Red Mason Bees (males, an a female).

Testudo Man

Testudo Man

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Paul
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Yesterday was to be spent with my garden Red Mason Bees (cooler in temps.) so slightly easier to get some nice images.
I have a small Bee home(approx 6 x 8 inches) near the roof of my shed/summer house, so i stood on a garden chair, an took some images of the bees, coming an going.
2 cameras used, both Raynox 150/250 used (both on their own and stacked). Handheld, single images, ive never stacked images to date.
None of these images have been cropped at all, cheers Paul.

P.S. I only saw the one female, most of images are of the males.

Male.
Red Mason Bee (male). by Tort Man, on Flickr

Male.
Red Mason Bee (male). by Tort Man, on Flickr

Female.
Red Mason Bee (female). by Tort Man, on Flickr

Male.
Red Mason Bee (male). by Tort Man, on Flickr

Male.
Red Mason Bee (male). by Tort Man, on Flickr
 
Ajophotog said:
Wonderful set Paul, great quality. (y)
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Cheers Alby, as a follow up to what I was saying in your thread, the next 2 images are similar in many ways, 2 different cameras.
1st image is shot with the FZ50/Raynox.
Red Mason Bee (male). by Tort Man, on Flickr

2nd image is shot with the FZ330/Raynox.
Red Mason Bee (male). by Tort Man, on Flickr

jerry12953 said:
Love those, especially the very symetrical No 2! IMO, it would be worth cropping slightly to make it perfectly symetrical.

Are these bees hairy all over? We saw a very hairy looking one in our garden the other day but don't know what it was.
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Thanks, I think most Bees are quite hairy, but I guess some more hairy than others. I don't really know a lot about Bees, I just search web images, to try to find a match, to what I think my Bee images might be of.
I guess I could crop for total symmetry, but I like to shoot with no cropping involved, for the most part.
Here is a pull back image, to show that Bee in situ.
Red Mason Bee (male). by Tort Man, on Flickr


davholla said:
Very nice, males normally emerge first. Is it in a sunny spot?
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Thanks David, yes, the males have been out for awhile now, but that female is the 1st ive seen so far.
The little Bee house, is in a sunny location, up high, but under a 2 foot hang over from the shed roof (which is to keep it dry). The sun is not directly on the bee house all day, just certain parts of the day, so sun an shade, as the day progresses. Ive had it up for at least 8 to 10 years...a small colony, but a successful one.
 
Some great images there Paul and surprising what can be had with a bridge camera (correct ?)
I know Gardenershelper (Nick) uses a FZ camera and his shots are amazing.
Maybe I should try with my Fujifilm finepix S8100
 
Graham said:
Some great images there Paul and surprising what can be had with a bridge camera (correct ?)
I know Gardenershelper (Nick) uses a FZ camera and his shots are amazing.
Maybe I should try with my Fujifilm finepix S8100
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Cheers for that Graham.
Yes, both Nick an I have been using FZ bridge cameras for many years now. All of the above images, were shot using either my Panasonic FZ50, or my Panasonic FZ330 (coupled with the Raynox 150 or 250, or both stacked). Whilst the FZ330 can only go to max f/8, the FZ50 goes to a rare f/11. I know what your thinking here...f/8 or f/11 does not sound like much at all?!!...But those f numbers would be the equivalent to probably beyond f/40 (Nick would know the answer to this) in terms of FF/DX camera bodies.
Not sure about your fuji S8100................................but if i were to try a fuji bridge camera, i would go for the old fujifinepix S200 EXR...back in the day, that was thought to be as good as the legendary FZ50...an im pretty sure the fuji S200 EXR could also shoot to f/11 too.
 
Nice work Paul. ;) I do wonder do we get the best out of our cameras before upgrading to newer models?
 
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Ajophotog said:
Nice work Paul. ;) I do wonder do we get the best out of our cameras before upgrading to newer models?
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Cheers Alby.
I would say we all upgrade too soon, without really getting to know everything about our cameras 1st.
Me being a good example (although i should say, that ive never bought a new camera in my life). Last year i thought i would try MFT, so i bought a Panasonic G7, i used it for approx 6 months, then bought a Panasonic G80, but then found myself looking at a Panasonic G9!! I havent as yet got myself a G9, but i probably will sometime in the future. My G80 is for my butterfly photography, so its not really for macro, more close up. Now, on the other hand, i used a Panasonic FZ150 bridge camera for a looooooooooooonnnnng time, i mean i really got everything i could out of that camera(some of my best butterfly images were shot with an FZ150...but last year i bought an FZ330, it was a very good upgrade in terms of touch screen, fast foucus, weatherproof etc. I should say, i use both bridge camera an MFT camera alongside each other, out in the field, for butterflies. Ive only just started trying this FZ330 for macro, an it works quite well so far.......................................but my "go to camera" for macro is still my 15 year old, 10 megapixel, trusty ole FZ50 (needs some new batteries right now!!)...the FZ50 just works well, year in year out.

