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....... or I could be wrong and it is just very good PP......

after a bit of testing and shooting with the camera set on cloudy, it adds a lot more warmth to images, with a little more contrast added, you have a wow factor...... here are 2 shot with the camera set to cloudy, straight out of camera, full frame, and a little unsharp mask.......

these 2 were shot using the 105 Nikon Macro non vr with a Nikon p-11 close up tube, manual focus......just wait for your bee. Both are full frame images





If you look at the colour of the bee in this post it lacks warmth and saturation to the 2 above......

http://www.dslrusers.net/viewtopic.php?t=28080

Bernie,

In my opinion, these have the "WOW" factor more for the subject matter than for the post processing (or lack there of in this case).

I have seen lots of your pixs with more than a wow factor........ thanks

...... Stubby may have started something........ the WOW factor

big pix wrote:I have seen lots of your pixs with more than a wow factor........ thanks

It seems that if you have a photograph of something unique, or a different view of something everyday, it has its own WOW factor regardless of the quality of the image. That's not to say I don't strive for good quality images, and also doesn't say that the bee photographs above aren't quality images. I just think that much of the WOW factor of my images (if they indeed have any) is because the content is so different to what people have seen before. When I take photographs of the same things everyone else has done, they don't seem to have that WOW factor.

those are 2 fantastic shots.

big pix wrote:...... Stubby may have started something........ the WOW factor

I find chicks attain the WOW factor after a Stubby or two!

Bernie,

I just noticed the link to your other bee photos. (I didn't realise you'd edited the post until just now.) While all 4 photographs have a WOW factor, I prefer the original 2 that the ones above. I think it is the background which is a bit busy in the latest ones.

Bernie - you are just showing off

sirhc55 wrote:Bernie - you are just showing off

....... always.......

I see what you mean Bernie. They do have a much enhanced boost of saturation in the warmth area. Although i used to shoot on my D70 with WB in cloudy most of the time, I don't with the D2H, but i might from now on. I'm glad you guys brought this up.

Bernie you're giving away my secrets. I'm an ordinary photographer who has above ordinary PP skills to compensate. At this rate I'll need to get better at taking pics. And FWIW as I have mentioned elsewhere I also shoot with my WB set to Cloudy -1

No doubt these are 2 great images Bernie. Stubbsy will need to patent the term now
cheers
marco

marcotrov wrote: Stubbsy will need to patent the term now
cheers
marco

...... he now has been labelled..... but if he gets a WOW tattoo, there is no stopping

Hi Bernie,

Your photo's of bees are exquisite !! As an ex keeper of bees ( Apiarist ) the detail of your photo's makes most reference books look inadequate. One of the reasons for the variation in the colouring of your pic's however, could be related to the fact that there are three main varieties of non native honeybees in Australia - Italian, Caucasian and Carniolan, the characteristics of which are summarised below.

Italian, Ligurian or leather-coloured bees, native to Italy, usually have three abdominal bands ranging in colour from dark straw to golden or deep yellow. Italians are docile, but productive, with colonies breeding strongly during early spring through until late summer. Italians are ideally suited to Queensland’s warm climate.

Caucasian bees are large grey-haired bees native to the Causasus region of Russia. They are docile, industrious, prolific and tolerant of cold winter, but tend to gather large amounts of propolis which glues-up hive components.

Carniolan bees, natives of Carniola in Austria, are dark bees covered in short, thick, greyish hair. They have a gentle disposition, breed strongly and overwinter well.

The bees in the second set of images would appear to be of Italian heritage, where-as the first photo's would most likely be of caucasion descent. .... Doesn't matter which really - your photo's are brilliant !!

Colin.....I find this information very interesting as I live in a cooler climate. While shooting I have noticed different sized bees and different rear ends. I have not done any research at all on the type of bees in my area, but at a guess there are about 4 different types that feed in my garden including a pale blue and yellow banded one which I only see every now and then. Might have a pix of this one. I will look a lot closer now and try to shoot the different varieties....... but this will have to wait a few weeks as I am off on location for about 2-3 weeks

G'day again Bernie

Just to continue with the bee types, I didn't really mention the Australian "native" bees, as the images you have displayed are of "imports". There are many types of "native" bees, details of which can be found on the internet. ( ie http://www.zeta.org.au/~anbrc/ ). Some of the native bees do have a commercial application, but they tend to be overlooked due to their lower honey production. All very interesting, when you get into it.

Cheers

Hot dang, getting a bit too intimate there with the bees aren't you mate?

Colin..... many thanks for the information that you have supplied. This has given me a completely different approach to just shooting bees to wanting to also know which variety of bee do I have in my garden. Many thanks for the link to various reference sites of information which will become a valuable resource