Just outside of Bend, OR I hiked up Bessie Butte trail in July. It has grand views of the mountains and small ones, like this little bee amazingly eking a living out of these almost dried out flowers in the High Desert sun.
Anything
Is this a composite: No
Nikon D3400
ISO 100
130mm
f/8
1/800
Crop, adjusted shadows, highlights and sharpen
Bees are irresistible, aren’t they? I spend a good deal of time chasing images of them, too. I think this shot suffers from the same issues as the bird in the rain does. The subject is too small in the frame and it isn’t quite sharp. Noise isn’t the problem here, but there are a lot of elements competing for attention. The stick below the bee is too light and distracts. There needs to be more contrast and either a big crop or move in closer. Then focus is going to be the problem. She isn’t tack sharp. Sorry, but there it is. Keep trying though. You should see my early bee photos. Buzz and blur!
Bee’s are great fun and very challenging to photograph. You need special lenses to get good close-up photos of small critters like this. (Although it is possible to take more environmental shots with any lens.) In this case, getting the bee on just that arching flower stalk would make a nice view. Changing your position would eliminate that bright stick that’s below the bee.
@Mark_Seaver Hi Mark, thank you, when you wrote this I realized that I shouldn’t have even put this in the close-up category. I cropped it considerably, so it’s really not a closeup, this is the original size and from the trail this was my best view of the bee…
Vanessa, I’m so glad you were able to take a hike in Oregon with your camera. That is on my bucket list. I have never been to Oregon. I appreciate the fact that you stayed on the trail rather than get off to get the shot. @Mark_Seaver mentioned equipment. He is right, in a situation like this, you probably could have used your 300 mm just to bring the bee in closer, since getting closer to the bee wasn’t an option. I is amazing that bees get get anything substantial out of what looks to be a pretty well gone flower. I think the first image that you submitted works okay in macro. I’m not sure where else you would put it.
@Shirley_Freeman Hi Shirley, I don’t know what I was thinking, there were a lot of bees among different kinds of flowers so I was trying to get some closer to the trail and I think when I saw this one I was just trying to capture it and then it was gone by the time I twisted my lens out again! I live about 4 hours from here now, so maybe will be able to go back. I will post some other photos from it that might be better… I hope! 
Vanessa, I have done the very same thing, by getting excited about the subject and wanted to get the shot before it leaves, forget that I am not zoomed out as far as I can be with my lens. There will be more bees, and hopefully you will also have a chance to go back to that trail. Wishing you the best on your next hike.
@Shirley_Freeman Thanks, Shirley! I’m glad to know I’m not alone in the excitement part of things! When it comes to a bird or animal I always have to suppress a squeal of excitement so I don’t scare them! So I think just clicking the camera like crazy helps to channel my verbal excitement into that but then I’m not thinking deliberately enough about the scene or setting and how I need to position myself! I’m just going for focus on the subject! Hopefully I can master more control over time!
