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I used some sugar syrup to give this Bumblebee a reason to let me get close.
Tech Specs: Canon 70D (F16, 1/250, ISO 200) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (around 1.5x) + a diffused MT-24EX (flash head "A" set as the key and "B" as the fill, with the key on a Kaiser adjustable flash shoe). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. I used an artificial flower to keep the background from being black. I also took the shot with the camera horizontal, but framed the subject so that I could turn the image to the right. It's easier for me than holding the camera vertically.
I'd like to get a shot of a Chafer Beetle feeding, but it's just not windy enough and when I grab onto the flower they're on they can tell and they stop eating. The technique that I use for shooting active subejcts actually works best on windy days.
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 100) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (3x) + a diffused MT-26EX-RT with a Kaiser adjustable flash shoe on the "A" head (the key), E-TTL metering, -1/3 FEC,). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. In post I used Topaz Sharpen AI, Denoise AI, and Clarity in that order.
My Mason Bees are still emerging, but I'm down to roughly the last hundred cocoons out of more than a thousand. I had so many cocoons this year that I gave about three hundred to a coworker so he could populate his new Mason Bee house.
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 100) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (3x) + a diffused MT-26EX RT (E-TTL metering with -1/3 FEC). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. In post I used Topaz Sharpen AI, Denoise AI, and Clarity in that order.
I found this female Mason Bee in a Dandelion foraging for pollen on a cool morning, and when the sun went behind the clouds her metabolism tanked enough for me to get close. Those jaws look menacing, but they are actually very docile and excellent pollinators.
Not sure if this is a Osmia bicornis (Red Mason Bee) or a Osmia caerulescens (European Blue Mason Bee). I raise both, and it's tough to tell the females apart by looking at just a head shot.
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/125, ISO 200) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (set to about 3x) + a diffused MT-26EX-RT (E-TTL metering, -1/3 FEC). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. I dragged the shutter and increased the ISO to expose for the natural light in the background. In post I used Topaz Sharpen AI and Clarity in that order.
The Acrididae are the predominant family of grasshoppers, comprising some 10,000 of the 11,000 species of the entire suborder Caelifera. The Acrididae are best known because all locusts (swarming grasshoppers) are of the Acrididae. The subfamily Oedipodinae is sometimes classified as a distinct family Oedipodidae in the superfamily Acridoidea. Acrididae grasshoppers are characterized by relatively short and stout antennae, and tympana on the side of the first abdominal segment.
I was shooting this Bumblebees right after sunrise and it still had dew on it.
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 100) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (over 2x) + a diffused MT-26EX-RT with a Kaiser adjustable flash shoe on the "A" head (the key), E-TTL metering, -1/3 FEC, second curtain sync). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. I'm holding on to the Lavender stem with my left hand, and resting the lens on that same hand to keep the scene steady. I injected Agave nectar into the Lavender flower to give the critter a reason to let me get close.
Hi Everyone!
I am not not well-versed with Damselfly ID. Does anyone know what species this is? Whether or not you know, I appreciate you viewing this image. THANK YOU!
©Copyright - Nancy Clark - All Rights Reserved
I went to my sister in law's house for another round of photographing Bumblebees in her Lavender, although a lot of the flowers are dead and the bees have moved on I managed to find one cooperative subject.
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/160, ISO 200) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (set to around 2x) + a diffused MT-26EX RT (E-TTL metering). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. In post I used Topaz Denoise AI and Clarity in that order.
I found this Leaf Cutter Bee early in the morning, covered in pollen, and the dew had slowed its metabolism down. While photographing it the critter woke up and started foraging for nectar. I've had this happen to me with a few subjects and I think it's a combination of being large in their field of view (can't figure out what I am so not seen as a threat) and being in the right place at the right time.
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/125, ISO 200) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (set to over 2x) + a diffused MT-26EX RT (E-TTL metering). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. In post I used Topaz Denoise AI and Clarity in that order.
I found a feeding Chafer Beetle that was more hungry than afraid.
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 100) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (over 2x) + a diffused MT-26EX-RT with a Kaiser adjustable flash shoe on the "A" head (the key), E-TTL metering, -1/3 FEC). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. In post I used Topaz Denoise AI and Clarity in that order. I used an artificial flower to keep the background from being black.
Technique: I found this European Wool carder bee snoozing on a Lavender stalk before sunset and woke up early the next morning to photograph it. I placed an artificial flower in the background to keep it from being black.
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 200 with highlight tone priority) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (5x) + a diffused MT-24EX (both flash heads on the Canon flash mount, E-TTL metering with -1 2/3 FEC). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held.
