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Description
Technique: It was early in the morning and this Wool Carder Bee was having a tough time getting its metabolism going. I was holding onto the stem of that flower with my left index finger and thumb, and resting the lens on that same hand to keep everything steady. The bee would occasionally move, and when it stopped I'd roll the flower's stem with my fingers to turn the critter toward the camera and look for a composition. I'm shooting from a low angle so that you can connect with the subject, and because that top down "I'm about to step on it" angle is really boring (it's how we see the small world most of the time). I used an artificial flower in the background to keep it from being black. My goal isn't to make an image look "natural" since the word is just too subjective. But I do want you to be able to suspend disbelief and just enjoy the scene. Trivia: The plant fiber hanging from the bee's mandibles is why this critter is called a "Wool Carder" Bee because they strip those fibers off of plants and use them for nesting material.

Tech Specs: Canon 70D (F16, 1/250, ISO 100) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (around 2x) + a diffused MT-24EX. This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held.

Description
Technique: It was early in the morning and this Wool Carder Bee was having a tough time getting its metabolism going. I was holding onto the stem of that flower with my left index finger and thumb, and resting the lens on that same hand to keep everything steady. The bee would occasionally move, and when it stopped I'd roll the flower's stem with my fingers to turn the critter toward the camera and look for a composition. I'm shooting from a low angle so that you can connect with the subject, and because that top down "I'm about to step on it" angle is really boring (it's how we see the small world most of the time). I used an artificial flower in the background to keep it from being black. My goal isn't to make an image look "natural" since the word is just too subjective. But I do want you to be able to suspend disbelief and just enjoy the scene. Trivia: The plant fiber hanging from the bee's mandibles is why this critter is called a "Wool Carder" Bee because they strip those fibers off of plants and use them for nesting material.

Tech Specs: Canon 70D (F16, 1/250, ISO 100) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (around 2x) + a diffused MT-24EX. This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held.