A new bee…every day
It’s been almost two weeks since I picked up a camera for bees. Got some wild horses and wild burros, but no bees. Traveling too much. So yesterday, when I picked up the camera for a few minutes, something seemed off – a little foreign, even. Wasn’t feeling it.
Didn’t last, however, and seemed nice to slip back into the familiar. I think I got some nice late summer/early shots. Those asters are going wild right now. Here’s one. I like it.
First shot of the garden asters this year. Twilight so there’s some strange light on it. Kind of have a love/hate with the asters. When they start to bloom, the clock is ticking on the summer. But they go and go and go and go. And the bees love them. And I’ve gotten some remarkable shots on them. Here’s the first of what will likely be many…
Last weekend I was at an art festival in Silverthorne, Colorado. On the first day of the festival, I nipped out behind some aspens about 20 yards from my booth to sate a nicotine craving – when I noticed some native bees on wildflowers. So…being who I am, I went and got a camera and shot for a bit. And came up with this one. That night, I printed a number of copies and then matted those prints.
The shot was well-received by those who attended the show. And it’s a really nice one. And one of the few on this site that’s not from our gardens here. Native Colorado bee on a tiny, dime-sized wild aster. Fun shot!
An an aster. Usually the backgrounds aren’t so severe…even sere-looking. Strange. Don’t remember what that is. House, maybe, but wrong color. Anyway…enjoy!
Posting early in advance of attending the Arts Festival in St. George, Utah. It’s on Friday and Saturday of this week. Really hope to see and meet some of you there! I’ve got a bunch of neat stuff including the bees that you’re familiar with as well as some wild mustangs, wildlife from a trip to Yellowstone, and a bunch of remarkable birds that I photographed this winter. Stop by if you can.
When I look at the number of bees I’ve shot over the years, seems like I’m heaviest in September. Almost like the bees then…loading up for winter. And both they and I are all over the asters. The difference is they’re right…and I seem to be trying to make up for not shooting as much in May, for example. Introspection can be rough.
Nice face, wing, eyes, ocelli (those three bumps on her head between her eyes are actually eyes – total of five), pollen basket, etc. But the thing that drew me to this pic, odd as it may be, was the chewed-up iris leaf there in the upper left. Mostly just because it’s so typical of a summer day in the garden. Those grasshoppers are voracious…and pretty indiscriminate. Good bee today. Again, click on the pic – it will embiggen (yeah, that’s in the dictionary now) itself. Pretty cool. Now to go back thru the site…
I probably should have been keeping my eye out for a stunner for today. In celebration. Maybe something red. Or bees doing something cute so that I could anthropomorphize a bit. Not feeling it. Back to my cynic’s saw: Live a life that doesn’t require holidays. Give. Remember. Love. Thank.
/end sermon
This one’s a little dark on the bee, but I really like the in-flight shots. Like how the wing’s caught by the camera. And the bee right there on the blossom itself. You can see some detail in the far wing, but it’s also obviously working. Not perfect, but a fun shot for sure.
Fun shot of a hoverfly. Really a good pollinator on the right flowers. Not quite as elegant as the honeybee, but it has its place. Those eyes, though…
Great pollen on the hair of yer eye. Also a filling pollen basket. Just a workman-like shot of a pretty bee doing her thing. On a really nice blossom. That’s what it’s about.
