Sorghum Webworm Moth - Hodges#8991 - Nola cereella

The treated photo is better......

I use FocusMagic on virtually every photo I take, and on almost every photo received for plates at Moth Photographers Group the past few months. I plan to go back and treat all older photos. The difference is significant in my opinion. I think all digital cameras (except perhaps really expensive ones with manual focus) are somewhat soft on focusing, and the refocusing software helps. This species is an especially good one for a test. I've found it to be one of the most difficult moths to photograph. Your original photo was excellent for this species. The nicely marked specimen helps, too. Now, if you'll permit me to nit-pick just a bit, square photos are a big help for use also at MPG.

… Bob Patterson, 8 February, 2008 - 7:16pm

Please Nit-Pick!

Please nit-pick, that's how I'll improve. I'm getting free advice, can't beat that. I updated the image to be square. I wanted one more opinion: close crop (more bug) or bigger border? It seems to me MPG prefers close crop, but I thought I would ask. I never really thought of MPG use before, but it does make sense to at least have a chance at "killing two birds". I keep all of my original files on CD so I can always reprocess any image as I need different cropping, get new software, or just hone my editing skills.

… John R. Maxwell, 9 February, 2008 - 1:41pm

Generous Gray Margins Add Nothing of Benefit.....

...in my opinion. Having the moth almost fill one dimension gives the most return for the disk space used. Use the scroll bar to move back and forth between your large photo and the thumbnails below it. Notice that the tumbnail is sharper than the larger photo? Your large photo is 560x560 pixels in size. It uses about twice as much disk space as it would at 400x400 pixels (and the photo will be sharper, less blury, at 400x400). So, I'd suggest 400-pixel photo sizes as a kind of happy medium. You'll still see all the detail present in the photo and conserve space on the Bugguide server. It will also permit your locality data and brief comment to appear beneath the photo without exceeding the depth of my computer screen. At 560-pixel size I have to scroll down to see what you've had to say about the moth.

… Bob Patterson, 9 February, 2008 - 2:31pm

I agree

It does seem that I made it appear sharper, and yet I can't find any actual detail that is missing. Just the sense that I didn't quite get the shot right is reduced. Thanks!

… John R. Maxwell, 10 February, 2008 - 11:11pm

Moved

Moved from Sorghum Webworm Moth. Put in ID Request to get more opinions.

… John R. Maxwell, 8 February, 2008 - 10:22am