Honeybees

curly · Apr 26, 2015

I took these photos at my friend's place where he has a few beehives. Images of flying bees is quite difficult, and also kept me on my toes as I had never been around a hive. I did not want to anger them too much getting up close with my 50mm. This is where a 105mm macro would come in handy! I also tried to do some slow shutter shots, but couldn't get it down right and didn't want to hang around much longer. Will try on another day though.

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Demllamas911 · Apr 26, 2015

I love #2 and #4!!!! Amazing, I can only say they are amazing!!

Derrel · Apr 26, 2015

Lotta' potential in the beehive shot idea. The summer of 2005 or 2006 I shot a lot of bees in flight, coming to butterfly bush blooms, using a Sigma 180mm macro and crop-body camera...it's extreeeeeeeemly hit-or-miss. Here, you have the benefit of a fairly well-defined exit/entry spot, as well as a very clean, smooth, and high-contrast background against which the bees can be seen, which is why I see a lot of potential here.

Destin · Apr 27, 2015

If you could go down a stop on the aperature to get just a little more DOF, and then find an angle to shoot that gets a clean background without the wood in it, you have potential for some EXTREMELY nice photos. Right now I think the background is just a little distracting, and the DOF is a little thinner than I think I would like. A slightly deeper DOF would also improve your keeper rate.

curly · Apr 27, 2015

Thanks for the suggestions. Yeah @Derrel I plan to try to get more photos through the summer. We had some chilly weather here this weekend, so the bees weren't very active either. I'll be going back for a second try on a warm, sunny afternoon.