Fluff-Balls On Stilts - Bee-flies

e6filmusere6filmuser Registered Users Posts: 3,379 Major grins
edited April 24, 2016 in Holy Macro
At this time of the year the Bee-flies Bombylius major appear in my garden. Some pose on the ground, or on leaves close to the ground. Others feed on flowers, Honesty in particular, and some rise vertically, always facing in the same direction, dropping to just above my head height, to repeat the ascent.

These were around on flowering currant, or nearby honesty, when I was trying to photograph black bumblebees. Bee-flies are recognisable by their sword-like proboscis, always full extended forwards.

EM-1, Kiron 105 at f16, twin flash, hand-held.

The images are of various individuals.

Harold



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Comments

  • StumblebumStumblebum Registered Users Posts: 8,480 Major grins
    edited April 23, 2016
    Fantastic, especially first couple! Bravo!!clap.gifclap
  • e6filmusere6filmuser Registered Users Posts: 3,379 Major grins
    edited April 23, 2016
    Stumblebum wrote: »
    Fantastic, especially first couple! Bravo!!clap.gifclap

    Thanks, SB.

    I forgot to mention that the highlights on the hairs used to give quite severe pixel overload with my EP-2 but the EM-1 seems to cope much better.

    Harold
  • StumblebumStumblebum Registered Users Posts: 8,480 Major grins
    edited April 23, 2016
    Great investment Harold! Cheers!
  • Lord VetinariLord Vetinari Registered Users Posts: 15,901 Major grins
    edited April 24, 2016
    Lovely captures Harold
    Brian V.
    Brian V.
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/lordv/
    http://www.lordv.smugmug.com/
  • e6filmusere6filmuser Registered Users Posts: 3,379 Major grins
    edited April 24, 2016
    Lord Vetinari wrote: »
    Lovely captures Harold
    Brian V.

    Thanks, Brian.

    I have shot similar ones before, some with pollen on the proboscis. Pixel overload colours made them less good than the present set.

    I have just posted an Andrena image here:

    http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?p=2031018#post2031018

    Harold
  • e6filmusere6filmuser Registered Users Posts: 3,379 Major grins
    edited April 24, 2016
    e6filmuser wrote: »
    Thanks, Brian.

    I have shot similar ones before, some with pollen on the proboscis. Pixel overload colours made them less good than the present set.

    Harold

    I have traced one, a daylight exposure at ISO 400, having failed to get results the previous day at ISO 100. I was quite pleased with it at the time (2012) but would probably reject it now.

    Olympus E-P2, Elmarit 60mm macro, ISO 400, hand-held, all cropped by over 50%:

    Coming in to land:

    Harold

    1289142.jpg
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