I went to my sister in law's house to photograph the Bumblebees in her Lavender. She lives in the mountains above Itri, Italy so I got there at 5:30 in the morning hoping I could photograph them before they got active. Unfortunately it was 20C (68F) and they were pretty much hyperactive. I found a few that were having a tough time getting their metabolism going but they didn't give me much time to shoot. Due to the pandemic I wasn't able to go to her place earlier in the year.
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 200) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (over 2x) + a diffused MT-26EX RT (E-TTL metering). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. In post I used Topaz Denoise AI, Sharpen AI, and Clarity in that order.
“Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain.”
~ Henry David Thoreau
This Chafer Beetle eats using brush like appendages to pull pollen into its mouth.
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 100) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (over 2x) + a diffused MT-26EX-RT with a Kaiser adjustable flash shoe on the "A" head (the key), E-TTL metering, -1/3 FEC). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. In post I used Topaz Denoise AI and Clarity in that order. I used an artificial flower to keep the background from being black.
A snoozing European Wool Carder Bee. This time I set my Canon MP-E 65mm to 5x.
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 100) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (5x) + a diffused MT-26EX-RT with a Kaiser adjustable flash shoe on the "A" head (the key), E-TTL metering, -1/3 FEC, second curtain sync). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held.
This image was selected by National Geographic for their August 13th Daily Dozen.
Not long after I took this photo of an emerging Blue Mason Bee he exited his cocoon and I released him into my solitary bee house.
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 100) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (3x) + a diffused MT-26EX RT (E-TTL metering with -1/3 FEC). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. In post I used Topaz Sharpen AI, Denoise AI, and Clarity in that order.
I went to my sister in law's house to photograph the Bumblebees in her Lavender. She lives in the mountains above Itri, Italy so I got there at 5:30 in the morning hoping I could photograph them before they got active. Unfortunately it was 20C (68F) and they were pretty much hyperactive. I found a few that were having a tough time getting their metabolism going but they didn't give me much time to shoot. Due to the pandemic I wasn't able to go to her place earlier in the year.
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 200) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (over 2x) + a diffused MT-26EX RT (E-TTL metering). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. In post I used Topaz Denoise AI, Sharpen AI, and Clarity in that order.
Dragonflies are among the oldest insects on Earth, and their eyes, composed of numerous ommatidia, allow them to see almost 360 degrees around them. This makes them some of the most skilled predators in aerial hunting.
I watched this Sweat Bee foraging for pollen in a Sunflower and tried to predict where it was going to be and the angle I needed to get as much depth as possible. Then I focused on an anther and waited for her to start stripping out the pollen. She was moving so fast I could only get one shot before I had to set up on another anther. Lots of deleted frames.
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 100) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (2x) + a diffused MT-26EX RT (E-TTL metering). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. In post I used Topaz Denoise AI, Sharpen AI, and Clarity in that order.
Salticinae is a subfamily of jumping spiders. It includes over 90% of the known species of jumping spiders. The subfamily is divided into two unranked clades: Amycoida and Salticoida.
This Sweat Bee (L. leucozonium) was camping in my Lavender for a few days.
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 100) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (over 3x) + a diffused MT-26EX-RT (E-TTL metering, -1/3 FEC, second curtain sync). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. I'm holding on to the stem of the Lavender with my left hand, and resting the lens on that same hand to keep the scene steady.
An early morning shot of a European Wool Carder Bee. Normally I don't see many insects with dew on them, but that morning it was very damp. This one was semi-active and when it would pause I'd look for a new composition.
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 100) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (about 3.5x) + a diffused MT-26EX-RT with a Kaiser adjustable flash shoe on the "A" head (the key), E-TTL metering, -1/3 FEC, second curtain sync). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. I'm holding on to the stem of the flower with my left hand, and resting the lens on that same hand to keep the scene steady.
This Sweat Bee (L. leucozonium) was camping in my Lavender for a few days.
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 100) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (3x) + a diffused MT-26EX-RT (E-TTL metering, -1/3 FEC, second curtain sync). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. I'm holding on to the stem of the Lavender with my left hand, and resting the lens on that same hand to keep the scene steady.
Cool, partly cloudy weather makes the perfect conditions to photograph small solitary bees. I found this female Mining Bee foraging for pollen in a Dandelion. Image taken in April of 2021 in Lago Patria, Italy.
Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 100) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (set to almost 4x) + a diffused MT-26EX-RT with a Kaiser adjustable flash shoe on the "A" head (the key), E-TTL metering, -1/3 FEC). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. In post I used Topaz Sharpen AI and Clarity in that order.