grasshopper

Shows how well me matches into the background though on the first one.

[digiman]

Re: Grasshopper

They certainly are hard to spot Di. Thanks for looking,

Garry

[digiman]

Re: Grasshopper

This is my last go at editing this image. Thanks to Tom for the first edit and tutorial. It is a little different in PSE5, but same principle. I wanted to try and just desaturate the background, rather than convert to b+w. Think it works quite well.

Grasshopper final edit by Garry Mac, on Flickr

What do you think??
Thanks,
Garry

[tesarver]

Re: Grasshopper

Garry. Nicely done. Like this one.

Tom

[digiman]

Re: Grasshopper

Thanks Tom, appreciate that,

Garry

[pelliott1954]

Re: Grasshopper

Some interesting experiments here Garry, I do like the last one best.

Regards Paul