Category

Macro

Location

Middlewick Ranges, Colchester, Essex

Gear

OM-D E-M1 MK II, M.Zuiko 90mm F3.5 Macro IS PRO, Godox V1, custom made deflector/diffuser

Description

A local spot near me has a large expanse of bare, sandy, ground that provides the ideal habitat for a wide range of ground nesting bees and wasps. When there are large numbers of burrowing insects you will normally see an array of parasitic species as well. These will either prey on or, in the case of this Epeolus genus of variegated cuckoo bee, lay eggs in hosts nests. Photographing these bees during the day is a frustrating task as they never sit still. This is why I set about looking for them after dark as they spend the night with their mandibles clamped to the tips of tiny sticks in a state of torpor. In my experience these bees don’t tend to venture far from their host species so if you find them in a specific spot during the day, there’s every chance you’ll find them in that general area at night. I found this bee in such an area, clamped to a stick on one of the few clumps of vegetation scattered around the open habitat. With the bee oblivious to my presence, I was able to take some time to consider the composition as well as get extremely close with the macro lens. Given that these bees are only around 5mm, you need to shoot them at a high magnification which comes at the cost of an extremely narrow depth of field. In order to get more of the bee in focus, I took a series of bracketed shots which I then focus stacked together afterwards. OM-D E-M1 MK II, M.Zuiko 90mm F3.5 Macro IS PRO, Godox V1, custom made deflector/diffuser F8, 1/50th, ISO 200, 33 shot focus stacked image Middlewick Ranges, Colchester, Essex, UK

Photographer

Andrew Neal

Social Media

Instagram: @andynealphoto

Website: www.andrewneal.gallery

Voting is now closed.

To limit fraudulent voting, you may only vote once per category per IP address.