sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

This is my preserved Carpenter Bee that I collected last summer. They thrive around our kennel building and they bore the most perfect round holes in the trusses of the outdoor runs. They are quite aggressive although they don't sting and the boards out there are starting to look like swiss cheese over the years.

This is a focus stacked image comprised of 459 images processed with Zerene Stacker. I used a reversed 50mm lens mounted on a bellows and utilized my goto method of lighting diffusion with constant LED lights.

As always, thanks in advance to all who view and for your comments, suggestions, questions, and critique.

(Download)

photosbytw Loc: Blue Ridge Mountains

Did you mean to clip the right antennae? I love the image as it was well done but for some reason the partially exposed antennae seems...........off.

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

I turned the bee so that it was not a straight on view for to me it adds a bit of interest. When turned slightly the left facing antenna of course is further away.

I shoot totally flat depth of field and with the lenses wide open to boot. Based on the size of the subject, such as this, based on the amount of magnification that my rig gives me on various setups, I have to settle for how much and of what will be in view so at times some of it gets out of view such as this one.

Another factor is that, with my rig, the further I drive the camera forward the more of the subject gets cropped. I seldom if ever crop anything in post so what you see is what the lens setup delivers to the sensor. Now that I am using an APS-C sensor camera the views appear to be tighter than when using my full frame.

Finally Zerene Stacker uses the farthest point of focus as the "size" of the processed image so a session that may show more of the subject when the camera is pulled back at "start" will lose of of of the subject when it reaches the farthest point of focus.

photosbytw Loc: Blue Ridge Mountains

Any thoughts as to composing the bee to avoid the antennae? Please understand this is not a criticism.........
I'm just bored today........

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Oh, I truly understand and I really enjoy, as I'm sure that you do, sharing and discussing what we do with our cameras and techniques.

I have a few options which are to keep the rig setup the same and turn the subject so that the antenna are clipped the same amount with what is shown of them to be in focus.

I can change the amount of magnification by using a section of extension tube in place of the bellows which is currently retracted for this shot.

Of course I can also change the configuration of the lenses to produce less magnification and I truly enjoy the part of this which is the "What If.....".

Mark Sturtevant Loc: Grand Blanc, MI

👍!

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Thank Mark, just enjoying my pastime.