How do you draw attention to the main subject in your photograph? One effective way is to choose a camera setting that will give you a shallow depth of field, so that only the subject is in sharp focus and the rest of the image is blurred. Another way is to ensure that the colors and texture of the background contrast with those of the subject.
I used both of these techniques yesterday morning when I spotted this metallic green sweat bee (g. Agapostemon) on one of the Shasta daisies growing in the garden of my neighbor and photography mentor Cindy Dyer. I love these little bees with their large speckled eyes and shiny green bodies and got as close to this one as I dared with my Canon 60mm macro lens.
I opened the aperture of the lens all the way to f/2.8 to let in lots of light and to achieve the narrowest possible depth of field. That is why the center of the daisy falls so quickly out of focus. As I was composing the shot, the flower reminded me of an egg that had been fried “sunny-side up” and I chose an angle that emphasized that look. (In case you are curious about the other camera settings, the ISO was 800 and the shutter speed was 1/800 sec.)
There is nothing super special about this image, but it is a fun little photo taken close to home that reminds me that beauty is everywhere. A series of creative choices in camera settings and composition by the photographer can often help to draw a viewer’s attention to that beauty. (I encourage you to click on the image to get a better view of the beautiful details of the little green bee.)
Š Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
A georgeous photo! The daisy looks like a soft pillow from your photo’s focus effects. Love it!!
Thanks, Suzette. I like the idea of a daisy pillow, with the edge where the bee is perched looking like the fringes of the pillow. đ
Yes, Exactly!đđź
Good job. I enjoy your insect photos.
Thanks, Alessandra.
Great details in the bee and the stamens just in front (? Not sure that is what they are called) of the daisy.
Thanks, Chris. I must confess that I don’t know my flower anatomy very well either. đ
I love these little green bees, nice presentation, Mike. Coincidentally, today I released one that was caught between two planes of glass in a window. I’m glad I saw it before it perished!
Thanks, Eliza. I remember how surprised the first time that I photographed one of these green bees. I naively thought all bees were black and yellow. Nice job on rescuing one of these little guys.
[…] [Link:] Bee and daisy […]
Very worth clicking to see the little bee in detail. Beautiful glowing, iridescent colours and the yellow of the flower glows as well. Like the bee’s sitting on the contents of a treasure chest! A fried egg awaits you at my blog đ
Thanks, Liz. I am happy to see that you checked out the details of that shiny little bee. I love your fried egg post. I have always enjoyed your ability to integrate elements from multiple sources that share a common thread, sometimes based on color or sometimes based on a theme.
It’s kind of you to say so Mike! It’s something that’s pretty instinctive to me rather than intentional, very enjoyable, and satisfying to make the connections. I wonder if it’s something to do with NZ being way down the ‘bottom’ of the world and a wish to find connection? đ
That’s an interesting thesis, Liz, and possibly has some validity. In my experience, some people are much better at seeing connections and linking things together than others, who may be prone to treat each piece of information separately.
Very Nice Mike!
Thanks, Reed.
Open aperture brings you into an other world. Lovely colors.