1) I've never bothered with a tripod -bees just move too fast to make a tripod practical. I use to shoot them hand held, but I've since picked up a BushHawk camera mount -it helps me to keep the camera steady and I can quickly recompose.
2) They don't seem to be bothered by a flash, but set your flash exposure compensation down to -1 1/3 to -2 if shooting in aperture or shutter priority and use a diffuser. A bee's eyes are very reflective, so glare from the flash can be a problem.
3) Go looking for bees right after it rains -sometimes having to dry out and warm back up can slow them down.
4) Try to get close, but be careful! Bees can get VERY aggressive -I've been chased out of the flower patch on more than one occation...
Here are some sample images. As always: minimal post processing and no cropping. I like to get it right with the camera...
This shot was taken right after it rained -these guys were barely moving.
This one was taken using the flash as the primary light source.
Natural light on this one.
Sometimes they stop to clean themselves.
Thanks for looking! C&C always welcome
