Yeeeehaaa! This kind of picture is why I take my macro into the fields. I just want to see a bee when she is flying. I saw great examples of that on this forum, but I am proud to present: my second sharp lift-off bee!

Only cropping was done to make a square.

That Bee's an A.
Gary

[Gadget_Guy]

How do you get a shot like that?

Is that hand-held or tripod?


Do you just wait around for something like that to happen and then capture it?

You guys simply blow my mind with these shots. I can't even take a decent macro of just a flower without getting all messed up when the breeze moves the flower around and my focus goes for *$&@*


D.

[Syb]

How do you get a shot like that?

Is that hand-held or tripod?


Do you just wait around for something like that to happen and then capture it?

It was hand-held. I used a flash and a 105mm macro lens (sigma), doing manual focusing.

You quite accurately describe my tactics. I look for a place where there is lot of humming activity - so that I will not have to wait too long.

Then I pic my flowers. I do not touch them, but choose to concentrate on approximately 10 flowers that are close to one another and that are equally far away from the camera. When a bee is visiting another flower, I do not pay attention. If she comes to one of my pick, I aim, and wait until the bee has seen the entire flower.

It takes a little time to see how a bee walks around on a flower like this. After a while you can more or less tell how fast the bee will leave the flower. That is the moment I am waiting for.

Of course on my SD card there are a lot of flowers without bees. Then I was too late

You guys simply blow my mind with these shots. I can't even take a decent macro of just a flower without getting all messed up when the breeze moves the flower around and my focus goes for *$&@*

Thanks!

[Syb]

That Bee's an A.
Gary

Thanks Gary!

[Mike Cash]

How do you get a shot like that?

Is that hand-held or tripod?


Do you just wait around for something like that to happen and then capture it?

You guys simply blow my mind with these shots. I can't even take a decent macro of just a flower without getting all messed up when the breeze moves the flower around and my focus goes for *$&@*


D.

You get down on the ground, inches from the bees, take oodles and oodles of shots while working up a sweat like a whore in church, then take great satisfaction if you come away with one or two that are of good enough quality to post, never revealing to anyone the huge number of failed shots that you deleted.

[Syb]

You get down on the ground, inches from the bees, take oodles and oodles of shots while working up a sweat like a whore in church, then take great satisfaction if you come away with one or two that are of good enough quality to post, never revealing to anyone the huge number of failed shots that you deleted.

Yeah, that's another way of describing the tactics.

Common photographer's talk when you're hunting bees like that:
"Did you shoot anyting?"
"Nope. Not yet."
"How long have you been here?"
"Half an hour now."
"Hope you enjoy."
"Well, yeah."

Rod-fishing is less exhausting!

Fortunately we never have to tell anybody the amount of deleted captures! (Shooting this kind of picture on MF film, that really is art!)