ivy bee Colletes hederae
Jan, 2016Views
967
Likes
Outstanding Creativity
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Peer Award
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Superior Skill
Love it
Top Ranks
Top 30 rankTop 30 rank week 1
Top 20 rankTop 30 rank week 1
Top 10 rank
Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
This was taken along a pathway leading to an urban park, some out of control Ivy had attracted a myriad of the well named Ivy Bee, these hard working Bee's paid no notice of the photographer trying to get a shot in what was pretty dreadful conditions, late September is not a usual time to be photographing Bee's!Time
Late afternoon, I was actually out looking for garden birds and chanced across these busy Bee'sLighting
Lighting was very poor and irregular so I had to push the ISO a little to keep the image sharp. A macro ring flash will be a future investment!Equipment
Taken with a Nikon 7200 with the wonderful sigma 105mm Macro, the shot was handheld with no extra light source.Inspiration
I have a passion for the smaller things in nature, my usual photography revolves around Dragonflies and other larger insects but a natural curiosity often leads me to other things....Editing
Just messed about with contrast and a small amount of sharpening, with live insects the challenge is to get the shot with the camera and not the software!In my camera bag
I use a Nikon 7200 and usually combine this with the sigma 105mm Macro, a wonderful lens. I carry the little Nikon 35m 1.8 lens and a sigma 12 - 22mm lens for landscapes, an area I need to work harder on.Feedback
With insects, the approach is everything. Slow, steady and no sharp movements. raising the camera to get the shot is fatal, get the camera up and only then begin the approach, being mindful at all times not to cast a shadow on the insect. Learn the habitats, this picture is a great example, its an Ivy Bee and lo and behold, it was found on a large clump of Ivy!
