Cicada in Alabama

While taking a walk at dusk on the local golf course my daughter spotted this Cicada that had just completed the molting process. Wikipedia: Cicada

The challenge I faced was the low light. I did not have a tripod, but I did have my flash. I was trying to get close enough to get the details without blowing out the image with too much flash.

Date: 8/9/08 6:10pm
Camera: Nikon D80
Focal Length: 135mm
Exposure Time: 1/60
F-Number: 5.6
ISO Setting: 400
Flash: SB600 rotated 45 up

Picture 1

So my first picture is a humming bird.

• Date: 4/26/08 5:13pm Camera: Nikon D80
• Focal Length: 135mm
• Exposure Time: 1/500
• F-Number: 5.6
• ISO Setting: 320

Likes:

• The fact that I was able to capture multiple shots of this guy while he was perched.
• The soft focus of the background brings out the crisp detail of the branch and the bird.
• I love the shimmer in the colors.

Dislikes:

• The details in the face were lost. Other shots captured more detail in the face.
• Overall lighting of the bird is a little dark.

Post 1

I just saw my sister-in-law's blog. After more than a year she has put together a rather interesting read. I'm hoping to add at least an entry a week and share my new found love of digital photography.

I purchased a Nikon D80 and instantly saw the power of the SLR over the point and shoot digital cameras. I have had 35mm SLR camera's in the past and loved taking pictures but was always frustrated by the cost of film and processing, and then the limitation of sharing pictures. With computers and the Internet, and the ability to take thousands of pictures for the same price as 1 picture, my passion for photography has returned.

My plan is to post a picture with some information about the shot and let you make comments about the photo. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. Abusive comments are ignored.

I'd like to develop a better sense of what is appealing to others. Composition, lighting, perspective, accuracy, abstraction... there are so many elements to explore.