I was working on capturing some interesting flower photos and we had Sea Holly planted on our property. This bee found the flower attractive and gave me a decent pose. I really like the juxtaposition of the sharp edged holly leaves against the soft bee. I ended up bumping the ISO up to help maintain a good DOF and shutter speed in case the bee was moving slightly.
Wow, Terrance, I think I see your reflection in the bee’s eye! Wonderful details in the bee, for sure. I wish there was a bit more room at the top to include the rest of the Sea Holly, and the bee’s wing not be as close to the edge. Not sure if you cropped any of that area or not. I think if it was my image, I might would try to darken the portion of flower that is coming into the bottom left corner, and maybe even some on the flower that the bee is on, especially the leaves. I do love the back/side lighting. Great capture with lots of details where needed. That is a fine lens you have. I have enjoyed mine now for 5 or 6 years. When I got it, I really began to enjoy macro.
Terrance: Welcome to NPN in general and to the Macro section in particular. Excellent detail where it counts. A touch more room at top would be nice but this works great for me as is. Great to have you aboard and looking forward to more of your work and comments on other’s images. >=))>
thanks for the welcome and feedback. I did not crop any of the flower in this shot but as I look back I did get a number of shots with more flower but the bee was not optimal. As I said, I’ve not done a lot of macro, with more emphasis on landscape images, but am looking for more opportunities. I love the sharpness of this lens.
Terrance, I wouldn’t worry about the top of this image. I sure would trade off for less sharpness in the bee. It is a great shot as is. It is a very sharp lens, and I think you will enjoy it and macro. I love being able to see details in small stuff in nature that you didn’t even realize was there because with just our eyes we can’t see the hairs on an insect, or the reflection in a bee’s eye. I think you have started out very well in macro. Wish I could say I came away with a shot like this when I first started in macro! Looking forward to seeing more of your work.
Terrance, the roundness (since in a photo, saying softness would like be misinterpreted… 
) of the bee against the spikes of the sea holly works very well. I too would like to have the top of the flower in the frame.
Welcome, Terrance. I’m going to join the top of the flower crowd, but, wow! Excellent image as presented!
thanks for all the great comments. I went back through my other shots where there was more room at the top but unfortunately the bee was not cooperating as a model. This to me was the best I captured of the bee. But definitely something to remember for the future.