Zombie Cicada HDR

We've been seeing quite a few half cicadas lately.  Presumably a predator chomps off the abdomen and the head, wings and four legs keep going for a while.  Susan found this guy afixed to a cushion.  Final processing step was the Polaroid Transfer tool in Nik Color Efex Pro

Technical
Camera:	Nikon D700
Lens:	AF Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 D
Exposure:	ISO 200, f/11 @ 1/60s, Flash WB, RAW
Lighting:	Ring Flash
Support:	Handheld
Location:	My Back Yard
Dates:	Capture - June 13, 2011, Processed - June 15, 2011
Processing:	Lightroom 3.3, Photoshop CS5, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Color Efex Pro

Drowning Cicada #1 & #2

Recently, a common event in our back yard is a cicada plowing into our swimming pool, buzzing for a bit, then drowning.  Tonight I had a macro lens and ring flash on hand to record this guy's last chirp.  In this shot, the his wings are beating hard and fast are causing quite a bit of turbulence.  This picture is a little soft, but, in my defense, I was leaning over the edge of the pool in the dark with $3,000 of camera gear, manually focusing a 105mm Micro-Nikkor racked all the way out.

And finally, the cicada makes one more effort to take off before being claimed by the pool skimmer.  Both shots were processed to simulate the recently departed Kodachrome 64 Professional.

Technical
Camera:	Nikon D700
Lens:	AF Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 D
Exposure:	ISO 200, f/11 @ 1/60s, Flash WB, RAW
Lighting:	Ring Flash
Support:	Handheld
Location:	Grand Center Artists' Studios
Dates:	Capture - June 13, 2011, Processed - June 13, 2011
Processing:	Lightroom 3.3, Photoshop CS5, Nik HDR Efex, Nik Color Efex Pro

Cicadas are coming!

The 13-year Cicada returns in 2011 and it's going to be noisy. This photo was made using 2 lens-mounted SB-200 flash units and a translucent Lastolite Tri-Grip to soften the direct sunlight.

Nikon D3, AF Micro Nikkor 200mm f/4, f/11 at 1/10 sec, ISO 200

Black-Eyed Susan with Insect #2

Last summer I posted a version of this photo where the flower and insect were colored a bright red after processing in Lightroom 2 with a split tone preset.  I thought the interpretation was interesting and, amazingly, none of my purist pals caught on that the red color was entirely false.  Armed with a new arsenal of tools from Nik, I thought I'd to the original for another go.  The colors here are fairly close to accurate, except for a little help I gave to the dull brown bug using two Nik Vivenza control points.

Technical: Nikon D700, Nikkor 24-85mm f2.8-4, ISO 200, 85mm @ f/4.0 @ 1/80s, macro mode, handheld.  RAW file processed in Lightroom 2.6 to crop and apply Nikon Landscape camera calibration, the edited in Nik Dfine to reduce noise.  Nik Vivenza was used to color the insect red and adjust structure.  Finally I added noise back for a faux-Fresson effect using Nik Color Efex Pro.
 

Black Eyed Susan - Castlewood Park

A pic from a hike today at Castlewood Park. This is an infrared capture of a Black Eyed Susan, using a weak Cokin P007 filter. Nikon D700, Nikon 24-85mm f2.8-f4.0, macro mode, ISO 200, 85mm @ f/4.0 @ 1/80s, handheld, on camera flash set to -1.0 for fill. RAW file processed in Lightroom 2.0.

Praying Mantis

This was a giant Praying Mantis found in some backyard grass. No cropping - I was very close to it. Taken with a 90 mm Tamron macro lens and Canon Digital Rebel. ISO 200, f/16, 1/20 sec.