I took a quick shot of this for the daily snap, but I wanted to capture it better, so I spent a bit of time juggling the sunflower head and my camera trying to get the perfect reflection on the beetle's back.
I had to hold the sunflower in one hand, twisting it upward to get this angle because otherwise it was totally in the shade. The backdrop is the composting bin which is green, but with the intense sunlight it's come out as almost black.
The only editing I've done on this photo in the digital darkroom is a small amount of exposure juggling and some definition sharpening. In hindsight, I should have switched from the 135 telefoto to the 200 zoom, but in order to hold the sunflower and shoot at the same time I'd have needed 6 foot arms, and at least two more of them.
The more I think about this photo the more I want to try and capture it again. I could try pinning the sunflower in place with garden stakes. And all depends on the little beetle. Will he still be there?
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