I was up in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales last weekend. Ostensibly I was there to look after my father, who is ill, whilst his partner was in Sydney … but while he was sleeping I had the opportunity to wander about in the garden. They have an absolute profusion of lavender. I’ve never been able to successfully grow lavender; you know back in those times I used to live in houses with gardens 😉 but here it’s verging upon riotous. There are of course bees.
I love chasing bees and other critters around a garden and it’s not something I’ve done in ages. I wonder if it’s because living in a flat for the past couple of years I haven’t had ready access to a garden? You know, the kind you can stride out into in your pyjamas any morning of the year… I know you know 🙂
Anyways, back to the bees. It’s a game of patience capturing critters in the garden. Firstly, you need to be able to spot them and in the case of the bees this wasn’t overly difficult! Then you need to get close enough to them. Funny thing, the closer you get, the more they seem to move around … well, through the viewfinder as you’re wishing they’s just remain in that position for perhaps three seconds instead of two whilst attempting to focus on them. I know I could have gone and set up the tripod but I was feeling kinda lazy… these were shot handheld using my Nikkor 105 Macro. The vibration reduction (VR) certainly assists with handheld macro photography which is one of the main reasons I upgraded my macro setup from the Tamron 90mm I started out with.
Beautiful bees in the lavender. They look all furry and pettable don’t you think?
And beautiful they are! Gorgeous photos!
Only when they paused a little while 😉
Mind you they’re always kinda beautiful! Thanks 🙂
Love the bees. Tricky to capture because their flight is so unpredictable. And yes, they do look cute and fluffy. Liars that they are.
I would really, really miss wandering in the garden.
I hope your papa is getting better.
Thanks. I know, they just insist on moving about … working like … well … busy bees I guess 🙂
Thanks for wishes too … sadly he’s not going to get better … just got to enjoy things while he’s here.
I came looking for the dead pegs and then remembered that I saw the bees earlier today when I had no time to comment so…they are looking lovely together with the lavender and very furry indeed if you get that close. I think it’s fine shooting something like this without a tripod, I actually never use one when doing macros as it gives me more degrees of freedom and more flexibility if there is actual chasing involved.
Also, I can totally relate to what you write about just wandering from the house into the garden, this is what I always miss when I have to leave my parents house. Although you can’t go out in your PJs all year here, it’d be quite cold here in winter.
Sorry to hear about your dad. I guees enjoying every moment is the best we can do, all of us.
The dead pegs are just downstairs and across in the communal clothesline area 😉
I have lots of fresh dead peg (that sounds kinda wrong!) pictures to post … I’ll mark those as ‘coming soon’. I do believe that you have real winters there … those that preclude casual wanderings outside in nightwear.
Thanks for your thoughts … you’re right we must enjoy what’s left to us 🙂
Brilliant shots Geoff, like a journey into a completely different world. Well done on capturing such vibrancy and detail.
Thanks Patti … the macro world is very much like the fabled ‘rabbit hole’ Alice found herself in. I never cease to be amazed at what close examination reveals … though I wish the critters would stand still for just that little bit longer 🙂
wow, stunning pics. I rarely ever have the patience for that. maybe next time I’m in the park!
Thanks Petra. I was fortunate to have the time to pursue them around the bushes … I have lots of frames of very blurry bees … let’s just say considerably more than frames of sharp bees like these three 😉
xoxo
WOW, your pics are really impressive. i love them. even though i always find insects a bit creepy when i see them this close. but i love bees, so it’s ok 😉
Thank you 🙂
These ones look downright cuddly though I reckon if bees (and other arthropods) were as big as we were then I think trips outdoors would be a little different 😉
They do look cuddly – really impressive photos!
Go on! Give ’em a big cuddle Gabe 🙂