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Photo#53576
Male Valley Carpenter Bee - Xylocopa sonorina - male

Male Valley Carpenter Bee - Xylocopa sonorina - Male
Citrus Heights, Sacramento County, California, USA
May 22, 2006
Size: 1in

Images of this individual: tag all
Male Valley Carpenter Bee - Xylocopa sonorina - male Male Valley Carpenter Bee - Xylocopa sonorina - male Male Valley Carpenter Bee - Xylocopa sonorina - male Male Valley Carpenter Bee - Xylocopa sonorina - male Male Valley Carpenter Bee - Xylocopa sonorina - male

Exquisite photo
Exceptionally sharp and vivid. How do you do it? And is that a passion flower it's mining?

 
How do you do it?
I shoot a Canon 30D Tamron SP AF28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di LD IF(Macro)or a Canon 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro. These were with the Tamron and a Kenko Pro 300 1.4x Teleconverter and almost always with a Canon 580EX Speedlite. These were almost right out of the camera sharp. It is a really good lens. The Canon 30D has very little noise, so the images stay sharp when cropped, although these had very little enlargment.Thank you for your complement.-Rich Swanner P.S. Yes a caerulea.

 
Thanks loads!
What I didn't want to hear was "tripod", so thanks twice. I'm considering a Tamron macro in the 150/180 range. I'm using a Nikon D70 with Nikon 105mm micro, older Kenko 2X converter, often with a 24mm Kenko extension tube. One more thing: are these RAW images? (I hope not!)

 
Not Raw
No, they are jpeg and shot at 1/250(stop shake and bee movement)f/11 ISO 100. I also use Kenko ex.tubes(not with these shots). The 2x converter will screw up AF, with the 1.4x(new) there are few problems( people are always saying" use manual! in macro" you should not have too). It is hard to chase bugs with a tripod, so I don't use one.Punch up my name on Google and I have a site that has lots of my bug shots, all taken handheld using flash. Look to the left at the portfolios, that's the way to by pass all the regular shots. If you punch up large they will be more full screen.I also have Macros on this site by clicking on my name. That Nikon lens(105 Micro) is a good one. The Tamron SP AF28-75mm XR Di LD comes with a Nikon mount at Beach Camera it is only $330-$30 rebate=$309. A great walk around with Macro built in(very sharp)-Rich

 
Good info and good news!
I'll get the 1.4x converter and work from there. Ironically, I went from old SLRs to newer cameras because of eye problems, then wound up using manual focus with my DSLR. I've checked your work at this site and will Google onward. And I plan to use flash more and go to a lower ISO. Here's hoping!

Cheers,
Ron

 
It;s Easy
With digital just keep shooting. Keep in touch .-Rich

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