Bumble Bee on plant

[Mistyisle]

I have had very little experience in photographing bees, just the occasional grab shot, none of which came out well.  Nevertheless, as there is a bed of yellow and orange flowers not far from our villa, on which many bees were feasting, I decided to learn a bit and give a more concerted effort.  Here is one of the two best.  Initially I am just trying to get them settled on the plant, not flying.  Flying is next.  I took this at f5.6 (the best for this 17-70 lens),  Shutter 1/800sec,  ISO 320.  Bright sunlight and a VG histogram.  Probably would have been better at f8-f11 to cut down highlights on the wings?

[Tersha]

Hi Jim, have you cropped it? It looks as if it could be a little sharper. Not sure about the highlights on the wings, I would have in brilliant sunshine it’s just going to happen, but you may be right about aperture.

[Rob Wood (Admin)]

Great timing, but the head of the bee gets a bit lost in the shadows. Any chance of bring the black point up (at least around that area)? I’d probably also try to get those highlights on the wings under a bit more control too. 🙂

[Federico Alegria]

it’s hard to improve something from a macro shot since so much depends on the optics itself, although the highlights on the wings could be recovered a bit!

[Erik Fransman]

Hi Jim, Macro is impossible. It’s so hard to get it focused. Your settings seem fine, although maybe f/8 or f/10 might have helped you. Then the ss goes down to 1/400s / 1/200 s but that should be ok on a stationary or slow-moving object. But the bottom line: it has to be tac sharp. In my picture below, the settings were 1/400 s, f/10, ISO 200, and focal length of 24mm. I must say, I like the position of your Bumble bee better, but when it is not in focus, that does not matter anymore.

[Mistyisle]

Hi Diane – Did I crop?  Certainly did,  the result you see is approx 1/36th of the original.  Have just measured and it is very clear that was a very bad move.  In the days following I have moved a helluva lot closer.

Hi Rob – I did try moving the black point up, but because of the big crop the results were not good at all.

Hi Federico – I take your points.  As you will see I am learning some of these lessons the hard way, but much quicker because of this forum.

Hi Erik – the settings you mention are very useful indeed, so many thanks!  I realise that they would only be a useful starting point, suitably adjusted for the particular circumstances at the time.

[Marty E]

I’d like to add something here. I’ve noticed that bumblebees can be more difficult to shoot than bees because they’re heavier in weight and like to swing on the flowers so their momentum shakes the pollen loose. They’re fast and usually in constant motion. I normally shoot in aperture mode but if my auto speed is not fast enough, my photo won’t be tack sharp. I think Eric’s feedback and shot above with his settings are so helpful, I’ll make a note for future bumblebee shots.

[Dahlia Ambrose]

Hi Jim,

Bees are very difficult to photograph. I agree with the above comments about the highlights on the wings and more details on the head 🙂

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