Swarm

[Michael Lloyd]

Of bees. It was cool today so I was able to get pretty close to this swarm of bees that I found.

EOS1DsMKIII
200mm f2L IS
Handheld (for faster evacuation)

ISO 100
f2
1/320

[Julie Kenward]

You are far braver than I am, Michael! I love the composition on this and the BG colors really complement the swarm and plant. I think if you had stopped down the aperture a bit more (f5.6-f8) it would have given you more DOF throughout the swarm - some areas look a bit fuzzy and others are tack sharp. I would also consider cloning out the horizon line in the BG - it really cuts your image in half.

[Michael Lloyd]

Thanks Jules. You're right, I should have stopped down but in my defense I couldn't know if they were africanized bees or not so I didn't stick around for much experimentation :) I've been wanting to see what the lens would do to the background "wide open" which is why I chose f2. All in all I can't complain about the DOF at f2. I can't wait to play some more. I've got another shot from farther away with a 600 f4 and 1.4x TCII. It was taken at f5.6 (I think) but it doesn't have the colors and background that this one has.

I actually had the strand of barbed wire on the right side of the frame completely cloned out (for the reason you mentioned) at one point. It would take too much text real estate to explain how but I managed to erase all of the work with a single click o the mouse :) I've got raw unbridled talent when it comes to making mistakes :D

[Mike Moats]

Hey Michael, Cool image and agree it would have been nice with a little extra DOF, but understand your concern with these crazy bees. The barb wire needs to go, and I do like the shift in colors of the BG.