sscnxy

To all the expert macro contributors whose amazing work I've had the pleasure of admiring and studying the past few months since joining UHH, I aspire to doing even a fraction of what you can do. Being new to macro, I have great difficulty photographing the honeybees in my lilies. First of all, they move constantly when their heads are not buried deep in the neck of the flower, so it is nearly impossible to grab focus. For less camera shake, I use a ballhead and 2 legs of my tripod as a hinge on the ground, then slowly rock back and forth with the 100 mm lens set for the closest distance to the subject -- about 11 inches. Sometimes I'll twist the focus ring if that results in even less movement. I've even tried live view along with a bit of magnification on my LCD screen in attempts to focus more precisely on facial details, but any motion of the subject or camera gets amplified by the live view magnification. Furthermore, I get the sense that the shutter release with live view mode on my Nikon D7100 is a bit delayed, so I end up missing shots. I also think that 11 inches is too close for the bee's comfort. Am I correct on these 2 conjectures? Thus, I haven't been able to get good shots frequently enough. (10% or less). Those that I do manage to get seem less sharp than what I've seen on this forum. I'd appreciate any helpful critique and suggestions from you all. So far, I've not succumbed to GAS, but I'm open to getting useful tools to better my game. Thanks.

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Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

I shoot lots of bees or have in the past. I don't use a tripod as they move on before you can set it up and if you prefocus on a flower, then you have to hope a bee visits it. That alone will severely restrict your keeper rate. I use additional lighting, most times a ring/point light. B using that, I am able to use smaller apertures (thus increasing the minuscule DOF of shooting macro) and the short duration of the flash effectively stops all motion, be it my own or my subjects. I don't use live view either...Here is a link to an album of my bee images over on Flickr...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/screaminscott/albums/72157636298928214

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

I think you're doing a great job! My experience of frightening the bees is they won't come to a flower if they fear your presence. If you think the 'traffic' has slowed down, leave the tripod in place and step away for a minute or so until the bees return. Then, come back and resume.

At a 10% keeper rate, you'd be higher than my results. Honestly, in digital, doesn't matter 'how many' it takes. Rather, how good are the final results.

I use a single AF point attempting to focus specifically on the eye with the camera set on a loose ballhead of a tripod. I keep the AF point positioned off-center for the resulting composition, moving the camera around to position the AF over the bee rather than moving the AF point around within the frame. For the coneflowers I captured last week, I noted the bees tended to land and move around the coneflower in a counter-clockwise motion. As soon as I saw a bee land, I positioned the camera and pre-set AF point where I expected the bee to come around the back of the flower and face toward me. Your lilies here look maybe a bit less easy to predict.

I like your first example: nice focus, nice depth of field, nice exposure / colors, nice frozen action. The second seems a bit slow on the shutter (1/250 vs 1/800 on the first). Try keeping the shutter in the 1/500 to 1/800 range, adjusting the aperture or ISO to allow for this shutterspeed.

Of the bees I posted this morning (https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-656808-1.html), I probably should have been a touch faster. I had a mixture of insects where 1/400 was appropriate until the faster moving bees. A mental note I've made for the next trip out.

And again, don't worry about the 'score' of how many frames. I typically fill an entire card in an hour to three (about 1000 images) and then just cherry pick out the best and delete the rest. A 'perfect' 20 to 30 is all I need where each keeper is unique, and I'll discard otherwise great images that are nothing more than duplicates of others (same direction, distance, etc).

Quixdraw Loc: x

Never use a tripod for insects, you need to be able to move with them. I shoot Aperture, Spot, high shutter speed and small aperture, almost never with flash. My lens is an AF Micro Nikkor 105 2.8 D on a D810. I post six to ten photos per day, most often insects. Those images are picked from a total of a couple of dozen images, taken in the space of ten or fifteen minutes. If my morning trip is unsuccessful, I'll go again in the afternoon and or evening. The largest number of pictures taken in a day lately, forty. I post the best of a batch, but the most are usable. Method should be based on what you enjoy, operating style, equipment, and personal taste. No method is "wrong" if it produces successful outcomes.

EnglishBrenda Loc: Kent, England

You have picked a difficult creature to shoot but I think you are doing well.

tinusbum Loc: east texas

i agree,best advise is practice which if your hooked like most of us,is easy

Mark Sturtevant Loc: Grand Blanc, MI

I think you are doing well. You have good critical focus and that is the hardest part.
Your bipod method probably seems best for you, so stick with it for a time. All methods (tripod, bipod, monopod, free-hand) have their pros and cons and I don't use a bipod but whatever. Bees are also very hard as subjects. Really, they are. Its like trying to learn to drive so let's start with a manual transmission roadster.

Your settings are fine (1/250 sec, f/14). I can't tell if you are using a flash. The lower power flash the better since with these settings your shutter speed is pretty much the duration of your flash. So at low flash power it will be a lot faster than 1/250 sec. Have a big diffuser on the flash, and have it as close to the subject as possible. This lets you use low power and still get lots of light on the bee.

One trick that people do is to get a dropper and put some dilute honey into the center of a couple flowers. When a bee arrives at one they will (for once) stop and let you really take your time with them.
But I think you are doing well as it is.

sscnxy

Loved your Flicker gallery. I'll keep studying them to learn. Thanks for your input on technique, lighting, etc.

NY

sscnxy

Thank you very much for your input. I'm going to keep your suggestions in mind when I shoot these difficult critters. BTW, every time I see your orange shirt in the upper L corner of any UHH topic, I know to pay attention to what's coming because you answer the Q's in such useful detail. 10% if I'm lucky on a windless day, ha!

sscnxy

Mark,
You're incredible. I've been keeping all your advice in mind, so I can try different things whenever I give it another go. Your images are so beautiful that they give me a goal to work toward. I appreciate your suggestions re speed an lighting. I'm certainly going to give that honey chumming a try, Mark. Thank you again.

NY

sscnxy

Thank you. Who wouldn't love these beautiful, busy critters, huh?

NY

sscnxy

Thank you. If you ever have any critique or suggestions for me, please tell me, ok? I only want to do better, like everyone else at UHH.

NY

sscnxy

Thanks much. I always pay attention to your images. They're absolutely beautiful! I have lots to learn, and I certainly appreciate any critique and suggestions from you. Be healthy and well!

NY

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

It helps to learn your intended subjects habits. Dragonflies returning to a perch, male Carpenter bees not being able to sting. As for getting in close, don’t let your shadow fall on your subject, it will chase them off.

sscnxy

I appreciate your tips very much and will keep them in mind for more practice.

NMY