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Archive 2016 · Beewolf Set

  
 
Dalantech
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Beewolf Set


My wife spotted what she thought was a colony of bees nesting in a triangular upraised median between two roads. An area about four square meters was riddled with holes, and it's hard to say just how many Beewolf nests there were -had to have been well over fifty. Every ten minutes or so I'd see a large female bring something back to the nest. At the time I didn't know what this critter was, or its hunting habits. But I quickly learned what they were carrying when one of them tried to get its prey into a hole but the honeybee was sideways and wouldn't fit. I spooked it when I got close enough to shoot it, so I camped out at the entrance waiting until I saw its antenna sticking up before framing and focusing where I thought it would be.

Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F16, 1/250, ISO 200 with highlight tone priority) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (over 1x) + a diffused MT-24EX (both flash heads on the Canon flash mount, E-TTL metering with -1 2/3 FEC). This is a single, uncropped, frame taken hand held.

Bee Wolf with Prey by John Kimbler, on Flickr

I noticed that the males were perched upside down on grass stalks -probably looking to mate. Since males will get territorial I decided to try my luck and bend the grass stalk over so that the wasp was horizontal and it worked. I took this set in the heat of the day and the critter didn't care that I was getting close. I shaded the subject so that I could use the flash to expose it, and freeze any motion, and natural light for the background. After the first frame I picked a grass stalk that a Beewolf was on and held it to the sky.

Tech Specs: Canon 80D (F11, 1/250, ISO 200 with highlight tone priority) + a Canon MP-E 65mm macro lens (over 1x to about 3x) + a diffused MT-24EX (both flash heads on the Canon flash mount, E-TTL metering with -1 2/3 FEC). These are single, uncropped, frames taken hand held.

Beewolf I by John Kimbler, on Flickr

Beewolf II by John Kimbler, on Flickr

Beewolf III by John Kimbler, on Flickr

On a side note: I was published in the July issue of Digital SLR Magazine.



Jun 26, 2016 at 02:28 AM
morris
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Beewolf Set


I'm fond of the next to the last John

Morris



Jun 26, 2016 at 08:09 AM
KCollett
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Beewolf Set


Neat. Always good to learn new things. Well done John.


Jun 26, 2016 at 11:04 AM
Dalantech
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Beewolf Set


Thanks Morris and Ken


Jun 26, 2016 at 11:35 AM
birdied
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Beewolf Set


Fascinating shots and information John.

Birdie



Jun 26, 2016 at 12:18 PM
e6filmuser
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Beewolf Set


John,

With single frames coming out like that, I have to wonder why you might bother with stacks.

I take that the crossroads is not an urban one.

Harold



Jun 26, 2016 at 01:06 PM
Dalantech
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Beewolf Set


Thanks Birdie and Harold

e6filmuser wrote:
John,

With single frames coming out like that, I have to wonder why you might bother with stacks.

I play with stacking from time to time, but always prefer the single frames. I just don't think that focus stacking fits in with my style of shooting.

e6filmuser wrote:
I take that the crossroads is not an urban one.


Actually it was right in front of a hospital, and the constant foot traffic may be the reason why I was able to get so close in the heat of the day.



Jun 26, 2016 at 01:44 PM
John Koerner
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Beewolf Set


morris wrote:
I'm fond of the next to the last John

Morris


+ 1

They are all good, interesting images ... but I agree, the 2nd to last is a truly great shot.



Jun 26, 2016 at 02:24 PM
John Koerner
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Beewolf Set


e6filmuser wrote:
With single frames coming out like that, I have to wonder why you might bother with stacks.


Funny you mention that, as I have been moving away from stacks lately myself.

They take a lotta time, a lotta effort, a lotta space (esp. with each .tiff file being about 210mb, it quickly adds up).

Further, while we all love the extra detail of stacks, there's a certain CGI-look the images get, often losing the artistic transition of bokeh, fore and aft, that single-images display.

Almost simultaneously, famed Peacock Spider photographer, Jurgen Otto, recently made a public announcement on his FB page (6/23) that he is moving away from stacks for these reasons as well.



Jun 26, 2016 at 02:31 PM
Dalantech
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Beewolf Set


Thanks John

John Koerner wrote:
...Further, while we all love the extra detail of stacks, there's a certain CGI-look the images get, often losing the artistic transition of bokeh, fore and aft, that single-images display....



I get a lot of feedback from the general public and from other photographers outside of the macro community and one of the things that comes up often is the perception that focus stacking isn't considered photography.



Jun 26, 2016 at 02:40 PM
CG_Photography
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Beewolf Set


excellent as always, no one does macro better!

I have to ask, since you hold the stem as well as the camera... How many times a week do one of these ferocious looking creatures give you bite/sting.



Jun 26, 2016 at 02:44 PM
John Koerner
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Beewolf Set


Dalantech wrote:
I get a lot of feedback from the general public and from other photographers outside of the macro community and one of the things that comes up often is the perception that focus stacking isn't considered photography.



It's photography, of course, but it's its own niche.

What it can lose is the artistic element and yet stacking has its own appeal and advantages.

With macro, of course, there are some times where you simply need to stack ... however, in many instances, with the proper f/stop, and light, a single images gives all the detail you need and (saves space on your drive!).

These images are a perfect example



Jun 26, 2016 at 02:44 PM
Dalantech
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Beewolf Set


John Koerner wrote:
It's photography, of course, but it's its own niche.

What it can lose is the artistic element and yet stacking has its own appeal and advantages.

With macro, of course, there are some times where you simply need to stack ... however, in many instances, with the proper f/stop, and light, a single images gives all the detail you need and (saves space on your drive!).

These images are a perfect example


Thanks

Some of those same people ask me how much time I spend in post because the perception is that post processing is for fixing mistakes. They don't understand that when you shoot RAW you have to "develop your film".



Jun 26, 2016 at 03:23 PM
surfnron
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Beewolf Set


A great set John. The first is very interesting, but the last two stand out - especially the detail in the last shot ~ Ron


Jun 26, 2016 at 04:15 PM
eyelaser
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Beewolf Set


Fabulous IQ on these..so interesting...of course I was expecting an Old English poem...but that shows what I know.
Eric



Jun 26, 2016 at 04:45 PM
harshaj1
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Beewolf Set


Wonderful shots and thanks for the narration.
Harsha



Jun 26, 2016 at 06:29 PM
LordV
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Beewolf Set


Wonderful series and congrats on the publication
Brian v.



Jun 27, 2016 at 12:40 AM
Dalantech
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Beewolf Set


CG_Photography wrote:
excellent as always, no one does macro better!

I have to ask, since you hold the stem as well as the camera... How many times a week do one of these ferocious looking creatures give you bite/sting.


Sorry -we must have been cross posting and I missed your post.

Thanks for the props! Now if I could only quit my day job

Surprisingly I've only been stung four times, and it was while shooting honeybees on their comb.



Jun 27, 2016 at 12:46 AM
Dalantech
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Beewolf Set


Thanks Ron, Eric, Harsha, and Brian


Jun 27, 2016 at 12:47 AM
MarkB1
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Beewolf Set


Great set John. A new one for me, but then the variations in nature will never be wholly seen or documented in one lifetime.


Jun 27, 2016 at 01:52 AM
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