Yellow on White

[Bobobird]

What would we call shots like these - neither really macro nor really floral. Has me stumped.

1.


2.


3.


4.


5.

[gregj1763]

They are really good photo's Bobo.
2 & 3 are probably the best in terms of the capture angle but both suffer from distracting petals in the image.
Hard to get the little sods to pose properly I know, but wonderful colours and clarity in the shots and it always amazes me how hairy they are.
Well done, Greg

[Bobobird]

Thanks Greg.

The thought of removing the offending petals did cross my mind but I would'nt have.

[gregj1763]

I agree, can't see how it would have worked without spoiling the image

[rtbaum]

I know whatcha mean, Bobo, are these flower shots with bugs, or bug shots with a flower. Uffda, my head hurts!!!! Seriously, I think you are getting the hang of this macro thing, very nice series.

[bedantabd]

Excellent Bobo, you take some amazing flower shots. No. 1-4, the bee does not seem to be in sharp focus. Also some more details of the flower / bee might have helped, so I am playing safe. My favorite is no.5, nice bokeh and the whole flower is in sharp focus.

[Geoff F]

For me, Bobo, the answer is easy. A small bug on a large flower just looks like it shouldn't be there; like a bit of dirt or sensor dust, etc.

But there is no reason why an insect shouldn't have a nice floral background. I often try to create that effect. It looks natural and gives a good indication as to the insect size.

Dark insects and white petals are always fraught with exposure problems, but you seem to have managed it well here.

Cropping needs to be done with care and this is one occasion where I find working very roughly to the 'suggestion of thirds' can often work well. But you always need to remember that the insect comes first and the flower is the background.

Not sure of that insect identification but if it was in the UK I would be considering one of the Sepsidae family.

Incidentally, your Michaelmas Daisies are well ahead of mine; but everything in my garden is very slow this year. And it's damp with a near gale blowing again today!

[DanK]

I'd call most of them macro, but then again, the name doesn't matter.

I like #3 most in terms of the angle of the capture. These have to be some kind of fly, given the eyes, but I don't know which. There is a website devoted to identifying flies: http://diptera.info/news.php.

One suggestion: It is very hard to get all of a bug in focus unless it is parallel to the sensor, but when you can't, it's often best to try to get focus on the eyes.

I agree that small bugs on large flowers are often not the best, but sometimes they are interesting, particularly if there are lots of them on one flower. I'll post one that has a hoverfly, a spider, some other small fly, what looks like a damselfly nymph, and two other things that are unidentifiable on a single water lily. Not a great picture, but fun to capture.

[Bobobird]

Thanks guys for your insights. I really appreciate this.