Macro Garden Safari

Chenh's shot impressed us this month with his split second timing freezing this colourful little yellow bug perfectly in mid air. He's managed to get close enough to make sure his subject is a decent size within the frame and has used a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the moment still. It's wonderfully sharp and perfectly timed, great job!

Steve ensured his picture stood out from the competition by shooting on with a Lensbaby Composer lens. This has a created a zooming effect with the depth of field that draws the eye in. The red ladybird instantly stands out from the wash of greens and browns in the rest of the pic which make it a clear focal point and it's perfectly sharp too!

Lovely macro shot of a dandelion from Kim who's backlit the flower with the sun to turn it into a striking silhouette. It's full of colour and detail and instantly draws the eye in. We look forward to seeing more from you in the future.

Jamie's captured a wonderful macro shot here that's bursting with colour and instantly draws in the eye. His subject, the hoverfly, is perfectly sharp as Jamie focused on its eyes. His aperture of f/8 has also been wide enough to blur the rest of the flower into a pretty wash of pink. Adding flash to the shot has really helped diffuse the light and illuminate his subject as well as ensuring a pin-sharp result. Great job!

Wayne's definitely got a good idea here as his low perspective looking directly up is unique and eye catching. The flower stems around the edge of the frame work as brilliant lead-in lines guiding the eye from the frame edges to the focal point in the middle of the shot. However some of these stalks are overlapping and look a little scrappy, so it'd be worth removing them or carefully repositioning them in a future shot. We also think a totally clear blue sky would help keep the image looking clean and uncluttered. Small points to work on that would make a huge difference and we look forward to seeing Wayne's future results.

This is a lovely shot of a ladybird from Liane, who's red bug instantly 'pops' out from its green background which she's blurred beautifully with a wide aperture and shallow depth of field. There's quite a lot of empty space around the edges of the frame so we'd have loved to seen her get even closer for more of a frame-filling image which would reveal even more detail in the ladybird's face. Small point aside it's a great image and we look forward to seeing more from her in the future.

This is a wonderful macro shot with the branch making for an interesting lead-in line, a fantastic red bokeh background and interesting pose from Daan's subject with the bug's wings outstretched. The only downside is the ladybird is facing away from the camera so there's no eye contact which would make the shot much more eye catching.

Lia's seen a great moment here with the wasp on a rock drinking from the water. We reckon this image could look even better if it was taken lower down to the ground as this would make it possible to get a cleaner unobstructed reflection in the water. The focus is also on the wasp's abdomen so its nearest eye is a little soft, but these are two minor problems on an otherwise brilliant capture. Great work!

Lia's image of a small copper butterfly is beautifully spotlit showing off all of the detail and colours in the side profile of her subject while leaving the background totally dark which gives the image a very professional look. She's focused perfectly on the butterfly so everything from its wings to antennae are pin sharp.

Vince has done a terrific job at photographing this white crab spider, he's managed to get close enough for a frame-filling shot and has focused on the eyes making sure they're perfectly sharp too. The image is a tad underexposed which makes the spider look a little dull and and the colourful tones in the flower are muted too. I think a reflector or a little flash would really help lift this in future shots, but small point aside it's a brilliant capture. Great job!

Karen’s caught an absolute corker of a butterfly portrait here. She got close enough to achieve a frame-filling image and focused on its eyes to make sure they were the star of the shot. Her aperture choice of f/2.8 has worked out well too, turning the background into a lovely wash of pinks and blues.

This is an incredible close-up from Les who's managed to capture superb detail of this wasps head and get a frame-filling shot. We particularly love the strong eye contact with the wasp looking directly down the barrel of the lens. Fantastic job!

Shooting super close to his subject has revealed every intricate detail and drop of dew on the damselfly's face. Its face is pin-sharp and fills the frame well with a symmetrical composition and its blue head stands out clearly from its vibrant yellow and green backdrop.

Some of the best ideas are the simplest one and Jan's image of this beautiful Dahlia proves that. Framing up on a brilliantly detailed flower in great light has produced this fantastic floral shot. The soft gentle corners and central framing does a great of drawing the viewer's eye directly into the heart of the shot too. Great job!