Tuesday, August 24, 2010

The Flowers And The Bees

I love when I visit other sites on the web and see those pictures of bugs that are so good that the bug has an almost metallic look to it. They look to me like something that was created in an expensive studio or something. I remember wondering how they got the pictures to do that after the first few times I saw them.

I know now that it was just good photography that helped them accomplish this, and sometimes a little luck. My bee on this flower today almost has that quality that I like so much. It was maybe more luck than it was good, but I have a good camera to thank for this too.

You'll never guess how I got these pictures. Well, that is until I tell you. I was actually sitting in my truck by the side of the road taking pictures of these flowers when I saw the bugs all over them. The flowers look amazingly like dandelions, but that's not what they are at all. These are much taller and a little bigger around.

In the big nature park I was visiting there are so many places to see that I hike for a little while and then drive for a little while to get to my next hiking destination. I may be a little different than a lot of hikers because I'm mostly doing this to relax, and much of that relaxation consists of looking at all of this nature.

The hiking is mostly just how I get from place to place. I still try to follow some of the unwritten hiking rules though. Actually I don't know if there are even any unwritten rules other than you have to actually walk for a ways. But I make sure I at least do that. You'd be amazed at how fun it is.

But these pictures were between hikes. Or maybe between one bigger hike. These are the flowers I was looking at, by the way. You can see the bugs all over them if you look closely. I couldn't get any more closeup shots because I couldn't stay there by the side of the road for too long. So the bee was it for this time.

When you really get into watching them, bugs begin to be really fun subjects to observe. They have an alien, but familiar beauty to them. Closeup pictures really show that off very well. They look like something out of a science fiction movie. But some of them sometimes have very familiar features, with faces and other parts that look like any big animal out there. Very interesting.


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19 comments:

  1. Some of the best nature finds can come very common places like the side of the road. Great macro shots Ratty, you captured this little insect beautifully.

    Your little bee is actually a Hoverfly just like the one on my Livingstone daisy post the other day. These little fellows are everywhere and they do act a lot like bees. The flower I believe is Mouse-ear Hawkweed.

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  2. Jo and I were at the Botannical Gardens on Wednesday, Ratty, and there were hundreds of bees. I couldn't believe the numbers on one single blossom. Also, the squirrels were out in huge numbers. I would so love it if we had those pretty red and black squirrels you have. Our are just gray squirrels.

    Your photos are wonderful.

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  3. Playing with macro on tiny bugs can always bring us unexpected surprises.

    Once you start, you will get addicted.

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  4. Wonderful photos, and I agree with Squirrel Queen it looks like a hawkweed.

    Bill:www.wildramblings.com

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  5. Great shots Ratty! Love the color palette and the shine on the bee.

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  6. See what happens when you don't know the idenity one day? I immediatly looked it up to see what you had, I had seen these flies, Eristals transversa, on some coneflower a few weeks ago.Sometimes a vehicle make a good blind, I have a tripod that fits on a window.I might guess False Dandelion without a good foliage. Hawkweed is 3 ft where the other is 1 1/2.I like this we are delving more into nature with your blog.Nice post and commentery.

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  7. I have to admit to being a bug lover...and I have passed the fascination onto my son who is always studying 'something' in the garden...i don't mind though as it creates questions and it is nice to be outside and picking out unusual things!!

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  8. Interesting experience. The shots are beautiful and timing is perfect.

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  9. Good photo of that bee. I guess it is a bee. It is especially good on the yellow flower. I like that. Have a great day.

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  10. You are right those do look like dandelions. Your pictures are very good. You've gotten to know your camera very well. Even with a better camera I still take a lot of bad pictures...lol

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  11. i agree with you, taking a closer look at those bugs seem to be getting inside an alien space :)

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  12. My human loved to watch bugs all the time when she was a kitten. Her fascination with bugs and reptiles did not exactly make her popular with the other girls at school, but I don't think she cared much. But she was really missing out by not chasing them and catching them. I keep trying to show her how it's done, but she is a slow learner.

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  13. Very nice photos. The way you capture nature in your camera is too good. Chasing bugs, insects and animals and then catching their beauty in the camera is definitely a very tough job and requires a great deal of patience. Keep it up, buddy.

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  14. I like this type of bee because we can almost see through their body. Wonderful photos, Ratty!

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  15. It's those translucent wings that are so cool. These are fantastic macros, Ratty.

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  16. A slice of a bug's life. Beautiful!

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