Angry Bee

[Nancy Bell]

Right after I clicked the shutter this bumblebee landed on my leg and I was wearing shorts. I believe I jumped up faster than a Jack-in-the-box!

I used PB oil painting, Topaz Simplify - image crisp and Adjust 4 -nightly, with varying opacities. Unfortunately I only noticed that bit of yellow extending from the left blossom after I was all done and could not seem to clone it out neatly. Maybe I did something funny with the layers.

[John Storjohann]

Nancy, I like a LOT of the elements of this image...if it were mine, I'd replace the brighter, more detailed green BG area to the left of the bee with a BG more in line with that found above the bee and to the right of the opposite wing; and I would touch up the bright yellow beneath the bee, possibly cloning in some of the blossom element to the left of the bee's left leg. I really like the bee itself...the stylized textures, the highlight in the eye, the slight illusion of movement in the wings..nice job!

[Brendan Dozier]

Like the head-on, low angle, wings up pose you captured, Nancy. John makes some good suggestions, and I like the composition and the rich, painterly application of filters, but my own personal taste wishes to bring out more of the bumble bees fuzz.

[Mitch Carucci]

I love the straight on evil look of this bee, and I love bees. This is quite a feisty fellow. Love the pic.

M.

[denise ippolito]

Nancy, The filtering on the bee looks great! I love the head on pose. John makes some very good suggestions. I wonder if you revealed some details from the flower parts and left just the bee and BG with the effect- just a thought. I swell up like a balloon when I get bit by bees.:S3:

[Andrew McLachlan]

Hi Nancy, love the filtering. I like Denise's suggestion for filtering the Bee and the background more than the blossom. I had a dog (Sampson) that liked bees. He would stand by their nests in the ground and eat them as they flew out. Was always amazed that he never got stung by them. very nice capture!

[Jay Sheinfield]

Nancy, nice work...........great use of filters. Agree the head on pose works well. Good suggestions above. Well done.

[Indranil Sircar]

Nancy, this is just awesome! I love your use the filter. Excellent work.

[Paul Lagasi]

Good filter work, agree with the comment, on the green area, nice color and composition

[Nancy Bell]

Thank you everyone for your comments and suggestions. I only noticed that bloom of bright green on the left after it was all said and done. I was having so much fun with the bee that I did not take enough time to evaluate each effect before I went on to the next. I agree that toning down the whitish-yellow under the bee is another good suggestion and maybe changing the flowers some.

Andrew, too funny about Sampson. My dog, Cooper, would loom over dandelions in bloom like a vulture and snap up the bees. I had 2 colonies of honey bees nearby so she had a good supply. And no stings either!

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Nancy,
I love the look of the filtering on this!!! I might go in with a few selective layers.....to tone down the area mentioned above....and bring up fome of the other areas in the body, wings, and maybe even the blooms (other than the brightest one)! A few minor tweaks will put this over the top!!!