Monday, August 9, 2010

Macro Monday - Carpenter Bee


Another photo from the Contigny Gardens in Wheaten Illinois.  I feasted on photo opportunities while we were up there last week.  


I originally posted this as a Bumble Bee but after some online research will have to correct myself.  Carpenter Bees are quite large and resemble Bumble Bees but have a shiny black abdomen  where Bumble Bees are covered in black and yellow hair.  While I realize that very few readers will give a flip what sort of bee this is, I like to be accurate where I can.  Thank you for your patience.


Several of you asked what sort of macro lens I used for some of these photos. The camera I use is a Canon SX20 IS. While not an SLR, it has a 20X zoom lens which is the 35mm equivalent of 28-560mm and a resolution of 12.1 Megapixels. This gives me the capability of an SLR with multiple lenses at a cost under $400.


As some of you already know I am mobility challenged and take most of my photographs either from my automobile or from a power wheelchair.  The Canon 20X allows me to shoot what looks like closeups from distances of 10 feet or more.  This bumblebee shot was taken from my power chair at a distance of about 3 feet simply by zooming in on it.  If I need to be closer there is a macro setting that will allow me to really get close.  However, feeding insects will not generally hold still for that sort of business.


The zoom lets me get pretty close and the 12 Megapixel resolution will let me get by with a certain amount of cropping to get in even closer to the center of interest.  Once the images are on my PC I use Paint.net for cropping and adjusting the exposure and color saturation.  A hard core photographer might use Photoshop but Paint.net is free.  Need I say more?



14 comments:

Yogi♪♪♪ said... [Reply to comment]

Nice shot. Your camera helps but you have a lot of talent and a good eye that is even more important.

Chesney said... [Reply to comment]

Spectacular capture!

Elaine @ Commotion said... [Reply to comment]

Love that photo....such an amazing shot!!

Sharon's Mum Anne said... [Reply to comment]

Need you say more? Yes please, could you explain your post????:-)
I pick up my camera and press a button........

Jay said... [Reply to comment]

Excellent picture! And I like accuracy too, so I appreciate that.

The new breed of digital cameras are a blessing for mobility challenged people aren't they? I'm not in a wheelchair, but I do get a lot of pain and stiffness and often can't bend or squat down as I used to to get close up shots.

A Bit of the Blarney said... [Reply to comment]

WOW!!! Nicely done!!! Awesome!

Cathy

Hootin Anni said... [Reply to comment]

Right now, we have a lot of them in and around all our hibiscus.


My Macro is Nautical And I also added a bit about a new meme I'm inviting everyone; if you'd like to join in on the challenge. Come over and find out what day on which it will take place....join me?

Hope your Monday is treating you well.

Janis said... [Reply to comment]

Great shot n macro. Nice camera you have there.

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

Check him out... he's a busy one, for sure! What a great shot

michael said... [Reply to comment]

Great photo, Bill. Glad to know a bit more about bees and I'm very interested in your camera. I've been considering getting a super zoom like that. I had one of the early ones and miss the flexibility. Thanks.

Sue said... [Reply to comment]

Beautiful macro shot, spend ages chasing bees & bugs in my garden, sue,x

EG CameraGirl said... [Reply to comment]

WOW! This is very well captured!

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

This is what I call macro! For a non-DSLR, it's pretty amazing.

:.tossan® said... [Reply to comment]

Your photo is a school. Magnificent macro!

Ps: My city is Santos, Brazil, the Indians are Ecuadorians, they received influêcia indigenous American Indians do not know how!