You are either already subscribed or there was an error
Your entry has been submitted
Sorry, your entry could not be submitted
Bee Macros
2009.06.01
Click here to add text
1
Click here to add text
2
Click here to add text
3
Click here to add text
4
Click here to add text
5
Click here to add text
6
Click here to add text
7
Click here to add text
8
Click here to add text
9
Click here to add text
10
Click here to add text
11
Ok, so I spent literally hours in the local park last weekend trying to capture these little beggars. All in all I took 346 shots of bees - and I'm not satisfied with any one of them!
If anyone has any suggestions about macro photography and insects, I'd be very grateful.
The main difficulties I had were:
- Focusing. Many of the photos I took ended up with the flowers or surrounding features in focus, whilst the bee was out of focus.
- Shutter speed. The bees move so quickly it's very difficult to capture them. Perhaps I should try a faster shutter speed. I have to admit, on most of the shots, I was in automatic mode.
- Getting the whole of the bee in focus. I don't think I managed to get a single shot where the whole of the bee was in focus. Am mystified as to why this is so - any ideas? Presumably it's to do with the depth of field, and I needed to shoot using a wider apeture...?
Shot using the Samsung GX10, with the Samsung D-Xenon 100mm Macro F2.8 100 Lens.
2
Comments
You could try 1/640 at F2.8...but I think your shots are fantastic, especially the first three...great job! :))
For many years I had a phobia of bees, etc., and even now I have to nerve myself to look carefully, but I can offer some input.
- Focus: set your AF to the centre assist and centre-weight the light meter. Composition may be boring, but it works. Stop down to a narrower aperture and increase the ISO sensitivity accordingly (sorry, you get nothing for nothing in this sad world). Even at f/11 with a long focal length macro, your DOF won't be that huge.
- Shutter speed: consider slowing it down, not speeding it up. As I recall (shudder), bees buzz around, stop and do their thing and then buzz a bit more. Aim for the quiet times while I reach for my beta-blockers. With that said, with your light meter at centre-weighted and your auto-focus on the centre assist, it should be easier.
As I said above, your whole bee will be OOF because the DOF offered by a long focal length macro lens is tiny. I suggest practicising with a coin (which is about the same size as a bee): take shots of the coin from the same position at varying apertures. Depending on your distance from your subject, you may not get the whole subject sharp until f/16, after which diffraction starts to make your subject soft again...
One (expensive but fun) solution is a ring flash. Alternatively, taking your flash off-camera (cable or wireless if possible with your camera body) can help but watch out for high-contrast shadows.
Hope this helps.