So my point of view is - i do both, i upgrade too soon for some aspects of my photography, but wring every last drop out of other camera bodies, for my other photography want/needs.
Note - I have used Nikon FF/DX bodies in the past(an the lovely little Nikon V1 system) with some success, but i still end up using my bridge cameras!......After all, macro/close up photography for me, is just a part time hobby...I really dont need to be spending big money, on high end equipment, for just posting small image size files, on a couple of forums. ;)
 
Testudo Man said:
Cheers for that Graham.
Yes, both Nick an I have been using FZ bridge cameras for many years now. All of the above images, were shot using either my Panasonic FZ50, or my Panasonic FZ330 (coupled with the Raynox 150 or 250, or both stacked). Whilst the FZ330 can only go to max f/8, the FZ50 goes to a rare f/11. I know what your thinking here...f/8 or f/11 does not sound like much at all?!!...But those f numbers would be the equivalent to probably beyond f/40 (Nick would know the answer to this) in terms of FF/DX camera bodies.
Not sure about your fuji S8100................................but if i were to try a fuji bridge camera, i would go for the old fujifinepix S200 EXR...back in the day, that was thought to be as good as the legendary FZ50...an im pretty sure the fuji S200 EXR could also shoot to f/11 too.
Click to expand...
haha I just had a look, all the way to F8 but it`s really crap and I was using my DCR 250. Back to the DSLR I thinks :whistle:
 
Testudo Man said:
Cheers Alby.
I would say we all upgrade too soon, without really getting to know everything about our cameras 1st.
Me being a good example (although i should say, that ive never bought a new camera in my life). Last year i thought i would try MFT, so i bought a Panasonic G7, i used it for approx 6 months, then bought a Panasonic G80, but then found myself looking at a Panasonic G9!! I havent as yet got myself a G9, but i probably will sometime in the future. My G80 is for my butterfly photography, so its not really for macro, more close up. Now, on the other hand, i used a Panasonic FZ150 bridge camera for a looooooooooooonnnnng time, i mean i really got everything i could out of that camera(some of my best butterfly images were shot with an FZ150...but last year i bought an FZ330, it was a very good upgrade in terms of touch screen, fast foucus, weatherproof etc. I should say, i use both bridge camera an MFT camera alongside each other, out in the field, for butterflies. Ive only just started trying this FZ330 for macro, an it works quite well so far.......................................but my "go to camera" for macro is still my 15 year old, 10 megapixel, trusty ole FZ50 (needs some new batteries right now!!)...the FZ50 just works well, year in year out.

So my point of view is - i do both, i upgrade too soon for some aspects of my photography, but wring every last drop out of other camera bodies, for my other photography want/needs.
Note - I have used Nikon FF/DX bodies in the past(an the lovely little Nikon V1 system) with some success, but i still end up using my bridge cameras!......After all, macro/close up photography for me, is just a part time hobby...I really dont need to be spending big money, on high end equipment, for just posting small image size files, on a couple of forums. ;)
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I agree with you fully, I still have my 2 fz cameras and still use them now and again, in fact I think I will get out with the fz8 and raynox lenses again once the good weather returns. I might even try and get an FZ50 cheap off the bay for a bit of a play.
 
I like these , and interested in the set up . I have used the Raynox 150 on the Panny FZ50 , should of kept it , as as mentioned the manual zoom and focusing were ideal . Still got the Raynox , but stupidly upgraded the 50 for the FZ150 , your photos have inspired me to dig out my Raynox and give it a go .
 
Graham said:
haha I just had a look, all the way to F8 but it`s really crap and I was using my DCR 250. Back to the DSLR I thinks :whistle:
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At least you gave it a go mate...but it does take some getting used to, bridge cameras are not for everyone.

Ajophotog said:
I agree with you fully, I still have my 2 fz cameras and still use them now and again, in fact I think I will get out with the fz8 and raynox lenses again once the good weather returns. I might even try and get an FZ50 cheap off the bay for a bit of a play.
Click to expand...
FZ50's sell from between £50 to £80 on Fleabay. They did both black an silver bodies. I prefer black, but I wouldn't let a silver one stop me from buying again
Pro's - That lovely fixed focus lens, it focuses internally(by hand) so no lens movement(which can spook bugs)...Capable of f/11 (which doesn't sound much) but on a bridge camera, its a rare option, an it makes all the difference, for DOF, especially if like me, you only shoot single images...A really nice sensor...a good controllable flash, which works well.
Con's - a bloody small 2 inch screen/monitor(I have to wear glasses to see anything on the screen!..Slow to focus, infact slow to do anything(compared to much quicker/faster newer cameras)...Only 9 focus points...Camera can be a bit fiddly......…......but if you stick with it, it still has the capability to produce good images.
Note- without using a Raynox close up lens, the FZ50 does not "shine" in my opinion. The Raynox 250 works best for me. Both FZ50/Raynox 250 = great set up for macro/close up.

Lepus said:
I like these , and interested in the set up . I have used the Raynox 150 on the Panny FZ50 , should of kept it , as as mentioned the manual zoom and focusing were ideal . Still got the Raynox , but stupidly upgraded the 50 for the FZ150 , your photos have inspired me to dig out my Raynox and give it a go .
Click to expand...
Thanks for that, an glad to be inspirational.
I spent years using my FZ150, so not such a bad trade off. The FZ150 is a great camera, but the FZ50 is better for macro (when both cameras use Raynox an flash).

alfbranch said:
Lovely work Paul
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Cheers for that Alf.
Last 2 Red Mason Bee pics of that day then, cheers Paul.
This male backed itself into a hole in my shed, where it stayed for sometime...i even found it still there today...well, the weather was bad, so i guess the Bee didnt want to leave the safe/dry hole!
Red Mason Bee (male). by Tort Man, on Flickr

A shot of one of the males leaving the Bee house tube, as soon as I took this pic, the Bee flew off.
Red Mason Bee (male). by Tort Man, on Flickr
 
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