Tag Archives: Honeybee

Come, Fly, With Me

by Bob Venezia

I like the look of this bee a lot, but this is one of the very few times I was able to also capture an insect other than a bee. One of the things I love about these echinacea is the colorful spikes in those danger colors—yellow, orange, and red—like a collection of nuclear warheads arranged by Fibonacci.

Honeybee and green fly join forces in the inspection of nuclear warheads

Honeybee and green fly join forces in the inspection of nuclear warheads

F32 and BEES There #2

by Bob Venezia

Bees on a dahlia

F32 and BEES There #2

Yes, I know these images are starting to seem repetitive but I took ’em, and you’re gonna look at em’! Hopefully by the next time I see a folio I’ll have new flowers and some different looks.

Boris in one of his comments on Folio A asked for more detail on the Macrobox, which is given here:

The Macrobox is based on a contraption I purchased years ago from John Hart of Colorado. It was designed to hold 2 cameras at 90 degrees to each other, and both cameras were aimed at a 50/50 mirror (aka a beamsplitter) which is at a 45 degree angle. One camera shoots THROUGH the mirror, while the other shoots at the reflection.

Overhead view of the Macrobox

Overhead view of the Macrobox

Side view of the Macrobox

Side view of the Macrobox

The original box needed to be modified to accommodate the motor-driven Hasselblads, which are taller. I shoot with the 120mm Makro lens, and up to 2 extensions of 56mm each. Most of the bee shots are shot with 1 extension. The cat shots are with no extensions. My target stereobase for the cats is 1.6cm and for the bees is 8mm.

In the sideview picture you can see the beamsplitter on the left side of the rig. If you look carefully at the mirror, you can see both cameras.

The cameras are individually mounted on sliders so they can be slid into position. Additionally, the Macrobox is normally mounted on a heavy-duty Velbon macro slider, to help with making fine adjustments to the positioning.

Bee Good #4

by Bob Venezia

This whole set could be titled “Adventures Near and Far.”

Bee Good #4

Bee Good #4

My most recent photo endeavors have revolved around a macrobox. I had purchased a box like this from John Hart of Colorado, but fitting my Hasselblads in it was a stretch—the space was so tight that, once the cameras were mounted, it was difficult to check their settings, and simply winding the cameras was bound to knock them out of alignment.

This was shot in August of 2020. Lots of the technical details are listed on the slide mount. One detail is listed incorrectly—the extension is 56mm and not 57. Cameras were triggered with the same wired trigger that I’ve used for fireworks. I like the look of the stamen in this shot—each one looks like a nuclear warhead. Using the macrobox, I was able to get a shot like this as well as shots of my cat Edison that circulated last round. But a total PITA to set up and use.

Meanwhile, a new friend of mine had opened my eyes to some Hasselblad equipment I was unaware of— things like bodies with built-in motor drives and wired remotes. I picked up a couple of the motorized bodies, but they were too big for the macrobox. That’s when the quest for a new macrobox began in earnest. By the end of September I had ordered an optical breadboard from Baselab Tools, which was to be the platform for my new toy.

F32 and BEE There!

by Bob Venezia

F32 and BEE There!

F32 and BEE There!

This is one of the first rolls I got back after setting up some ‘real world’ shots with my new macrobox. I’m thrilled with the results. I love the shadow cast on the flower by the bee, and the shadow of the leg is a bonus. Flashes were on either side of the bee; one more to the side, the other more from above. Black velvet draped behind. And a single strand of web in the back has caught a grain of pollen. It’s a minor distraction but if I’d noticed it at the time I would have removed it.