On to the next flower

I just got the RF 100-400 and RF 1.4x so wanted to see how it worked with my favorite subjects. It was a cool day and flowers were not at their best. She was just taking off. Usually after the bee is done digging into the flower and walking around looking lost, they fly off.

Specific Feedback Requested

I was not sure if the upper left area should be dimmed down or not. I did darken the overall background a little so maybe it is ok.

Technical Details

R6m2 RF 100-400 w/1.4x 560mm 1/1250 f/16 ISO 2000. Was about 4 feet away from her. HH. Cropped. 2:3

2 Likes

Dean, congratulations on your new lens and teleconverter. I haven’t bought any RF lenses yet. No more than I get out to shoot, I probably should have waited on getting the R5. I’m finding the old EF lenses are working pretty well so far, so will probably hold off.

A very nice look at this bee and flower. I think if you tried to darken the white anymore than you already have you will probably end up with a gray flower in the BG. I don’t think it distracts that much, and the light colors behind the bee helps her to stand out, in my opinion. I like it as presented. Nice shot. So glad that the bees are posing for you, and you even have flowers in bloom.

Thank you for the feedback, @Shirley_Freeman. I see exactly what you mean about the the gray and I agree. I use curves in photoshop and change the blending mode to Lum so the color doesn’t change. However sometimes it makes it more gray. I keep all the layers in PS so I think I need to fix that.

The EF lenses and adapter work as well as the RF lenses. I trip over my dog a few years ago on the sidewalk and my right shoulder is starting to give me problems. Going from a 5lbs lens setup with the ef 100-400 extender adapter to just under 2lbs rf 100-400 w 1.4 really helps.

Oh yeah. I didn’t realize it was that much difference in the weight. I can tell a difference in the R5 over the 5D Mk IV.

Lovely detail in the flower and the bee, Dean. Looks like you are having great success with your new new lens and converter. I’m looking forward to more of your shots.

Dean, the bee in action looks great, nicely sharp. Since you’ve already got grey in the background, greying that bit in the upper right may look fine. You would need to make the bit under the bee’s legs similarly grey. This looks good as presented.