Challenge #58:"Fairy Wings of Insects"-Evaluation Complete & Winner Announced
Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2015 9:41 am
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Congratulations to the winners and the participants. This was a very colourful, delightful and 'fragile' challenge on the fairy wings of some of our favourite insects and creatures.
Important note:
Dear RareTA, I apologize that I wasn't able to include your entries in the submissions, the reason only being not so suitable. I love the bee but cannot see the details of the wings. And the marvelously-colourful couple's shot deserve a thread of its own. : )) Sury's caterpillar and Marcell Nikolausz's Hover Fly share a similar fate, I'm afraid. I hope I'm forgiven...? : )
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Hello everyone and thank you for your kindly executed patience.
I appreciate it very much. : ))
The winner of Challenge #58 is Marcell Nikolausz. In fact, Marcell submitted several photos of Damselflies that were beautifully taken and his butterflies were just as enchanting in a Swedish garden. But there are reasons for the following photo to be selected as the winner, as some forum members might have noticed for themselves very early on during the submissions. : )
1.../...The winning photo is the 15th entry of the challenge by Marcell Nikolausz with "The male Beautiful Demoiselle Damselfy - Calopteryx virgo ".
Evaluation: The Damselfly is shot in its natural environment with focus on its significant body and wing parts. The body and the wings are highly defined and show each and every detail of the structure that makes up this beautiful creature. The metallic green-blue colours of the damselfly is not over-processed or saturated and the creature is lit to bring out the details of the wing veins/cross veins and the membrane has a delightful hue to its transparency.
The creature is nicely composed into the photo frame to show off all its beauty, with sufficient space around for the eye to observe the background. The bokeh of the background is smooth as well as informative of the kind of vegetation that surround the creature.
The Demoisell Damselfly of Marcell truly looks like "fairy wing".
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The second place went to Birma / Andy, our very efficient and diligent member who brought us a very fragile butterfly that is significant for showcasing the survival tale of the butterflies: The Meadow Brown Butterfly from the meadows of UK. : )
2.../... The first runner up is the 9th entry of the challenge taken by Birma: "Female Meadow Brown Butterfly - Maniola jurtina "
Evaluation: The Meadow Brown was successfully shot in its own natural environment, feeding on its natural choice of food.
The patterns on the dorsal side of the Meadow Brown are neatly visible and also hints the mammal the butterfly mimics in nature to provide protection for itself from its predators. The assumed mammal as mimicked is the field/harvest mice as both the butterfly and the mice species share the same or similar environments to survive. Further down this thread, sample shots of field mice can be viewed to observe the similarities with the head shape, colour distribution and the eye with a glint in it. : )
The bokeh of the background is smooth and the creature and its food are composed to hold the centre and keeps our focus on the subjects. There are no distracting elements to take away from the subjects.
Holds the second place because we can't see as many distinctive details of the head, eyes or the legs. But since the challenge is more about the "fairy wings" than other body parts, the relatively apparent softness to the subject places it in this position.
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The third place went to Sury with his photo entitled "Flower today, gone tomorrow".
3.../...Being the 2nd entry to the challenge, it's the photo of a "Sarah's Longwing or "Heliconius sara".
Evaluation: Shot in a natural environment, Sarah's Longwing shows off its long-span wings and the metallic blue patch with its striking white stripes that vertically run on a brown-black background. The butterfly species is showcased from its dorsal side successfully while it rests on a flower. Other than its colours and patterns significantly displaying beauty of the butterfly, the distance between the camera and the subject results in loss of details that are crucial for this challenge.
Good and smooth bokeh elevates the butterfly and isolates it from its probable busy background. The lens choice is successful. The composition is smartly done to house the subject in its natural elements as well as bringing focus to it. The proportions are pleasing to the eye.
Couldn't find a significant species that Sarah's Longwing replicates by its dorsal patterns and colours but a guess would be a reptile that have similar stripes and metallic hues. : ) Suggestions always welcome.
