Post Your Bee Shots (including wasps and other pollinators)

[Dennis]

I found a Paper Wasp Nest under some foliage in our back garden this morning and the insects seemed quite calm.

This is a hand held stack of 10 frames taken with the Canon EOS R3, RF100mm F2.8L IS USM and Canon's Macro Twin Lite MT-26EX-RT and an external battery pack.

I used Focus Bracketing. The Speedlite kept up with the 10 frames as the subject was so close that the Speedlite was able to recycle with no pauses to re-charge.

Dennis

 

[ChuckMiller]

I found a Paper Wasp Nest under some foliage in our back garden this morning and the insects seemed quite calm.

This is a hand held stack of 10 frames taken with the Canon EOS R3, RF100mm F2.8L IS USM and Canon's Macro Twin Lite MT-26EX-RT and an external battery pack.

I used Focus Bracketing. The Speedlite kept up with the 10 frames as the subject was so close that the Speedlite was able to recycle with no pauses to re-charge.

Dennis

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It's a grand camera.

 

[Dave3222]

I found a Paper Wasp Nest under some foliage in our back garden this morning and the insects seemed quite calm.

This is a hand held stack of 10 frames taken with the Canon EOS R3, RF100mm F2.8L IS USM and Canon's Macro Twin Lite MT-26EX-RT and an external battery pack.

I used Focus Bracketing. The Speedlite kept up with the 10 frames as the subject was so close that the Speedlite was able to recycle with no pauses to re-charge.

Dennis

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Very impressive!

 

[Dennis]

It's a grand camera.

Very impressive!

Thanks for the comments, I appreciate them.

There is a bit of softness to this stack compared to previous tripod-mounted stacks, due to user/camera movement and the shrubbery swaying in the light breeze. The fact that PS CC was able to Align and Blend the 10 frames is still impressive, none the less.

Dennis

 

[robadams]

Bee-utiful

 

[Well Bonded]

Here's my Bea shot.

 

[Dennis]

Paper Wasps on their nest in our back garden.

I used the Focus Bracketing and Continuous Flash capability of the EOS R3 with the Canon Macro-Lite MT-26 EX-RT Flash to take 25 frames to Align and Blend in PS CC.

Dennis.

 

[paddler4]

Spectacular photos of wasps.

 

[Michael456]

Little bees on tansy blossoms:

 

[Tom in Arizona]

Sweet shots Michael...

Tom

 

[Dave3222]

Little bees on tansy blossoms:
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Fantastic!

 

[Michael456]

Sweet shots Michael...

Tom

Fantastic!

Thanks very much to both of you!

 

[Dennis]

This morning was a little cooler, so the Paper Wasps didn't fidget as much between frames.

Dennis

 

[Skygod44]

This morning was a little cooler, so the Paper Wasps didn't fidget as much between frames.

Dennis

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Just looking at these shots gives me the heebie-jeebies, Dennis

Fantastic set of images

Cheers for now,
Simon

 

[Dennis]

Just looking at these shots gives me the heebie-jeebies, Dennis

Fantastic set of images

Cheers for now,
Simon

Thanks Simon, there is nothing to fear though, I have come to understand that these particular Paper Wasps are not very aggressive.

Last week I got clumsy and one of the Macro Twinlite flash heads brushed the nest .

The first I knew of this was that in the viewfinder, I saw the Wasps suddenly take off but they did not attack me, so I just quickly withdrew to terminate the session and let them get back to their daily routines.

There are larger, more aggressive Wasps I would not attempt this with.

Dennis.

 

[Dennis]

This morning, I decided to use the EOS R5 and RF 100mm F2.8L IS USM and the Novoflex BAL-EOSR Auto Bellows for Canon RF-Mount.

I had to be extra careful due to the closer working distance and I found the AF to be a bit touchy.

If I extended the bellows too far, the RF 100mm Macro lend began to hunt and miss focus, so I had to back off to around 1/3 to ¼ extension.

As there is no Continuous Flash with the EOS R5 (as found in the EOS R3), I manually placed the AF point on different parts of the insect and took a series of 5 shots to then Align and Blend in PS CC.

Dennis.

 

[Terry McDaniel]

These little bees spend the night in various flowers. First photo they are in a Milkweed (Green or Antelope Horn); second photo in Western Horse Nettle.

 

[Skygod44]

Sorry.
I wasn't out looking for bees, so didn't have my macro flash, nor extension tubes.
But since they're such a vital part of the ecosystem, I'm just happy to see 'em.

 

[KD_Reno]

A new one for me. One of the longhorn bees I think. The iNaturalist algorithm suggested genus Eucera, but there appear to be more observations of Melissodes in my area. Nice looking bee whatever it is.

 

[Dennis]

The Paper Wasps were snoozing this morning on their nest and keeping quite still, so I was able to grab 30 shots using the Focus Bracketing and Continuous Flash capability of the EOS R3.

Dennis.