These little suckers won’t sit still long enough to get a decent photo! Even when they are perched on a petal, it’s still really difficult to get a good photo. When I tried to get closer, they were off before my camera even had a chance to focus. Any suggestions on how to conquer the bees?
And yes, I realize it isn’t Monday, but yesterday was a holiday. So, today feels like a Monday. Kind of.
Jolene's Life in Focus 
Thanks, Martina! I was pretty happy with the end result of this one.
The colors really work well together and emphasize the bee. Great composition.
That is a very good photo. I really like the DOF/blur…
Thanks! It took quite a few tries to find the right angle.
This is very good, macro bees are difficult as they do tend to move along pretty quickly. As Jim said, I’d also been told that, same for butterflies.
That gives me a good idea, Nigel. I think I’ll hunt for some butterflies to photograph. They’re nice and colorful, and they don’t move around as much.
Patience…and a good zoom lens… 300mm+. the zoom lens doesn’t keep the bees from moving, but it helps because you are further away, the lens brings them closer, rather than you trying to get closer and scaring them off.
put patience really is the best, and least expensive option. 🙂
Thanks, John…if only I had more of that thing you call patience…. 🙂
Wow, I love the colours in this one.
I find that you need a lot of patience with bees. You need to go where they are, try to blend (not making too much movement) and be willing to get close. My attempts to shoot them with my new camera haven’t been very successful. The best shot I got of a bee getting slushed (maybe you’ve seen it on my photoblog) was with my little compact. If I figure it out with the new camera I’ll let you know 😉
Oh, and I found the best time of day to be around noon.
I left my house around noon yesterday, and the bees were everywhere, so there might be something to that! Also, I used to be afraid of them stinging me, but they don’t pay any attention to me if there are lots of flowers around. I can just sit there and snap as many pics as I want.
Great shot Jolene, love the color in the flower! The tip I keep hearing to conquer the fast moving critters is to get out early in the morning when there’s still a bit of chill and dew in the air. It makes them slower. Of course, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a bee out and about at that hour… 🙂
I’m not sure I’d be out and about at that hour. Haha. Thanks, Jim!
This looks like a pretty amazing shot to me!
The only thing I can think of to help your photos is that bees stay longer on some types of flowers than others, so the trick is to find those flowers. Often lots of little open flowers clustered together will cause the bees to stay fairly still as they walk from flower to flower. Or flowers that have a lot of nectar so that they’re drinking for longer.
Thanks, Emily! That’s good advice. After reading this, I actually noticed them doing this and was able to get some better shots.