brianmcgauley

Pollinator Pollinating

Caught this bee along with hundreds of others feeding on beautiful plants at Clovis Botanical Gardens. Shot at 1:1

Caught this bee along with hundreds of others feeding on beautiful plants at Clovis Botanical Gardens. Shot at 1:1
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Canon EOS Rebel SL2

settings

ISO 100 Shutter 1/200

location

Fresno, California, US

upload_date

Feb, 2022

Views

478

Likes

+24

Awards

Contender in the Photography Awards

Action Award

Summer Views Award

Flawless Summer Award

Achievement in Originality

Zenith Award

Top Pick Award

Staff Favorite

Halfway22 Award

Curator's Selection

Contest Finalist in Virtual Exhibition Project

Superb Composition

Top Choice

Peer Award

Absolute Masterpiece

Outstanding Creativity

Magnificent Capture

Superior Skill

Virtuoso

All Star

Emotions

Impressed

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Behind The Lens

Location

I took this photo at Clovis Botanical Gardens here in Clovis California. The bees were swarming all around the purple colored flowers so it was easier to get many shots, but out of all of them, this was the only great one I captured.

Time

This was taken during the midday but the lighting in the scene is mostly flash.

Lighting

The lighting is mostly flash as the aperture had to be stopped down pretty far at the 1:1 ratio (so I was shooting between f.11 to f.22 and compensating with flash as I experimented).

Equipment

I used a canon SL2 I bought used a while back as well as an older Lowra 2:1 I also bought used. I used an on camera flash (godox) with a portable box diffuser and shot freehand. There is only a UV filter on the lens to protect it from debris, so nothing particularly fancy.

Inspiration

I had been eager for weeks leading into the spring to get a good solid bee shot at macro scale with the new lens as I'd only had it over the winter. I practiced a lot and failed for quite a few weeks to get this as I'm still learning macro. As spring was rolling around I got to enjoy the gardens with my wife, she got to relax and I got to get some shots so it was an amazing time. Unfortunately the next day I suffered a severe health incident which may end up claiming some of my sight, likely making this my best work just as I was getting started.

Editing

I did some cropping and light post-processing such as bringing a bit of the color out and defining the image slightly, but not much at all as it wasn't overly needed.

In my camera bag

I use my canon SL2 and usually have it out with my 50mm nifty fifty then in the bag I like to carry my Lowra macro 2:1, my 70-300mm and a set of extension tubes. I often fit the extension tubes on the 70-300mm to get a macro feel to subjects that are too skittish to let me near such as lizards. I also carry my flash to use with my macro lens along with a foldable box diffuser. For other types of photography depending on location I like to bring my remote trigger and tripod but that's mostly for landscape or moon photography.

Feedback

Don't give up! Macro is hard because you are dealing with razer sharp focal ranges and you will likely trash 99% of your photos to get the one good one. Especially when it comes to highly mobile critters such as bees, they don't typically like to sit for long on some types of flowers, at least these guys didn't! Another tip would be just to relax, get comfortable free handing with your lens and you don't need expensive gear to get shots like this. This shot can be done with a 50mm and extension tubes, but the persistence to get the shot is how you will get it. The last tip is to make sure you focus on the eyes, they're the driving factor of insect macro photography and you will miss focus on it so often! If you do, don't get discouraged, shoot some more!

See more amazing photos, follow brianmcgauley

brianmcgauley

brianmcgauley

Pollinator Pollinating

Caught this bee along with hundreds of others feeding on beautiful plants at Clovis Botanical Gardens. Shot at 1:1

Behind The Lens

See more amazing photos, follow brianmcgauley

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