Tag Archives: insect

Bee Feet Details

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In my quest for more bee photographs, I was set up in our back garden by some plants that were proving to be very popular with the bees.  My hope had been to get different types of bee to compare their colors but I was actually getting mainly the same type.  Still, it was a chance to get more images of these amazing little insects.  As I was going through the images afterwards, I was aiming to weed out the ones that weren’t in focus or were focused on the wrong thing.

As I was working through them, I came to some images where the head of the bee was not so sharp but the feet were very clear.  I had imagined that bee feet were just a single extension of the leg but apparently that isn’t the case.  They seem to be more of a claw type of foot.  I guess this makes grabbing on to things a lot easier.  I had no idea their feet were this complex.  Hope you find it interesting too.

A Fluffy Caterpillar

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No deep insight, equipment review or technique experimentation for this one.  I was out in the back yard and a caterpillar was in the grass.  The black and orange coloration combined with the hairy coat it had just seemed like it deserved to be photographed.  A quick grab of the camera with a macro lens and a few shots and then I left it to do whatever it was doing.

This Stabilization is Amazing

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Another episode in the testing of the RF 200-800 for today’s post.  This is more focused on the image stabilization in the lens.  When shooting stills, I have commented on the slightly odd jerking effects visible in the viewfinder.  I think this is most apparent when panning very slowly and I think the camera is trying to work out if you mean to stay still or not.  However, one area which is really effective at showing the capabilities of the stabilization is video.

I have some footage below that is taken with the lens at 800mm and hand held.  No tripod or monopod here.  The rabbit was at the other end of our back yard while the bees were on the lavender plants in our beds.  You can see that the image is remarkably stable.  It is amazing to see it lock on so well.  I have also shot some video of an F-35B in the hover, also at 800mm.  It was interesting to see a lot of movement in the viewfinder for a moment and then it seemed to lock in on what it was doing and then things get really solid.  This tech is most impressive.

Dragonflies On the Water

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There is a lake at Bloedel Reserve that sits near the main house.  The grass leading down to it makes for a nice spot to rest but it also seems to have made for a good habitat for dragonflies.  There were loads of them scooting around at the edge of the water and, while they were easily spooked as I got closer, if I sat for a while, they would resume their normal activities.  Getting the camera to focus on them was not always reliable but modern autofocus is a wonderful thing.  These were some of the results.  I don’t have an image of how damp my pants were after sitting on the grass for a while, thankfully.

Struggling with Bee Photography

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The flowers were out on some of the plants in our front yard and they were attracting the bees, so I decided to try again to get some bee shots.  Rather than try and follow the bees around the flowers, I decided to see the camera up on a mount aligned with one flower and wait for the bees to come there.  I used a cable release so I could sit back a bit and wait.  This did require the plant to stay steady which, when the wind was blowing, was far from guaranteed.

I was sitting so still for a long time as I waited that a rabbit came walking across the yard to nibble some leaves that were by my feet.  Since I wasn’t moving, it was totally oblivious to me.  Rather than spook it by trying to get my phone out to photograph it, I let it eat in peace.  It wandered off soon enough.

The bees dutifully showed up in my flower from time to time.  I wasn’t sure how well the shots were coming out since I was just triggering with the cable release when things were in roughly the right place.  I didn’t know whether the autofocus was going to choose the bee or part of the plant.  There were plenty of misses, but we did get a few good shots where the bees were in shot, in focus and interesting enough.  I was pleasantly surprised how many shots actually worked out.  I had been quite pessimistic when taking the shots, so this was more successful than I had expected.

A Shield Bug – Looks Like a Stinkbug

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I was out in the garden of our place in Stockbridge and was surprised by how many ladybirds and flies I saw on the leaves.  Then I saw something a bit different.  I reminded me of the stink bugs we see in Washington.  According to Ian, who was in the yard shortly afterwards, it is a shield bug.  In all my years in the UK, I had never heard of or seen one of these.  Now I have.

Butterfly on the Lavender

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While playing with the macro lens, I have spent plenty of time watching the insects in the back yard as they feed on the flowers.  The butterflies are quite fascinating as they have a proboscis that they curl up when they are not using and then extend to extract the nectar from the flowers.  As I was observing them at work, it occurred to me that the stills didn’t really give a good way of seeing what they are doing.  Instead, I switched to video and filmed them as they fed on our lavender bushes.  Here is some video of them busily getting fed!

https://youtu.be/OpzZAb30sZs

Beetle on the Acer

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Walking through the backyard, I noticed a colorful looking beetle on one of the branches of our Japanese maple.  Did I shoo it off?  Of course not.  I ran to get the camera instead.  The bug flipped around the branch as I returned and was showing its underside instead which was not what I wanted.  I got a shot or two just in case and then waited to see if it would turn over again.  Thankfully, it did and I was able to get something closer to the shot that I had originally envisaged.

Wasp Hunting Grilled Chicken

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I was listening to an episode of The Infinite Monkey Cage that was discussing wasps versus bees.  As part of the conversation, one of the contributors mentioned that wasps like sweet things early in the season when they are feeding their young but, later in the year, they are only feeding themselves and they want protein (or the other way around if I have remembered incorrectly). I didn’t know anything about this before but then, shortly afterwards, we were sitting out on the deck after dinner and a wasp landed on a plate and then flew off with a chunk of chicken.  This chunk was almost as big as it was.

A week later, we were back out on the deck and, with dinner done, a wasp came back to check out the leftovers.  This time I was ready with my phone.  Sure enough, it landed on my plate, checked out a piece of corn and then homed in on some chicken.  A few bites later, it had extracted its meal and got airborne and away.  I had my video proof, so I was happy.  It came back for a second piece a little while later, so I guess it was storing food for later.