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Well I'll Bee !

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    Well I'll Bee !

    I was catching a few rays in the garden this afternoon when I noticed this Leaf Cutter Bee. At least I think that's what it is, can anybody confirm my identification?

    I doubt I would have spotted it had it not been for the leaf it was carrying, especially as it was taking it under the patio table! I was intrigued as to why it was going under there in the first place, so an investigation was in order. The bee was entering the bottom of a plastic plant pot which has a Chilli plant in it, which I thought was rather strange. I did see one last year that was taking pieces of leaf under a paved path at the front of the house but...I didn't take any images of that one.

    Not the greatest of backgrounds for an image of this sort but it as it is and I decided to try an image or two really using it as an exercise in the use of the various focus options available on the 5D-111. I would welcome any suggestions on any setting I should have used for this type of image.

    So WDYT?

    _V1A1446-webEdit-800.jpg

    Exif
    Lens: EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, Image Date: 2013-07-14 18:08:26 (no TZ), Focal Length: 100mm
    Aperture: f/2.8, Exposure Time: 0.0006 s (1/1600), ISO equiv: 1000, Exposure Bias: none
    Metering Mode: Center Weight, Exposure: shutter priority (semi-auto), White Balance: Auto
    Flash Fired: No (enforced)
    Last edited by ST-EOS; 14-07-2013, 20:53. Reason: Exif Added
    Peter

    Feel free to browse my
    Website : www.peterstockton-photography.co.uk
    Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_original_st/

    #2
    Re: Well I'll Bee !

    Interesting Shot Peter

    Tom

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Well I'll Bee !

      Thanks for commenting Tom. Apparently these bees roll the leaf up and lay an egg in each one. Quite why it choose to make a nest in a one litre plant pot is beyond me but that's nature I guess.
      This one was very lucky as the chilli plant very nearly went in the compost bin on the morning as it was looking a little the worse for wear.
      Peter

      Feel free to browse my
      Website : www.peterstockton-photography.co.uk
      Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_original_st/

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Well I'll Bee !

        Peter, in my experience the macro lenses are slow to focus and so I would guess that they are not a good choice for a hand held tracking focus mode.
        An interesting shot, though - never seen that before
        Andy

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Well I'll Bee !

          Thanks for taking time to comment Andy. I did think I was at fault when using the various tracking options as I had a lot of OOF images but... I hadn't considered the lens time to focus as an influencing factor. The bee is still active today so I may try another lens. Thanks again
          Peter

          Feel free to browse my
          Website : www.peterstockton-photography.co.uk
          Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_original_st/

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Well I'll Bee !

            Peter, great shot of the leaf cutter bee.

            Last year I took a load of images of leaf cutter bees taking the leaves into a big wooden planter. I was using a very similar set up to you and found that the best way to get pretty consistantly sharp mages and keep the ISO down was to note where the bees were flying, I found that they had a very consistent approach to the hole.

            having established a point at which I wanted to get the picture I set the camera up on a tripod with a remote release, put the lens into manual focus mode and pre focused on a point just outside of the hole, to help I also set up 2 flashes on HSS with the camera at 1/1600 and f11 in manual mode. It was then a simple case of sitting back with a drink and waiting, when the bees came towards the hole I simply pressed the remote shutter release and after a few attempts started to get some pretty good images

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Well I'll Bee !

              Thanks for your comments and suggestions Muscat
              Peter

              Feel free to browse my
              Website : www.peterstockton-photography.co.uk
              Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_original_st/

              Comment

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