# Honey Bees on Lavender



## Steven T Ruddy (Mar 12, 2013)

Here is some eye candy for ya!


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## pndwind (Feb 17, 2013)

Nice!


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## bdbee (Jul 29, 2013)

Those are spectacular!! I have a lavender farm with bees and I'm delighted to see someone capture the beauty of this perfect plant for bees. The honey is wonderful, by the way.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

Really beautiful pictures. Thanks very much for posting! You did good!!!


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## OneEyedRooster (Nov 10, 2012)

Nice work!


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## WBVC (Apr 25, 2013)

Did you take those beautiful photos?


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## Phoebee (Jan 29, 2014)

Spectacular. I never get that much depth of field working that close, even with a DSLR. What are you using? What aperture?


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## Steven T Ruddy (Mar 12, 2013)

Phoebee said:


> Spectacular. I never get that much depth of field working that close, even with a DSLR. What are you using? What aperture?


These were all shot at F/16 using a Canon 100mm Macro on a 5D Mark III with some fill flash. I have done multiple exposures and then stacked them for even more DOF but didn't do it on these.

Thanks for the comments everyone.


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## Phoebee (Jan 29, 2014)

I've heard of that stacking method and want to try it on microscope shots, but it would be hard to get a bee to stay still that long.

Their level of activity is the real test of my patience, and I suppose I just need to learn patience. My cheat fallback is to set the Nikon D5100 to the sports action preset. That gives multiple shots with autofocus on each, but prefers high shutter speed, so the depth of field typically suffers. I might get better results if I actually practiced real photography. Still, sometimes I get lucky with all those shots.


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## Steven T Ruddy (Mar 12, 2013)

Yep they are very busy! I wonder if they are a little slower first thing in the morning? Try using the same focus method your camera uses when in the sports preset but try using manual mode.


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## Phoebee (Jan 29, 2014)

Some of the best pictures I ever got were of a single bee in late afternoon. I was trying to figure out what variety she was because her wings looked different ... serrated tips instead of rounded. Plus, she stayed on one blossom of garlic chives for a long time, and worked slowly and deliberately, allowing me more time to set up.

I since identified her as _Apis mellifera geriatrica_, an old bee nearing the end of her career. They say a lot to me ... you rarely see pictures of old bees, which I ascribe to age discrimination. That faithful old girl was still at work when she was almost certainly having difficulty flying. The version below is compressed and over-corrected.


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## Steven T Ruddy (Mar 12, 2013)

Nice, would love to see an extreme macro of just the tattered wings! Nice capture.


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## Saltybee (Feb 9, 2012)

Great shots. 
How long before someone takes that bottom shot and makes it a thumbnail for sticking you tongue out?


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## Yvesrow1 (Jan 27, 2013)

I saved those ones... super nice, that must be a expensive camera...


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