Most photographers have a few subjects that they like to shoot on a regular basis, honing their skills and always looking for a better shot; one of mine is honey bees on borage flowers. I always keep several of these plants in my garden. They bloom for quite a while, grow vigorously, and the bees love them, which is a good advertisement for any plant in my book. I took this shot in really optimal conditions. an overcast day bright enough to cast shadows, warm enough for bees, and with little wind. I planned for the shot, finding an especially nice pair of parallel flowers and waiting for a nice bee, but I skipped the tripod and just shot by hand, which is my preference and obviously works just fine. I've tried taking these shots at very high shutter speed to freeze the wings, but my camera only goes up to 1/4000 which falls just short, and the wings can actually be distracting in a shot like this. I took a similar borage and bee picture several days later for a photo contest. Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi Lens: EF-S60mm f/2.8 Macro USM Shutter Speed: 1/400 ISO: 400 Aperture: 7.1 Post Processing: I boosted the contrast enough ...

I've been meaning to put up a photo blog for a while, but just never find the time. Seeing the latest photo contest over at Gardening Gone Wild finally galvanized me into action. Per the rules of the contest, I ventured out into the garden this afternoon and took a new photo specifically for the occasion, from knee level. It was a sunny but hazy afternoon with strong blustery wind, but this brave little bee was out pollinating anyway.  I took the shot hand-held while sitting on the edge of a garden bed in the garden of local landscape designer Genevieve Schmidt of NorthCoastGardening.com. The key to taking photos of busy insects like this in windy conditions is to keep an eye on the composition and follow the shot, but bypass thought on the focus. Let your eye and your shutter finger work out when to push the button; by the time you think about it, the shot will be long gone. The borage is a nice subject; the flowers open up a pale pink (right) and quickly darken to blue (left). My goal was to get the bee and both flowers in focus, along with some of the great texture of the ...