European Hornet

[Norm Dulak]

Nikon D300 w/Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 vr micro lens, hand held. Lens-mounted twin SB-R200 flashes for illumination in shade.
ISO 400; f/22, 1/60 sec.
Standard CS6 adjustments

While mowing grass near a line of pin oaks recently, I noticed many insect visitors that were paying particular attention to one of the trees. Today, with camera in hand, I observed a number of different hornets, wasps and butterflies on the trunk of the tree. As shown in the attached image, there were pockets of white, gelatinous material that the insects were harvesting.

Norm

[Jason Stander]

Hi Norm, this a beautiful hornet... good detail and exp... angle looks good... I would maybe crop it tighter... and would have photographer is in a more parallel plan to see the body detail in full form... otherwise I think you did very well... did you get the lawn done?:w3

[Mitch Haimov]

Cool subject, Norm. Most colorful hornet I've seen. I recommend cropping from bottom and left (LL corner only portion of BG that's soft and would help comp IMHO).

[Jonathan Ashton]

Well done Norm these can be aggressive little devils so I appreciate you probably didn't want to hang around too much. You have caught good detail and it is an attractive subject. Easy for me to say but would it have been possible to get a lateral view as opposed to a dorsal view.

[Anita Bower]

A colorful Hornet. Interesting how the colors blend with those of the tree. Nicely captured. I agree that a crop would be good. I hope you didn't get stung.

[Norm Dulak]

Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions! The crop suggestion is excellent. For Jon, I've posted the lateral view you wanted to see above in this forum.

Norm