I used my 180 Macro and 90D on this one. I am pretty sure I was not 1:1 but these bees don’t stick around a poppy very long. I was wondering if a crop from the right would be idea here. The bee and center of the flower came out well I think. This FOV is uncropped. The pollen is all over her.
1/800 F/18 iso 1000. The noise is pretty good even at 1000. Make I should stay this high on these subjects.
Thoughts welcome
Dean; I think this is a gorgeous photo. I love how the color of the bee and the flower compliment each other so well. Think “mother nature” already saw to that. Thank you for inspiring me to work harder on my own photos.
Very nice, Dean. Love the colors and wonderful details in both the flower and the bee. Good question on composition in this one. I would hate to lose any of the flower, myself, so hesitate to crop from the right to off center the bee. I kind of think maybe leave it as is, the shape of the flower seems to be framing him nicely, and centered isn’t bothering me. Rules are made to be broken, as they say. See what others have to say. Great shot. 
Thanks for the comments @Shirley_Freeman and @linda_mellor. That helps a lot.
I agree with both @linda_mellor & @Shirley_Freeman…I think this looks great. I’d be tempted to burn down the brighter reflection in the upper R. corner of the petals. I’d also be tempted to lift the shadows under the bee and stamens. These are minor and more a representation of my tastes than anything else. Great capture! Congratulations! I’ve yet to get a bee.
Dean, this looks great as presented. Although centered subjects are often frowned upon, there are times when centering the subject is the right thing to do as it gives a very strong presence to the subject. I think centering works well here because the close color match between the bee and the flower tends to hide the bee. If you had the edge of the petal on the left showing completely on the left with a bit of space, then I could see moving the bee away from center to the right. The details in the stamen and pistil look great also.
Hi Dean,
Love the colors in this image as the flower is complimentary to the bee and pollen sack. I think the composition is fine here (actually IMO either this or a slight crop from right would be fine). Well done.
Dean: The centered comp works for me and I love the detail you got on the bee. My first impression was that the image was a touch underexposed. I brought up the midtone/shadow values a bit and just find it a bit more pleasing with a touch more pop. One of your best so far IMO. >=))>
Thanks @Jim_McGovern, @Mark_Seaver, @Allen_Sparks, and @Bill_Fach. Some of the adjustments Bill made are helpful as well as your comments. Thank you.
