WHERE
It was at the lake of constance near a farmers field. I was looking around for some insects and finally found this bee that was suffering from advanced hypothermia, because it was cold at night and this bee didn't got back into the hive. So when that happens, they can survive at low temperatures but they are unable to move. This doesn't happen very often so this moments are rare and when you put emphasis on respecting the nature you have to look out for some oppertunities. Dead Insects are never an option for me. I want to capture the moment in the nature, that's happening right now and that shows me the beauty of the nature.
WHEN
I went out, looking for motifs right bevore the blue hour and used it to find the insects. Once I found it, I had to prepare anything for the shooting and after that it was during the sunrise when I began shooting.
HOW - the shot
lighting is simple and tricky at these situations! The setup is easy, I used two Yongnou 560 II with softboxes about 5" x 4". One about 45 degrees from left and one 45 degrees from right. Both slightly above the subject, so that I got a soft and balanced light. Thats the simple part. I had to play around whit the intensity starting with a 1:1 ratio until I got what I wanted. Adittionally I used a Reflector to block the sunlight so that the bee was placed in the shadow to avoid falsifying the result. Why this amount of effort? because I shot 47 pics to stick it together, and had to ensure that the lightning situation does not change during this process.
I used my D800e on my tripod with a ballhead and a two way macro slider to adjust the camera exactly. The two Yongnou flashes and a reflector to block the sun light. My lens was a Sigma 105mm 2.8 Macro lens, which I love and for this pictures of course, the Raynox DCR250 close up lens.
my helicon remote software had to be proven ;) and my insatiable curiosity and pleasure in finding new beautiful situations that nature gives to us.
HOW - PostProcessing
sure, a stack of 47 pics isn't taking care of itself, this is a job that has to be done but a very interesting one. I used Helicon Remote to capture the pics and controlled my camera with my macbook pro. Helicon Focus helped me stacking the pics but it has to be done more than once to get a satisfying result. After that - because I work with living objects - I had to stack the feelers manually, because the bee was moving them a little when she got warmer and finally took off when she defrosted. So the stacking was a big job and the rest was dodge and burn, color correction and sharpening, as I usually do that on portraits ;)
WHAT I carry with me
a water bottle - thats important!
a lens pen and a microfiber chloth - macro photographer know why…
D800e
tamron 24-70 2.8
sigma 85 1.4
sigma 105 2.8
Raynox DCR 250
USB 3.0 cable
battery grip
MY SECRET
be patient, get up early, try to improve your skills all the time and the most important thin is to have fun with what you do! Thats what gives you wings!
Hope U like my shots, wis you a wonderful day!
Be the change you want to see in this world! - Gandhi
