Today was at the desert museum on a warmer day but a little breezy. I got some distance away from my subjects with a telephoto lens so experiment with DOF a bit.
Type of Critique Requested
Aesthetic: Feedback on the overall visual appeal of the image, including its color, lighting, cropping, and composition.
Technical: Feedback on the technical aspects of the image, such as exposure, color, focus and reproduction of colors and details, post-processing, and print quality.
Specific Feedback and Self-Critique
feedback welcome
Technical Details
R7 RF 100-400 w/1.4x extender. ISO 1600 f/16 1/500
You’re getting some good bee shots, Dean. I find them real tricky. I love the colours here. I’d prefer a little more blur in the background, so think a more open aperture would have been better to suit my personal taste. The distant bloom draws my eye away from the bee a bit. Lucky you to be finding these at this time of the year!
Thanks for the feedback, @Mike_Friel. The wind was not my friend today. There were a lot of flowers starting up so I may try this again. A big problem with bees or any flying insects is the sunlight and wings as seen here. I am going to try a wider opening. With this combo f/11 is wide open so maybe a third of a stop and better positioning will help. I did like the color of the flower with the bee.
Dean, I love it that you keep experimenting with different lenses, etc. I am learning from you as you get out to shoot and share your experiences. Thank you for that.
I like that flower in the BG, but I agree with @Mike_Friel that it needs to be more oof. I wonder if you could blur it some in LR or whatever software you use? It reminds me of the article that @Kris_Smith wrote about shooting flowers, and having the oof flower that mimics the one you are shooting. Anyway, you captured wonderful details in the bee and the flower he is on. I hope you do get another chance though. Maybe you can find a bee on a flower like this where the other flowers are a bit further away from the one you are shooting. Wish you the best and have fun!
It is tricky business trying to line up the bees, the sun reflections and the background, Dean, but you have done a wonderful job here. I don’t know about you, but if I ever get two out of the three parameters lined up, I’m thrilled and will take the shot! The colors are enviously beautiful and the detail, for me, in the bees works here with the feel of the shot. Nicely seen.
