April 2013 GOTM

Super super cool! I love the POV! How did you do that without getting harsh light in the middle of the day

BTW...just saw your cute Crested Titmouse in the back of the NWF mag as well!

Thank You for your kind words Eirini
With regards to the mid-day light. I just got lucky with the right angle of light & exposure bias I guess
BTW - I have a Red-bellied WP in the same issue of NW magazine, in the "Urban Renewal" article.

Howard, we've had quite a few "bee in flight" images posted here in the last year (I've posted several myself), but none any better than this one. I like the perspective, the beautiful flowers (especially the nice capture of the main flower in LRC), the frame filling but non-distracting colors, and the amazing detail in the bee. The light is good and not too contrasty for mid-day, and this is an outstanding comp for one one which includes such an extreme close up of a bee in flight. Very impressive! Question: is this cropped? Just curious.

Cropped to about 6mb's Scott. I hope to gain more res when I can afford to buy the Mark IV, hopefully next spring..
I must get it sharp & keep the ISO reasonable to re-sample effectively. I use Genuine Fractals, it makes nice prints up to the larger sizes.
The cut-off is about 3000 x 2000 lines or approx. 34mb's TIFF in 16 bit format. For example, I will re-sample a standard 2:3 ratio to 5200 lines, or a 4:5 to 4800 lines on the longest side at near the original DPI. Hey, it works for me

Beautiful image. I like the colors, the composition, the moment when the bee has been stopped.

Great catch getting the bee's head and the flower's base sharp. The comp is terrific. Are you using tracking autofocus? We've got snow in the forecast for tonight, so it seems that spring around here is going to be a little late this year.

Hi Mark,
I just use AF to the small individual flowers as I grovel on the ground in my knee pads.. I'm really a frightful sight
Just shoot em' as many times as I can coming to, or leaving the flower..
And every once in awhile I simply get lucky. I remember when I was starting out a bit of advice I got from an experienced photographer.
He said " Shoot, shoot, shoot..then shoot some more". I has stuck with me through the years

Howard:
This is fabulous. I love the detail on its head, the freeze motion and the interaction between the bee and the flower. No better bee in flight shot have I seen.

Duck!! This looks like one of those 3-D movies where the critters seem to be jumping or flying out of the screen right towards you. Great freeze capture of this bee in flight, Howard. Nice comp, colors, and wonderful details of his face. . .I especially like the dusting of pollen. Well done!

This is amazing! Love everything about it: freeze flight, sharp eyes, POV and composition. Thanks for sharing and the advice from that experienced photographer.

Hi Howard I can see this must be one of the best Bee shots being in existance. buddy
Albert Darmo

Congrats on a well deserved WP! The colors speak so wonderfully of spring. I totally understand "down in the dirt", I've taken to carrying a 4' x 8' sheet of plastic drop cloth to minimize muddy knees, elbows, etc.

Wow! another great closeup Howard. This is great action, great composition and just the right DOF. Very nice.

Would you look at THAT!! Sensational in every respect! Congratulations, Howard. I do declare, it's one of your best!

Hi Howard I knew this would BEE the winner Congrats on the WP
Albert Darmo

Congratulations Howard.
Well done again

Not sure how I missed this - but exellent capture!
Congrats on the GOTM!
Sandy