.
Congratulations to the winners and the participants. This was a very colourful, delightful and 'fragile' challenge on the fairy wings of some of our favourite insects and creatures.
Important note:
Dear RareTA, I apologize that I wasn't able to include your entries in the submissions, the reason only being not so suitable. I love the bee but cannot see the details of the wings. And the marvelously-colourful couple's shot deserve a thread of its own. : )) Sury's caterpillar and Marcell Nikolausz's Hover Fly share a similar fate, I'm afraid. I hope I'm forgiven...? : )
......................................................................................................................
Hello everyone and thank you for your kindly executed patience.
I appreciate it very much. : ))
The winner of Challenge #58 is Marcell Nikolausz. In fact, Marcell submitted several photos of Damselflies that were beautifully taken and his butterflies were just as enchanting in a Swedish garden. But there are reasons for the following photo to be selected as the winner, as some forum members might have noticed for themselves very early on during the submissions. : )
1.../...The winning photo is the 15th entry of the challenge by Marcell Nikolausz with "The male Beautiful Demoiselle Damselfy - Calopteryx virgo ".
Evaluation: The Damselfly is shot in its natural environment with focus on its significant body and wing parts. The body and the wings are highly defined and show each and every detail of the structure that makes up this beautiful creature. The metallic green-blue colours of the damselfly is not over-processed or saturated and the creature is lit to bring out the details of the wing veins/cross veins and the membrane has a delightful hue to its transparency.
The creature is nicely composed into the photo frame to show off all its beauty, with sufficient space around for the eye to observe the background. The bokeh of the background is smooth as well as informative of the kind of vegetation that surround the creature.
The Demoisell Damselfly of Marcell truly looks like "fairy wing".
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The second place went to Birma / Andy, our very efficient and diligent member who brought us a very fragile butterfly that is significant for showcasing the survival tale of the butterflies: The Meadow Brown Butterfly from the meadows of UK. : )
2.../... The first runner up is the 9th entry of the challenge taken by Birma: "Female Meadow Brown Butterfly - Maniola jurtina "
Evaluation: The Meadow Brown was successfully shot in its own natural environment, feeding on its natural choice of food.
The patterns on the dorsal side of the Meadow Brown are neatly visible and also hints the mammal the butterfly mimics in nature to provide protection for itself from its predators. The assumed mammal as mimicked is the field/harvest mice as both the butterfly and the mice species share the same or similar environments to survive. Further down this thread, sample shots of field mice can be viewed to observe the similarities with the head shape, colour distribution and the eye with a glint in it. : )
The bokeh of the background is smooth and the creature and its food are composed to hold the centre and keeps our focus on the subjects. There are no distracting elements to take away from the subjects.
Holds the second place because we can't see as many distinctive details of the head, eyes or the legs. But since the challenge is more about the "fairy wings" than other body parts, the relatively apparent softness to the subject places it in this position.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The third place went to Sury with his photo entitled "Flower today, gone tomorrow".
3.../...Being the 2nd entry to the challenge, it's the photo of a "Sarah's Longwing or "Heliconius sara".
Evaluation: Shot in a natural environment, Sarah's Longwing shows off its long-span wings and the metallic blue patch with its striking white stripes that vertically run on a brown-black background. The butterfly species is showcased from its dorsal side successfully while it rests on a flower. Other than its colours and patterns significantly displaying beauty of the butterfly, the distance between the camera and the subject results in loss of details that are crucial for this challenge.
Good and smooth bokeh elevates the butterfly and isolates it from its probable busy background. The lens choice is successful. The composition is smartly done to house the subject in its natural elements as well as bringing focus to it. The proportions are pleasing to the eye.
Couldn't find a significant species that Sarah's Longwing replicates by its dorsal patterns and colours but a guess would be a reptile that have similar stripes and metallic hues. : ) Suggestions always welcome.
.