The 1st Tiger Beetles of The Year

crotermund · Post by **crotermund** » Fri May 11, 2007 11:27 pm

Tonight I made a special point to do my picture processing thru Adobe Lightroom. I am liking what I am seeing in the program, but am totally new to it. These are my very first pictures processed in the program. I captured this mating pair on my 2nd trip out this year. Anyway, any feedback is appreciated as I try to learn how to use this new software.

pic1...

pic2...

Danny · Post by **Danny** » Sat May 12, 2007 6:32 am

Extraordinary shots Craig. So beetles playing leapfrog of all things

, beautiful and sharp shots. Love the colours of these.

All the best Craig, fine detailed images. Excellent !!!

Danny.

beetleman · Post by **beetleman** » Sat May 12, 2007 8:48 am

Wonderful sharpness and detail in these pictures. Tiger beetles are my favorite insects....savage and beautiful at the same time. Very hard to capture also...unless they are preoccupied

Is that at the beach?

cactuspic · Post by **cactuspic** » Sat May 12, 2007 10:26 am

Great shots, Craig. Way to capture the moment with crystaline clarity.

What did you do in Lightroom and how was it helpful?

Irwin

crotermund · Post by **crotermund** » Sat May 12, 2007 7:46 pm

Thanks for the feedback guys. Irwin, this was my first experience with Lightroom so I cannot speak in detail about it yet. First, I used it to make my photo selections for editing. The Compare tool seems to be very handy and allows you to select a pair of pictures and compare them with a sync focus feature that is really cool. It allows you to do a magnified comparison of 2 photos simultaneously so that you can identify the subtle differences between them. After making selections you can create quick collections and id photos with tags, ratings, or color codes. I then used it to clone out a small unwanted stick in the first photo, did some very minor sharpening, shadows & highlights.

I have been looking to speed up my workflow. The process of making selections, organizing, and editing in photoshop takes so much time. Anyway, my first impression is that the interface is nicely arranged and seems to be fairly feature rich. This is probably a lot more than you were asking in your question, but I am kind of excited about it's potential.

Mike B in OKlahoma · Post by **Mike B in OKlahoma** » Sun May 13, 2007 4:57 pm

Tiger beetles are very tough to shoot, good job capturing these ummm..."distracted" ones!

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Sun May 13, 2007 5:12 pm

Well from what I can see, you seem to be getting along with the new program pretty well Craig. One thing though and a bit off topic is that I notice that, among others, you are using a Sigma lens. I am still debating over getting a new lens but have yet to decide. Sigma looks pretty promising, even more so in some of the reviews.

crotermund · Post by **crotermund** » Sun May 13, 2007 6:57 pm

Mike - you are sure right about Tiger Beetles being tough to shoot. It's fun & funny stalking such a small creature, following them from spot to spot, until you can sneak up to them. Ken - Ken (Moebius) & I have been using the Sigma 150mm for just over a year now and couldn't be happier with it. It really is an awesome lens. I know you have been pondering this lens for awhile now & there is an old expression I thought I should share....Nothing to it, but to do it.

You won't be disappointed.