This winter has been usually mild and spring color is already starting to appear in our area. During a visit yesterday to Green Spring Gardens, a local county-run historical garden, I spotted crocuses in bloom at several locations. Finding crocuses was not too much of a surprise, since they are usually among the first flowers to appear each spring. However, it was an unexpected bonus to be able to photograph a honey bee collecting pollen inside of one of the crocuses.
In many ways yesterday’s photography was a return to my roots. When I started getting more serious about photography seven years ago, I did a lot of shooting with my friend and mentor, Cindy Dyer. One of her many areas of specialization is macro photography of flowers and some of her flower images have even appeared on US postage stamps. From her I learned a lot about the technical aspects of photography, like composition and depth of field, but more importantly she encouraged and inspired me back then and continues to do so to this day. Thanks, Cindy.
I started off photographing flowers with a few insects, but gradually realized that I was more interested in shooting insects with a few flowers. I can appreciate the beauty of the crocuses in the second and third images below, but the first shot is more representative of my desired shooting style.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
So beautiful
Insects and flowers are like the proverbial pairing from the song. Like love and marriage, they just go together — like a horse and carriage — and you can’t have one without the other!
That second shot is stunning.
Thanks, Ted. Are you referring to the group shot? That was the only spot where I saw a clump of crocuses–elsewhere they were much more dispersed.
The group shot, great color. Vivid but not too saturated. Nice.
Very Nice Mike! Beautiful images! Here in Northern NJ it has been 50+ degrees a lot lately! And some of our flowers in the garden are starting to come up!
I agree, insects do add extra interest to a shot. Croci are important food for newly emerging bees, hungry after their winter’s inactivity, so are a good place to look for them.
Stunning photos …. the shot with the bee is amazing!
A part of my biological clock still makes me yearn for the always-welcome signs of spring. Down here in the late summer in NZ, we’ve just had our first rain in 45 days. It lasted about 10 minutes and measured about 1/8 inch. Thanks for the memories!
Beautiful shots, Mike!
Lovely!
Wow, lovely to see. It’ll be a few months before we see them in my area.
Honey bee here looks like she wants a game of hide and seek, such a cheeky pose she strikes. Or perhaps it’s Catch me if you can!!
There did seem to be a suggestive wiggle in the bee’s behind, Damien, but I could not tell its gender. Perhaps the pollen was intoxicating, or maybe the bee was just a bit buzzed. 🙂
That first shot even has a crumb of spilled pollen on a petal. Great job!!
Thanks, Molly. You obviously examined the photo pretty carefully. 🙂