One day last year, while in the kitchen on my lunch break, I glanced out the window and noticed quite a few bees buzzing around the remnants of my old flower garden. I had seen some videos of wildlife photographers doing insect photography with long lenses and thought that might be fun to try. I didn’t want to do anything to disturb the bees, so I decided to try getting photos from inside the kitchen, using the house as a blind.

      The following Saturday, I set up my tripod and big lens at the kitchen window with a dining room chair to sit on. There wasn’t a lot of room, but I didn’t need to move around much, so it worked. I poked the end of the lens out the window with the screen resting on the top and hoped not too many bugs would come in. I spent the next few hours attempting to photograph the bees as they flitted about.

This little bee was one of the first I actually managed to get in focus where you could actually see the bee pretty well. I really liked the how well the wings were lit by the sun. Kennebunk, Maine

      I never realized how quickly the bees moved, never staying still, even while on a single flower. I took a lot of really bad photos, many missing getting the bee in the frame entirely. Others, I missed focus, either because I simply got the focus wrong or because the bee moved out of the focus plane by the time I clicked the shutter. It was really hard, but very relaxing and enjoyable. The time flew by, and I managed to get a couple of photos that weren’t too bad.

I spent quite a bit of time trying to get photos of this little bee. He was zipping all over this particular flower stem, but I finally managed to get a shot where he was not blending into the yellow of the flower and was also in focus. Kennebunk, Maine

This was one of the few bumblebees I saw that first day. I was very happy to get this photo of him hanging off the tip of the flower. Kennebunk, Maine

      The following Saturday, I set up with all my gear in the kitchen once more. I had been watching the bees and the light all throughout the week and noticed that the big bumblebees were more active and the lighting was more interesting a bit later in the afternoon. So, this time, I waited to set up until about 3pm. I also decided to try using my teleconverter for the extra reach to see if that would help reduce the need for such heavy cropping.

I was really happy with this image of the bumblebee with the variety of colors - yellow and black on the bee, white, green, pink, and yellow from the flowers, and various shades of green, white, and brown in the background. Kennebunk, Maine

      Once again, I had a blast attempting to catch the bees in focus in my frame. Unlike the week before, where most of the activity was around the yellow flowers, this week there was a lot of activity around some little white flowers. The contrast of the white flowers with the yellow bees made for some really interesting photos. Additionally, the sun was at more of an angle, so the light was streaming in from the side or even behind the bees in some cases. I was really happy to get more of a variety with my backgrounds as I continued practicing trying to keep up with them.

Here's a bumblebee in flight near a large batch of the white flowers. I was super happy with this image and the fact I managed to catch him fully in focus while flying. Kennebunk, Maine

This was an interesting photo for me with half the background light green and white and the other half dark black or brown. It really made the white flowers pop, and even though the bee was mostly in the shade, the light still was able to stream in through his wings from the light half of the photo. Kennebunk, Maine

      Unfortunately, I didn’t get another chance to continue photographing the bees that year. But, this year, as soon as I started seeing bees out the windows again, I jumped at the chance. This time, though, I went with my macro lens and headed outside to follow the bees around, getting close, really trying to fill the frame. Some days, the bees were concentrating on the big bush by the garage. I stood there, leaning in at weird angles, trying to get close but also to not block the sun. Other times, the bees were busy with the tiny flowers not much taller than the grass. I’d get down on my hands and knees or even lay flat out on my stomach trying to follow them around.

I was really happy with how much this pollen-covered bee filled the frame using my macro lens. The sunlight and shadows of the pink flowers were a nice contrast as well. Kennebunk, Maine

Here's another in flight bumblebee amongst the pretty pink flowers. Kennebunk, Maine

Here's another pollen-covered bee amongst the stamens of a pink flower. This one was fully in the shade, and the softer light really made the bee pop even more. Kennebunk, Maine

      Each day out was a new experience, and it was so much fun. Using the macro lens definitely allowed me to fill the frame more easily. However, there was a downside. The closer you get to a subject, the less depth of field there is. So, that meant it actually became harder to get the bees in focus. Macro insect photography really is its own genre with its own techniques and specialized equipment. I probably won’t ever dive that far into it, but it’s definitely a lot of fun.

Laying on my stomach, I got really close to this bumblebee on a tiny purple flower only inches above the ground. Kennebunk, Maine

I wasn't fast enough to catch this bee while he was still on the flower but did catch him flying off in search of the next one. The shutter speed was too slow, though, to capture more than just a hint of his wings. Kennebunk, Maine

      I’m going to keep getting out there this summer and in years to come. I want to keep practicing, not only to try to get really good photos of bees, but also of other insects. A few of the days I was hunting bees, I happened upon some other insects, and they were amazing to photograph. When something so small is seen larger and more clearly, it’s easy to see how beautiful and interesting they truly are. Most people have an appreciation for bees, but there are so many other wonderful tiny creatures out there too. I’m definitely going to keep exploring this new world and hope you’ll come along for the ride.

This is one of my favorite images I've gotten so far of a bee. He fills the frame nicely with the little purple flower, is wonderfully in focus, and is just adorable seeing all the little fuzzy hairs and the blur of his wings. Kennebunk, Maine

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