William Blackford
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In Flight
- Thread starter William Blackford
- Start date
Cem_Usakligil
Well-known member
Ken Tanaka
pro member
More like Bee Butt.
William Blackford
New member
Thank you Cem and Tanaka. Funny that Ken, I definitely thought of calling it Bee Butt. Would have made a much better title.
Winston Mitchell
Member
Amazing capture. Having attempted this many times (no real success), I can appreciate the difficulty.
William Blackford
New member
Thank you, Winston. Used a Nikon D700 with a manual focus 3.5 micro. In flight insects are quite impossible with AF. Using as small an aperture as possible but avoiding diffraction, (this lens has plenty depth of field which helps make it a classic) I was trying to focus while the bugger was gathering but with little success due to the finicky nature of its bud selection. It wouldn't sit still. Perhaps all the blossoms were nectar'd out for a bee of its size so it took off.
Now the sweat one can acquire from manual focusing moving insects, with a zero working distance lens, can burst upon the brow in thirty quick panicky seconds. So with all that intense work invested, my heart sank when I saw it zoom off. But thought and desperation were quick: I anticipated the focus with one quarter twist while choosing an intercepting angle then machine-gunned the shutter in a farewell cry of FU. Anger, skill and luck joined hands to give me the shot.
Now the sweat one can acquire from manual focusing moving insects, with a zero working distance lens, can burst upon the brow in thirty quick panicky seconds. So with all that intense work invested, my heart sank when I saw it zoom off. But thought and desperation were quick: I anticipated the focus with one quarter twist while choosing an intercepting angle then machine-gunned the shutter in a farewell cry of FU. Anger, skill and luck joined hands to give me the shot.
Winston Mitchell
Member
Thanks William. I suspected a liittle luck was involved. EXIF?
William Blackford
New member
Sorry it took so long to reply, but it wouldn't let me cut and paste the EXIF and all it said was 1/1000th shutter speed with an aperture of f1 (which is impossible) everything else was zero'd out except it said 'Flash Not Fired' and 'Camera: D700'. Nikons are very unfriendly with their EXIF's when you use old manual lenses
Duke Beattie
Member
Actually I have lots of bee butt shots.. seems like they are easier than front shots.. I can appreciate how tough these shots are. Here (not to high jack your post) is probably my best butt shot....
Make Sony
Model Cybershot
Flash Used Yes
Focal Length 30.6 mm with a Nikon CU 6t lens
Exposure Time 1/1000 sec
Aperture f/8
ISO Equivalent 100
If you really get into this, you will get lots of strange looks and stupid questions about why you are sitting in the middle of a flower patch. I don't have the Sony 770 anymore, but being able to use a flash at 1000th was pretty useful..
Make Sony
Model Cybershot
Flash Used Yes
Focal Length 30.6 mm with a Nikon CU 6t lens
Exposure Time 1/1000 sec
Aperture f/8
ISO Equivalent 100
If you really get into this, you will get lots of strange looks and stupid questions about why you are sitting in the middle of a flower patch. I don't have the Sony 770 anymore, but being able to use a flash at 1000th was pretty useful..
William Blackford
New member
Cybershot Bee Bottom
Dear Duke:
An very good shot considering your camera. I stay away from flashes in macro mainly because I am not good enough to make it look like one was not used. As far as strange looks and stupid question go, the Nikon I use is quite large enough to answer any inquiry of why I might be in a flower patch. Indeed most people have post-coital like smiles when they see me. They seem to think it cute that I take it so seriously. Thanks for stopping by, sorry for the lateness of my reply. Working late hours and such.
Dear Duke:
An very good shot considering your camera. I stay away from flashes in macro mainly because I am not good enough to make it look like one was not used. As far as strange looks and stupid question go, the Nikon I use is quite large enough to answer any inquiry of why I might be in a flower patch. Indeed most people have post-coital like smiles when they see me. They seem to think it cute that I take it so seriously. Thanks for stopping by, sorry for the lateness of my reply. Working late hours and such.