John Belushi Lives On!

[b.d.bop]

EOS 5D / EF100f2.8 Macro @ f11, ISO 200 / MT24-EX twin flash / Gary Fong Puffer diffusers

Brutally candid C&C requested, please.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y28/b_d_bop/bumblebeedropshadow.jpg

[alliec]

I like it, good composition and light. There seems to be alot of colour noise in the background?

[racketman]

the title is lost on me and it seems a bit grainy but otherwise attractive image.

[GaryT]

Nice shot Mark.

[b.d.bop]

Thanks for piping in, guys.

At that low ISO, and starting out in RAW, I have absolutely no idea where I came by all that noise.

I did tweak it just a tad with FM's Intellisharpen after a few quick sliders in ACR. Converted from 16- to 8-bit, over to sRGB and added a drop shadow. I'm surprised myself.

This one worked out better in that regard:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y28/b_d_bop/bumblebee3.jpg

[LordV]

Good shots- interesting bee- looks like it's got a waistcoat on :)
Brian v.

[b.d.bop]

Try this as an improvement over my original...

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y28/b_d_bop/bumblebeedropshadowneatimage.jpg

[TheSonofDarwin]

Very nice image, and the second version is much improved in the noise department. However, there is still considerable noise for ISO 200. Is the area in the upper right behind the bee extremely dark or light in the original? After looking at the second version in comparison to the first I'd guess that there was a harsh shadow or exposure issue back there.

Other than that minor detail, the only compositional critique is the tip of a petal sitting in the upper left.

Otherwise, very great catch :D

[b.d.bop]

Very nice image, and the second version is much improved in the noise department. However, there is still considerable noise for ISO 200. Is the area in the upper right behind the bee extremely dark or light in the original? After looking at the second version in comparison to the first I'd guess that there was a harsh shadow or exposure issue back there.

Other than that minor detail, the only compositional critique is the tip of a petal sitting in the upper left.

Otherwise, very great catch :DYeah, I'm looking at the RAW image and it's very dark back there.
That petal or tip of a leaf was bright green - there was little I could do with it (or ay least that I knew how to do with it).
Any ideas?

[dpastern]

I like the shot, noise or not. Not sure how it connects to James [Belushi] though. 2nd attempt looks better noise wise, but the noise filter has done the plastic effect on the petals which doesn't look good...

Dave

[b.d.bop]

I like the shot, noise or not. Not sure how it connects to James [Belushi] though. 2nd attempt looks better noise wise, but the noise filter has done the plastic effect on the petals which doesn't look good...

DaveThat refers to the late John Belushi, Dave. He was a regular on Saturday Night Live and they used to do this bee skit - he'd dress up like a fat bumblebee or yellowjacket, flapping antennae and all - it was hilarious.

Following bees is almost as difficult as following ants. They're not exactly cooperative.
So I got a few of this particular bee off with the MT-24EX twin macro flash and the 5D, and it'll have to do for this try. The dark areas ended up producing some noise and I had to diddle with that and with the petal to tone it down, which I s'pose left it looking like plastic as you say.
I hope to improve with more practice.

[dpastern]

That refers to the late John Belushi, Dave. He was a regular on Saturday Night Live and they used to do this bee skit - he'd dress up like a fat bumblebee or yellowjacket, flapping antennae and all - it was hilarious.

Following bees is almost as difficult as following ants. They're not exactly cooperative.
So I got a few of this particular bee off with the MT-24EX twin macro flash and the 5D, and it'll have to do for this try. The dark areas ended up producing some noise and I had to diddle with that and with the petal to tone it down, which I s'pose left it looking like plastic as you say.
I hope to improve with more practice.

Ah yes, John, my bad! Never was a fan, so don't really know the skit, but it sounds funny.

And yes, Bees & Ants are hard to follow, which is why I generally don't bother ;)

Dave