A7A0DD64-CBD4-408D-B5CC-62E654D71820
Sep, 2020Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was taken in a small butterfly garden in outdoors. Willow park drainage district in Katy Texas has a small section where they have lots of orange blossoms. You can spot a bunch of bumblebees and carpenter bees gathering pollens and nectar from the flowersTime
I love to take pictures around sunrise, the light is not harsh and you get the best color saturation. The weather was cloudy and overcast conditions helped me take pictures for few hours that day, I started around 8:00 am , it’s the time when you start seeing insects in action.Lighting
It’s best to have a flash and diffuser for macro photography but overcast weather always makes it easier to take pictures in natural sunlight ,even a little later in the day. Insects being in flight, you don’t get chance to experiment a lot of settings and of course you are looking for a faster shutter speed. I clicked this picture using a 100 mm f2.8 prime which is a very fast and sharp lensEquipment
I love my Canon EOS Mark 5D IV, it’s a decent camera for action photography. I own a 100mm prime macro lens f2.8L, it’s super fast and super sharp. This picture was taken handheld on Canon Eos 5d Mark iv, paired with 100 mm macro f2.8. F2.8, 1/5000, iso 800Inspiration
I love action photography and I love capturing birds to begin with , but one day I was fascinated by the thought of trying to click insects in flight. I have seen lots of macro photography with mesmerizing details and real closeups but I wanted to do something different. Insects are very erratic and it’s very challenging to capture them in flight. I love challenges, capturing stills are less rewarding.Editing
I use Lightroom on iPad to adjust shadows and highlights on my pictures mostly. I fixed color saturation a little bit and adjusted white balance.In my camera bag
I own a dslr and a mirrorless setup, Canon EOS 5D Mark Iv is my go to camera for action photography and Canon EOS RP for still. I have 100 mm macro f2.8 liusm, 400 mm f5.6 , 150/600 mm tamron f5/6.3, RF 28/70 F2 liusm and RF 70/200 f2.8 Liusm.Feedback
Capturing insects in flight can be real challenging , you need a lot of patience and understanding of insect behavior. I observed them for 30 minutes to identify their flying pattern and pollen gathering routine. Second is shutter speed , I clicked this as 1/5000 because bees are very fast and erratic. I don’t like to go beyond 800 for iso. Learn your camera’s autofocus and manual focusing options. Insects being so erratic and small I didn’t have much luck with autofocus. I switched to manual focus and preset my focus point and was ready with my shot , as soon as the bee entered the frame , I fired my shots right away. Wind is not your friend for insects and macro photography, if you are using a true macro lens, the DOF works differently than regular lens. Keep that in mind. And lastly keep trying , I clicked 400+ shots to get one perfect like this.
