Or something. A couple of out of focus guests in this one. This photo is so strange. From the focus to the couple of extra critters in it to the rock itself. Lots going on and all a little beyond what I’d imagine were I to imagine a bee picture. Nature does what it does. And so does the camera. And so do I.
Category: Bumblebee
Another Iconic Bumble
This one is a Hunt’s Bumblebee and its’ just fantastic. Great perspective and a great look at her face and tongue. Kind of fun to get shots like this now and then. Flower looks great, too.
And up the Larkspur
Larkspurs can look kind of weedy sometimes. But I really like them. Especially when they’re dense. And this is a really good shot of them and the bumble – that top blossom is especially neat looking. The bumbles love them but they’re kind of hard to shoot on them because the bumbles are heavy enough to pull the stalk down some. Add a bit of a breeze to that – your inherently shaky photographer – and it gets a little rough finding that sharp focus. This one worked well, though. And don’t forget to notice the pollen baskets on either side of her.
Dark Yellow and Golden Bumble
Seems like the last few have had suspect light. And we’ll continue the streak today. This one was shot toward the end of August right at the crack of noon. The shadows on the flower indicate that it was sunny…not sure I understand the weirdness of the light. But the bee is great. Maybe this one is due for editing by someone more skilled than I. I like it, though. And she’s a gorgeous bee.
Shot at the Ogden Botanical Garden.
Workin’ the Salvia Azura
Another one with less than great light, but the plant is fantastic. And the bumble ain’t bad either. One thing I like about this plant is the blue blue blue of it. So few are this blue – usually purple sneaks in . You saw the azura in the name, right?
The other thing about this salvia is that it’s just so tall. Probably five feet at least. And each stalk comes from the ground…and it’s usually a little breezy here (or worse). So getting a sharp grab on this one is pretty rare for me. This is a good one.
Another on the Penstemmon
I’ve mentioned this before, but most of the in-flight shots that happen to be really near a flower aren’t bees approaching, but bees coming out of the flower (as is the case here). So neat that they fly backward. But full disclosure here: whenever I look at those shots, I always half-think (even though I know better) that they’re flying toward the flower. Wonder why that is.
Golden Bumble Flying – Agastache
A good August Look. This particular agastache looks kind of ratty sometimes, but the bees are always on and around it. And that counts for something. A good grab of a beautiful be looking for lunch. Busy background…but that’s reality.
Territorial Leafcutter
I used to post the pics first and then the narrative. I think I’ll go back to that. Don’t know why I changed it. So…narrative under the pic on this one.
The bumble was minding her own business there on the cone flower. That blurry leafcutter decided to knock her off. Didn’t even move her. When they hit each other or honeybees, normally the one who got hit flies off. Not the case with the big bumbles. They just seem to shrug it off and keep going. Kind of a messy shot, but it’s pretty dynamic. Wish it were about 1/10th of a second later, though. Just before impact.
Twofer in the Lavender
This was kind of interesting. Twisted around a good bit to see if I could get both faces in the focal plane. The butterfly is admittedly a bit behind, but both tongues seem to be in the right spot. Kind of a neat shot in the drizzle this afternoon.
Been Waiting a While…Lavender
Wasn’t able to look for bees the past couple of days (art festival interfered), but today one lavender had a couple of bees. Just starting to open. Here’s a great Hunt’s bumble. Check out that orange pollen – huge chunk of it. Absolutely didn’t come from the lavender and I’m really curious about it. Happy lavender day.
