Feeling pinched for time in a hectic schedule, yet still feeling the urge to get out and shoot, I found myself just outside the house in the waning sunlight. At first I was discouraged because I had so little daylight left, but it led to a greater appreciation of all of my surroundings. Whoever said that a person can find all the entertainment they need in their own backyard had it exactly right-we just have to open our eyes and focus on greater detail!
On this day, I heard a faint buzzing sound I found to be a large bumblebee going from bloom to bloom...my interest was aroused!
The bumblebee in question was in a patch of wildflowers, busily visiting each one for varying lengths of time. Since I was looking for a challenge, I broke out my camera and hunkered down and slowly moved the camera closer until the lens was within two inches...I depressed the shutter release button to autofocus (looking from a foot or two away to see where the lens focused on), and released the shutter-at the same moment the bumblebee decided it wanted to check out another flower which happened to be positioned right between my legs! It sent me scurrying backwards in a hurry, but I recovered quickly, catching my balance while aiming the lens and focusing again...
Out of about 150 shots in that series, I got 2 usable images, and considered myself lucky. But I did learn a few things from the experience of shooting bees, which I am happy to share!
- Shoot early or late in the day. Bees tend to get mean in hotter temperatures of mid day.
- Focus on everything! Just because you have your lens trained on one bee doesn't mean there are no more in the flower patch!
- Keep yourself calm! Bees can sense your fear and will react to it.
- Be wary of the bee's reaction to the camera-some bees react to the electric field in different ways.
- Use your head! If you are allergic to bees, don't try this at home! If you aren't allergic to bee stings, you still need to be prepared for the potential sting.
I rarely lack for photo subjects outdoors-I know all I need do is look closer at the details of my surroundings. Next, maybe I will shoot for ants! Happy (and safe!) shooting!
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