Bee in a Wine Cup

[Patrick Sparkman]

We have had a lot of wind here in Texas this spring. A tornado missed the house by 200 ft on last Tuesday! But I have been able to get a few shots on a couple of calm evenings.

The Wine Cup flowers are blooming, and every now and then a small Mason Bee is lying in the middle gorging herself. They look to be almost in a trance, but if you do not creep up on them carefully, they come to life and shoot out like a rocket.

This one let me take one shot, before flying out. Fortunately, I nailed the focus on the all important eye. All comments welcome.

Canon 1D-IV, MP-E 65, MT-24 Flash diffused, ISO 250, 1/300, f16, Normal Lightroom adjustments, Tim Grey Dodge & Burn, small crop for composition.

[Brendan Dozier]

Awesome image, light & comp, Patrick. The eye and detail on the bee is fantastic. The bits of pollen sprinkled on the bee are a nice touch. Like the glow to the Wine Cup flower. Well done! :cheers:

[bhavya joshi]

Well captured Patrick.. nice glowey pollen and details on bee is great.. :c3:

[Kaushik Balakumar]

Fantastic capture this one, Patrick.
Finely exposed frame with beautiful colours & tack sharp where it matters, with sufficient DOF to keep the whole bee sharp. Kudos !

[Julie Kenward]

Only thing I can add to the accolades on this one is that I might also like this more as a vertical with less on the left and a shade more up top. I also wish the very tip top of the stamen was more in focus but realize the bee is the star and sometimes you got to take it where you can get it.

Lovely details on the bee and the flower really gives it a beautiful backdrop!

[Jerry van Dijk]

Very nice, Patrick! Awesome details. The flower center does compete with the bee as the center of focus. Julie's cropping suggestions may help here.

[OvidiuCavasdan]

Very nice colors and fine details. Amazing eye!

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Patrick,
I'm fine with crop as presented.....but I may be tempted to lighten up a few sections of the bee (wing area) just a touch more for even further sepration. All in all....very well done!

[Adrian David]

Excellent details and sharpness on the bee! Nice touch added by the pollen...

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Patrick. Excellent details and lighting on the bee. All the pollen grains add a lot of interest to the image. The only thing that is bothering me - a little - is the OOF center of the flower just under the bee. With this lens, getting that and the bee in focus is not in the cards unless you are using focus stacking (and the bee won't sit still for that). :S3: Overall, this is well done.

[Mitch Haimov]

Excellent work. I think it has already all been said. The bee is about perfect. The bright OOF center is a bit distracting, but the detail in your subject is so compelling that the distraction is minor. :5

[Patrick Sparkman]

Thanks for all of the input. The OOF part in the middle did not bother me at first, but after everyone brought it up, it bugs the heck out of me now. :bg3:

I went out and got a shot of the stamen on another flower, and used a quick mask to put it in the original. I did not want it look perfectly sharp, as the Bee's eye should still be the focal point. Also lightened the wing with a bit of Lightroom adjustment brush. Is this better?

[Mitch Haimov]

Nailed it, Patrick! Perfect amount of softness to make it blend convincingly. That simple adjustment makes all the difference. This is a stunning image! :5

[Roger Clark]

Patrick,

Stunning image. I like the original. The OOF middle did not bother me as it moved the center of attention directly to the bee.

A couple of questions.

1) What is "Tim Grey" Dodge & Burn?

2) Any idea what your magnification was?

Roger

[Patrick Sparkman]

Thanks Roger! I guess I like it both ways.

1) Tim Grey Dodge and Burn is a technique where you create a new layer, set to overlay, of 50% grey. Then using a black or white brush you can make different parts of the image lighter or darker. It works well without creating much color shift, and can easily be manipulated and changed since it is a separate layer.

2) I am guessing that the magnification was around 1.5