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  • Writer's pictureByron

Patience, Bees and Learning


On a bike ride, I spotted a clump of flowers I wanted to photograph. On the next sunny day I headed out and BONUS!, bees. Lots and lots of bees. I can get cool shots of bees in flight.


Well. Maybe. Yeah, 1/1250 of a second should freeze 'em just fine. Not so much. Turns out the little guys flap at up to 2000 cycles a second. As you can see 1/1250 isn't quite up to speed with 2000/sec. Lots and lots of Bee pictures, not a one with them flying and the wings in crisp focus.


I've remarked that patience is the number one skill for a good photographer, waiting for the light, waiting for the subject, waiting for the moment. But patience with self doesn't hurt either, being willing to take a lot of individual pictures to get the ONE. And being willing to accept failure as a gateway to insight. In this case I learned something fascinating about bees (I'd buzz too if I flapped my arms at 2000 beats a minute), and about shutter speeds, f stops, and freezing motion. All good and next time I'll get better bee pictures.


In the mean time I kind of like the effect here of light on blurred wings.

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