Theme 200.
A bee gathering pollen from flowers. There were a few flying around in the forest that I saw, and they seem to me, one of the most basic blocks of life. I like bees, and it's sad that the bumblebee seems to be in decline. However, I do hate wasps and flies and the like. But they are an integral part of the world - no insects, and lots of species would become extinct, which would have a knock on effect for other species, and all the way up.
I don't have a macro lens, so I switched to my 18-55 lens which at least has a shorter minimum focusing distance than the 55-200 lens! And then I leaned right in and poked the lens as close as I could get to the bee...
14 comments:
Not "Life", a bee gathering pollen is for the "Job" theme!
:-)
Getting a good shot of an insect can be tricky. Nicely done.
Yeah, I don't like sting-y bugs either...but it does make for a cool picture! Plus without bees, we wouldn't have flowers and veggies and such.
You're taking such lovely photos!
Ah, but as I said, insects underpin all of life - they're among the smallest and lowest on the food chain. Although insects annoy the crap out of me normally (except bees), I know that without them, species and the world would be a much different place. And they have such a short lifespan, compared to us. Besides, they're amongst the most numerous creatures on the planet!
(and... lots of others have done the "insect collecting pollen" thing for job, and I've done that theme. Plus as I said above, the bee sums up life to me!)
Great composition!
Surely it should count as "life" since it is a life form?!
This is great! You can see the vibrations from the bee landing on the flower on some of the spider webs around it.
I got a shot like that early this morning, and I felt like I was copying Cassandra since it was a bee on a sunflower, so I'm probably not going to use it for anything. It was completely on accident, I just wanted a shot of the flower in my yard and didn't even notice there was a bee on it until the flower moved a little!
And thank you for all the comments on my photos, I really appreciate it!
And also, I do know how to knit and crochet. Crocheting is a lot easier than knitting though. I don't do it very often, pretty sure I have a ball of yarn somewhere with a few needles stuck through it that I haven't touched in years.
You did a great job on this one! Insects are tricky!
This is an excellent subject for the Life theme.
My "not life" comment was meant tongue-in-cheek.
My first image for the challenge was of a bee on a flower. I posted it in homage of Cassandra (Avandria) who turned me on to the challenge, and had posted a similar image.
As to what lens to use for the shot, you could try with the 55 - 200 at 200. This has the added benefit of being at a greater distance from the insect, so that you have less change of spooking it away.
This is a lovely image Helen, you couldn't have caught the bee at a more perfect angle to show him off; he actually looks cute!
I agree that these amazing tiny workers are very representative of life...
Very nice, Helen. You did really well without using a macro. I've had my macro about 6 months now and I don't know what I would do without it. It opens up a world you never new was there.
Helen, I agree, so sad bumbles are in decline - they are so important to the eco balance. Also, bumbles don't sting - at all!! Many a time hubby has had to pick one up to save it after it has got trapped in the house.
Only the female wasp stings, or maybe it's only the male - not sure, but who cares, I don't usually look close enough to inspect their bits to check - lol.
Lovely photo, the composition is ideal and really like the colours. I have been trying to get a bumble shot, but not got their yet. Was going to be my "fuzzy theme" - have another one now for that.
Btw, I didn't even realise their was a "life" theme - funny how some just don't register. Has now! :-))
Oh I think this is a great idea for "life" and you explained it well too! There's a lot of beautiful colors here; it's a gorgeous picture all around! I like how you even managed to get some spiderwebs in the sun.
I personally like bumble bees a lot, and so does my dog Scooch - but he likes to chomp on them. o.O
I feel like this has an even deeper meaning with the current bee crisis http://www.helpthehoneybees.com/
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