# Honey bees, close-up



## Alex Wild (May 15, 2011)

Hello all. Here are a few shots taken from my backyard hives here in Urbana, Illinois:


_coming in for a landing_

*****

_feeding the queen_

*****

_portrait of a young queen_

*****

_foraging_

Cheers,

Alex Wild
www.alexanderwild.com


----------



## brac (Sep 30, 2009)

If only more people had a first post that looked like that! Great Photo's here and on the website. Welcome to the forum. 
Mind telling what your camera setup is?
Brac

Alex, here is a link to a fellow members site. http://nocroppingzone.blogspot.com/


----------



## Alex Wild (May 15, 2011)

Thanks, Brac! I've been lurking here for over a year and finally thought I should probably post something.

I use a Canon dSLR with various macro lenses & flash units. I explain how I took the top photo (over a 2-week period!) here:

Honey Bee in Flight

Yes- I read Dalantech's blog regularly. He's got some simply spectacular close-in portraits using Canon's MP-E lens.


----------



## tsmullins (Feb 17, 2011)

Amazing pics!


----------



## brac (Sep 30, 2009)

Alex,
The photo of the ant biting your finger, is amazing! You can see how deep his grasp goes! 

Also, I don't see any tri-color bumbles, I could send you some in exchange for a photo.


----------



## rlsiv (Feb 26, 2011)

GREAT pics Alex.

How did you get the Young Queen pic on the white background? Thats splendid.
:thumbsup:


----------



## Alex Wild (May 15, 2011)

Thanks guys!

The queen-on-white was done by placing her on plain printer paper in a large white box. A strobe fired upward in the box provided an even, diffuse light. 

This queen herself was not so good, giving a spotty laying pattern, and the hive was very weak. So instead of killing her when we combined the remains of her colony with a stronger one, I took her away for a studio photography session. 

Incidentally, several of we bug photographers are holding a weekend insect photography workshop this September outside of St. Louis. The techniques we'll discuss will be relevant to anyone looking to improve their bee photography. Here's the link:


----------



## Stephen (Mar 2, 2011)

Great photos!


----------



## Fernhill (Dec 30, 2004)

Outstanding photos Alex. I'm impressed. You should be proud.
Mike


----------



## Dalantech (Oct 1, 2009)

Excellent images!


----------

