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Canon DSLR Challenge | all galleries >> CSLR Challenge 80: Bokeh (Host: Sharon Lips) >> Eligible > Hit The Road Jack!
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8-NOVEMBER-2006 Michael Shealy

Hit The Road Jack!

Black Forest, CO

Every year all male bees are ejected from the hive in the fall months. By the time winter comes they have all been tossed out to freeze to death. Only the female workers and the queen survive thru the winter. The female is the smaller with the stripes. The male (drone) is the larger with the blunt abdomen; the drone doesn't have a stinger.
This was taken with the camera set up remotely focused and stationary. I focused in front of the beehive and actuated the shutter when a bee came into range, without looking thru the viewfinder, hoping for the best. I took around 200 shots and got five really nice pix of the bees flying. Those bees really move in and out quickly! This one, with the two having their little 'conversation', was the best.
I was hoping for a better bokeh, but, oh well.


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Canon DSLR Challenge13-Nov-2006 05:04
Nice catch! The colours and patterns are quite interesting. ~kt
elips13-Nov-2006 00:49
A fabulous macro but what really gets to me are the colors! The blue is a particularly lovely shade. Considering how close-up this is it makes sense to me that the bokeh would be on the large side and I think what you have is perfectly in keeping with the scale of the shot. Fascinating to hear how you went about this, thanks for sharing! ~Sharon
Canon DSLR Challenge11-Nov-2006 05:38
An unusual and great capture. Did not know about this fact. Its worth all the efforts you put into it. -Cat
Canon DSLR Challenge10-Nov-2006 23:11
Victor - Thanks for the comment. Yes, the male of the insect species is often the expendable one, sperm being their only value. In this case, I'm speaking principally (and this pic is) of the honey bee, having no particular knowledge of the 20,000 or so, other varieties of bees, many of whom are solitary in nature.
As for the pic itself, sorry to disappoint. I was thrilled to capture the little drama that was unfolding. The best focus could well be in front of them. He's bordering on OOF, his head and antennae being completely so. She's pretty sharp, tho. Look at her nearest antennae. She's also missing a leg segment that is very clearly seen (only the older girls do this kind of work). There also may be a smidge of motion blur there. I started using an aperture of f2.8 w/very fast shutter speeds and shot a series, getting only one kind of drab image, in focus. I went to the slower shutter and f4 to try for a broader DOF and got this one, having more of a story to it. Thanks again, -mikey
Canon DSLR Challenge10-Nov-2006 22:17
I love bees, too. You've caught a situation I was unaware of. I'll have to read up on it.

I've had my share of communicating with bees, most recently with the male carpenter bee I entered a few challenges back. He was busy guarding his (my) lemon tree from intruders. I was shooting him with my 300mm lens. We were both very aware of each other, and mostly gave each other his space. However, a couple of times, he zoomed right over to me, about 6 inches from my face and stared me straight into the eyes for a couple seconds before going back to his precious tree.

In the 80's I tried training honeybees to help me with polination tasks in my bluebonnet hybridization project. The problem was that the bees were not attracted at all to the bluebonnets I wanted them to visit. I decided to bribe them with sugar water. It worked. The problem was that their behavior is completely different when collecting the sugarwater than for collecting the pollen. And it was the pollen I wanted them to collect. I wound up having to do all the pollination myself, with a paintbrush.

As to the picture itself. I like the bokeh. I'm disappointed with the lack of detail, though. Were the bees out of focus? Looks to me like maybe best focus was in front of the bees.

-- Victor
Canon DSLR Challenge10-Nov-2006 19:09
Thanks for the nice comment, Bob. I must admit I'm taken by bees. I love 'em. They really aren't anything to be afraid of. They're quite docile creatures (except Africans). If people in general weren't afraid, tho, they'd have been wiped out by the human lust for sweets, long ago. I can believe your dad could communicate with them, they do have inherent intelligence, esp. when it comes to food/honey/sugar. Their social order is quite complex, as well, as partially illustrated by this picture. Warm fuzzies, -mikey
Canon DSLR Challenge09-Nov-2006 09:16
Great shot Michael, I can commiserate with you trying to capture 'that shot'. Birds/bees etc. (especially those Formulae 1... Dragon Flies...) takes super human reflexes and spot-on AF from camera and lens. Brings back memories, my dad passionately followed the life of his bees and could actually communicate with them. They would 'buzz' him and tell him when their 'sugar syrup' had run out and wanted more. Fascinating creatures. Anyway, I like it... Bokeh yes or Bokeh no! ~ regards Bob