A Bug on the Move

A fun little shot of a Japanese beetle from the summer. These bugs are so beautiful, it's too bad they're so destructive to the plants all around--every time I saw swarms of them, I was torn between watching them for hours and shaking them off whatever bush or stem they were ravaging. But hey, they're just doing what they do, and they're so pretty.

I am quite proud of this shot because of the way the colors of the beetle are mimicked in the flower head and green background. I did quite a lot more modification of the color and quality of the light in Photoshop than I usually do, but in the end it's not much different from the original, just a bit more vivid. Then I did my customary attempt at a border that ended up getting ridiculously complicated, because I cannot keep things simple. Fortunately my good friends and stopped me and made me do the border over again, simple, the way it should be.