Don't Touch!

You knew I would feel like touching, Kim.... !

 

The clarity is amazing... those thin petals look like crumbled paper... Wonderful capture!!!

 

Now the question is.... Is it a good idea to use diffuser for this kind of light situation?

Brad, I'm not sure of your question - this was natural sunlight. Do you mean I should have used a diffuser??

No, Kim....the question was the one directed to myself.... and..... What I meant was THERE IS NO ABSOLUTE RULE. While diffused light is believed to provide better photographic conditions, sometimes direct sunlight makes more interesting pictures.... like the one here.

Ah...okay. I wasn't quite sure what you meant. Thanks for clarifying!

Wonderful detail! He looks as though he's watching you very carefully! Guarding his find! Perfect DOF, terrific composition. The detail of both the flower and the bee are amazing. I forget just how wonderful that 28-105mm lens really is. Nice job!

All is perfect!

Wow! Great detail! The light here looks perfect to me - I would not change anything. The sharpness of the shadows adds a lot to the atmosphere of direct sunlight and the shadows retain detail. Was the shot handheld or tripod?

I have to disagree with the above posters, Kim. The harsh lighting detracts, IMHO. Also, the out-of-focus leading edge of the flower doesn't have a pleasing out-of-focus'ness, but an abrupt one -- I do understand the DOF limitations of macro. A better angle and a healthier flower would have helped this shot a lot.

 

The wasp itself looks great -- transparent and luminous!

Very nice Picture Kim.

 

DK.

Colin, this was handheld. I was actually shooting the flower when the yellowjacket landed on it. Of course, I had to take the opportunity and there was no time to do anything differently than I did here. In a perfect world, this would have been a perfect flower, with perfect lighting. Thanks for the comments, everyone.

Very nice Kim...super sharp and interesting comp.

I like this image very much,Kim. The composition and light are great.

Thanks, guys.

Everything you photograph is pure perfection. I especially like the Wasp. His clarity is amazing. They must grow these guys real big in South Texas.

 

When I look at his size compared to that of the flower, in proportion thereof, forget don't touch. You better off saying...RUN FOR COVER!!!!

That's lovely Kim, even if it is a wasp...more the flower though. :))) It is one of my favorites, I keep forgetting the name, do you know?

Amelie, it's some kind of white poppy that grows wild down here. It has prickles on it, though, so you can't pick them. That's why the title actually goes for both the flower and the wasp. Howard, these ARE darn big! I got stung once a few years ago and it felt like a cigarette burn. We also have red, and black wasps, too, but these yellowjackets are the most aggressive.

I echo all the others, I realy like that one. the lighted and shadowed parts of the flower, and the wasp's on it, as well as the yellow stamens.very good DOF. Taken into account that you needed to work fast, the result is very good. Pnina

Thanks, Pnina. Set up shots are so much easier, but it seems most of the shots I get, are "take it or miss it" photo ops.

Lighting works or not?

Exposure is great here. Staying away from it is much better than don't touch. Wasp are amazingly defensive creatures. Reminds me of the time three of us PN members (Bilal, Amar and I) was stung on the scalp at Cameron Highlands in Malaysia. And we didn't even disturb it. After driving about a 100 meters we came out and they followed and stung us again. Whew!

Alec, the only time I've been stung here was by a yellowjacket and it felt like a cigarette burn!

I definately won't touch. Ha! I love these wild poppies. You must be from Tx. We have these everywhere! Your shot is great. The DOF is excellent. The lighting is really good. I love to shoot these flowers too. They remind me of crumpled paper. Yours has that effect. Great job!