I know that I have featured bees before but today I used a high speed flash to freeze the wings of this subject in flight. How fast do their wings move you ask - between 200 - 230 beats per second. That is fast! We apparently blink up to 5 times per second and the honey bee is doing that 40 times over with its wings! My flash was working with a shutter speed of 1/4000sec (50mm @ f/6.3) to catch this shot, which was the only usable shot out of about 30 that I took. Not only do honey bees beat their wings exceedingly fast but their flight pattern is very random making photographing them very challenging.
I like this shot because you can see the definition in the wings fully spread (click image to full view). What is my fascination with bees? None at all - there just happen to be around and are willing subjects for my camera. Actually, I have grown to appreciate them as an integral part of the circle of life. I have enjoyed three crops of plumbs this season and I am sure that the bees had something to do with that. Thanks little guys!
high speed flash? I will have to try that. What are using a SB-600?
ReplyDeleteFunny you posted a bee photo. I spent 15 minutes this evening trying to get a bee shot (sans flash)but dude was just too fast and hiding inside the flower.
Yep - the SB 600. I don't know what was up with these guys yesterday but they were really moving. It took me forever to get a usable shot. High speed flash will freeze their movement and capture some details. Good luck - looking forward to seeing the results.
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