Looking straight up inside the flower, I took this shot of a honeybee hanging on to the clapper of a Korean bellflower (Campanula sp.). I thought back in 2011 when I took the shot that it could be pollinating the flower at this moment. What do you think?
Feedback Requests
Taken in the dark days before Lightroom, Topaz etc. I think I had Elements then. Is it still acceptable?
Pertinent Technical Details
D90 + 50mmf1.8 1/400 ISO 200
Brightened and sharpened the bee a little today with LR adjustment brush.
I absolutely love this photo Mike. The way the entirety of the flower frames the bee, and how the bee’s body nearly encircles the clapper is so impressive. A really terrific image well captured.
Completely wonderful and different! It stands up very well against newer equipment and software.
I wonder about removing (or cropping) the stem on the left, or lowering its saturation. It’s a bit of an eye magnet and the bee deserves all the attention.
Great capture! I agree with all previous comments. This seems like a great example of 'it’s not the equipment, it is the photographer that makes the image"! The focus point on the bee really makes what could have been a very busy capture a very simple and beautiful image.
The D90 was a beast of a camera and many outstanding photos were made by those who know how to use the camera. And this is no exception–fine comp and yes, there’s pollination going on there. Well done…Jim
Mike: I like this and might be tempted to crop in tighter and maybe even vignette the corners to give the bee even more prominence. Regardless of your gear and/or software this turned out really well. Bravo. >=))>
Mike, the reworked version is more than acceptable, it’s fabulous. I really like the tonal transitions, which lead the eye right to the bee. Great capture.
Mike, finding a bee “wrapped” around the flower’s pistil is an occasional, fun find. It’s especially great how the scattered pollen on the bee coordinates with the spots in the flower.
