Bee in flight

craig_d

There were several bees buzzing around a flowering hedge along the line between my property and my neighbor's on Sunday. Out of several shots I took of them, I think this one is the coolest.

The rest of the gallery is here.

C&C appreciated.



Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Tokina ATX M100 AF Pro D 100mm f/2.8 macro lens
1/1000 sec. at f/2.8, ISO 200

GOLDENORFE

a good try, its very addictive trying to shoot bif shots

always preferable to shoot head on
phil

mehampson

Oh, I disagree about shooting head-on. The subject here is really the bee's relationship with the flower, not the bee's body, so there's nothing wrong with shooting from behind if it makes the animal's intentions clear. I'd have liked to see the bee in focus though (especially to see those loaded pollen baskets), and shot a little closer in -- obviously you have about a half a moment to react and compose this shot, so it's definitely not always possible.

craig_d

mehampson wrote:

Oh, I disagree about shooting head-on. The subject here is really the bee's relationship with the flower, not the bee's body, so there's nothing wrong with shooting from behind if it makes the animal's intentions clear.

Yes, that's how I see it.

I'd have liked to see the bee in focus though (especially to see those loaded pollen baskets), and shot a little closer in -- obviously you have about a half a moment to react and compose this shot, so it's definitely not always possible.

The bee's head and antennae actually are in focus (which is pure luck; it was zipping around very quickly, and several other shots didn't come out this well), but there isn't enough DOF at the aperture I was using to get the whole body in focus. Had I been shooting at, say, f/8 and ISO 1600, the bee's body would be sharper but so would the background leaves.

Lord Vetinari

Good BIF shot - I realise how tricky these are but would have preferred more focus on the bee rather than the flower.
Brian V.