Nature Photography: Image of the Week #6

Back Story:

I am not a nature photographer.  Let me point that out straight away.  I am a photographer – I like to photograph people and sports.  I do like to play with different lenses and camera settings though and this image is a result of a little playing about in the garden.  The photograph was actually taken almost three years ago on the 25th July 2009 in our back garden.  Its amazing to think my daughter Rosa was barely a month old then and our new son Albie was still three years in the making.

I’d primarily purchased the Sigma macro lens to use as a portrait lens (its great for that, and use it in the studio a lot).  I remember sitting in a deck chair, beer in hand wondering what I could photograph in our garden.  It seemed at the time we were being infested with bees and wasps so I thought I would try a bit of close up photography, using a bee as the subject.  The image I captured pleased me, mostly because I had pre set and pre-focused the camera and was holding the camera down by my knees to take the photo.

Technical Details:

Camera: Canon 5D Mark II
Shutter: 1/2000th Second
Aperture: f/2.8
ISO: 100
Lens: Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro
Flash: Did not fire
Focal Length: 105mm

Processing:

As mention previously, I had to pre-focus on the tip of the flower head whilst taking this shot.  The flowers were only a couple of inches off the ground so I was hunched, and held the camera down at knee level and waited for the little critter to arrive.  The same bee had been buzzing around this flower most of the afternoon so I fully expected him to return.  Once the image was captured in Raw – I cleaned it a little in post processing.  I have removed some blemishes from the background (other bees) and also some leaves that were degrading the image on the left hand sided.  I wanted this image to scream “summer” so I kept it in colour (though added grain – of course) and increased the vibrancy and colour saturation of the greens and purples.  Finally a healthy amount of Unsharp Mask was added.

The Finished Photograph:

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Also, take a look at:

• Candid Moment – Why I love this picture
• Why I love this picture – Mates
• Why I love this picture – Real Life Weddings
• Why I love this picture – The Laughter
• Candid Photography: Image of the Week #22

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