Bee portrait
Insect captured while it was on its way to some pollen.
Insect captured while it was on its way to some pollen.
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Jun, 2017Views
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Awards
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Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
Top Choice
Superb Composition
All Star
Superior Skill
Virtuoso
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Impressed
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken on the meadow right next to my house. I sat in the shadow of the house with my back leaning on the garden wall.Time
It was one of the hottest days of the year and I found shooting bees in the shade of the house a good way to spend the afternoon.Lighting
Golden hour hadn't started but late afternoon was already nice. As I sat in the shadow of my house it was easy to handle the highlights.Equipment
I shot this with my the Olympus 40-150 PRO+1.4 tele converter on a Olympus E-M1mkII. The lens is great for shooting macros, too, because the minimum focus distance is roughtly an arm's length.Inspiration
Bees are fascinating to watch when they hover from flower to flower. I wanted to capture a 'landing approach' but the face on shot is nice, too.Editing
I use Lightroom to manage and process. The image is fairly cropped and the exposure of some flowers around is tweaked down. Some noise reduction was necessary and in turn the masking of sharpening was raised quite a bit.In my camera bag
My backpack is sort of a portable studio. It's fully packed and ready to go with a lightweight gitzo mountaineer tripod attached. Let me start with the Olympus E-M1mkII camera, usually with batteries full and cards empty. The lenses packed are the Olympus 7-14, 12-40, 40-150+1.4tc, the 60mm macro and the new 45mm f1.2 prime. Spare battery, charger, blower, diffusor+reflector and Nisi filter set are in, too. In the rucksack I also take an isolating mat to keep me warm when sitting and waiting for the right moment.Feedback
Photographing bees is a patience game. I found that many bees take similar routes, so their behaviour is predictable. Or in other words, some of the flowers attract more insects than others. My camera's auto focus is fast enough for chasing them, but that would rather shy them away. I find the 'trap' method more successful and relaxing: concentrate on one specific flower, take care of your composition and maybe prefocus, then wait for the bees to come.
