Views of the Small from the River Stour Bank Fields

April is the time of year that I head off to the banks of the River Stour near Wimborne, to hunt mainly for Solitary Bees ( that like the dandelion flowers that flourish at this period of time ).   Whilst will of course take up any other option for macro photos too.

To give you a sense of the scene on the river bank I took a couple of wide angle macro images of the dandelions in the field  –  using my Laowa 15mm wide-angled macro lens.

Dandelion View
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV (0mm, f/0, 1/400 sec, ISO500)
Dandelion View
Dandelion Seed Head
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV (0mm, f/0, 1/500 sec, ISO500)
Dandelion Seed Head

I also took 2 flower portraits with my 100mm macro – lens – the first of another dandelion seed head.

Dandelion Seeds against Green
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV (100mm, f/11, 1/200 sec, ISO1600)
Dandelion Seeds against Green

The second these flowers – which I processed afterwards in Topaz Texture Effects – for a warm soft look.

Field Flowers
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV (100mm, f/5.6, 1/200 sec, ISO200)
Field Flowers

The bees – this year I failed pretty much to shoot well compared to some past years – here are the best two from 2019.

Bee in a dandelion
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV (65mm, f/9, 1/200 sec, ISO500)
Bee in a dandelion
Small Bee in a dandelion
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV (65mm, f/11, 1/200 sec, ISO500)
Small Bee in a dandelion

However I did find some other things in the dandelions…

Spider in the Dandelion
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV (65mm, f/11, 1/200 sec, ISO200)
Spider in the Dandelion
Weevil in the Dandelion
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV (65mm, f/11, 1/200 sec, ISO250)
Weevil in the Dandelion

In addition to photographing in the dandelions – I also took some shots on the nearby vegetation.

Fly on a Nettle
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV (65mm, f/11, 1/200 sec, ISO250)
Fly on a Nettle
The waiting fly
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV (65mm, f/9, 1/200 sec, ISO640)
The waiting fly

Whilst my final subject came to me.  Or more precisely the mat I use to lie on.

Out of the Dark
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV (65mm, f/11, 1/200 sec, ISO200)
Out of the Dark
Sminthurus viridis
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV (65mm, f/9, 1/200 sec, ISO400)
Sminthurus viridis

All images taken on a Canon 5D Mk IV.  Flash where used from a Yongnuo Twin Flash.

 

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