Bees in flight for Bob R

[Dalantech]

This should get you going Bob

I had to take way too many shots to get this series -and really have to be in the mood to try this type of photography. With the 100mm macro my working distance is short, so I can't camp by a flower. What I do is set the magnification that I want (using the focus ring) and then wait for a bee to get close to the flower. I then move in and take the shot when I see that the bee's eye is in focus. Keep in mind that I never, ever, crop my images. So I'm framing the shot as I move in for the focus. Those of you with long telephoto lenses have no excuse -shooting bees in flight should be a piece of cake for you...

All Canon gear: Xti (manual mode F11, 1/200, ISO 200) + 100mm macro lens. Don't let the shutter speed fool you -at those settings the duration of the flash was my shutter speed...









Tag Bob -you're it!

[bob_r]

Dalantech,

Those are terrific. I actually did break out the gear yesterday and tried to capture a few macro shots of the bees, but it was just too windy. It's been raining off and on for the last few days so there must be some kind of front moving through. Hopefully, I'll get another chance soon.

Bob R

BTW, even though I have a lot of flowers that attract bees and butterflies, I only saw 3 bees all day. It may still be a bit early for them.

[Dalantech]

Dalantech,

Those are terrific. I actually did break out the gear yesterday and tried to capture a few macro shots of the bees, but it was just too windy. It's been raining off and on for the last few days so there must be some kind of front moving through. Hopefully, I'll get another chance soon.

Bob R

BTW, even though I have a lot of flowers that attract bees and butterflies, I only saw 3 bees all day. It may still be a bit early for them.

I'm having the same problem here -terrible weather! There aren't many dragonflies out, and the lake should be thick with them by now. But the night time temps have to stay above 20C (68F) and it just hasn't been warm enough

[bob_r]

It was pretty windy again today and when you add temps in the mid 90's and high humidity, it's just not pleasant conditions for being an "Outdoor Photographer" trying to shoot macro shots. It's a lot nicer in the A/C or the pool, but I did venture out today. Here's a shot to show that I really did try to get some shots, but conditions just were favorable.

Bob R

This was taken with a Canon 30D + Sigma 150mm macro lens + Sigma 1.4X TC + 2 kenko closeup tubes on a tripod. Exif shows a flash was not used, but I did use a Canon 580EX speedlight.

1/100s f/8.0 at 150.0mm iso100

[Dalantech]

Nice one Bob!