POST YOUR BEE SHOTS (any non-butterfly all pollinators are welcome - wasps, etc.)

From the yard..

Technique: I injected artificial nectar into a Lavender flower and when the honeybee started feeding on it I grabbed onto the stem of the lavender flower with my left hand, and then rested the lens on that same hand to help keep the scene steady. Then we played a game where I'd frame and compose the scene only for her to move at the last second

Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 200 with highlight tone priority) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (over 2x) + a diffused MT-24EX (both flash heads on the Canon flash mount, E-TTL metering with -1 1/3 FEC, second curtain sync). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. Image taken in 2016 but I'm just now getting around to processing it.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2h1A​2zj

Lovely shot - are you using agave for the feed?

Macroramphosis wrote in post #18913121
Lovely shot - are you using agave for the feed?

I think at that time I was using butterfly nectar and white sugar to make a syrup. These days I just use Agave nectar. I like the look on the pharmacist's face when I ask her for a .8 to 1mm needle

This male Leaf Cutter Bee (Megachile sp) was only in my Lavender for a few days, so I tried to get a lot of different compositions.

Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 100) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (over 3x) + a diffused MT-26EX-RT with a Kaiser adjustable flash shoe on the "A" head (the fill for this shot), E-TTL metering, -1/3 FEC, second curtain sync). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. I'm holding on to the Lavender stem with my left hand, and resting the lens on that same hand to keep the scene steady.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2h2p​ggV

Cool weather and partly cloudy skies create a stop and go environment for most solitary bees. This European Wool Carder Bee was semi-active so I was able to get a shot without its mandibles clamped onto a plant stem. Notice the red "thread". This species builds its nests out of plant fibers, so odds are this is a female.

Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 100) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (over 3x) + a diffused MT-26EX-RT with a Kaiser adjustable flash shoe on the "A" head (the key), E-TTL metering, +1/3 FEC, second curtain sync). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2h36​N4B

Pretty much perfect conditions to find a lethargic solitary bee. It was sunny in the early afternoon, but the temperature dropped and it rained. So this male Red Mason Bee's metabolism tanked and I was able to get some photos.

Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 200 due to Highlight Tone Priority) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (around 3x) + a diffused MT-26EX-RT with a Keiser adjustable flash shoe on the "A" head (the key), E-TTL metering, -1/3 FEC, second curtain sync). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2h3K​T6P

Lester Wareham wrote in post #18914642

Beautiful shots!

This Sweat Bee (L. leucozonium) was camping in my Lavender for a few days.

Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 100) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (over 2x) + a diffused MT-26EX-RT (E-TTL metering, -1/3 FEC, second curtain sync). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held. I'm holding on to the stem of the Lavender with my left hand, and resting the lens on that same hand to keep the scene steady.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/2h4i​KAL

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II
1/2000sec, f/5.6, iso 640