Another beautiful image. The photo beautifully centers the bumblebee, capturing it in a dynamic moment of pollination.I love how the translucency of the wings show through. The blurred background effectively isolates the subject, minimizing distractions. I may backoff on some of the post production sharpness on the flower, bringing even more attention to the bee. You've effectively captured the beauty and intricacy of nature.   Posted: 10/07/2025 18:38:50

Thanks, Cheryl. Yes, I did notice that the sharpness of the flower is a bit distracting. I usually do my sharpening in the RAW module of Affinity, and as far as I know, I can't mask there to selectively sharpen. Perhaps I should have broken my habit and sharpened in the Photo persona. I'll give it a try!

Actually I've found that these are sharp and prominent in the dng file that Helicon produces. So I've retouched here in Affinity - any better?

As a matter of interest, whilst doing this, I found (yet again) a very small insect (an aphid?) hiding in the picture. Way smaller than the bee. See it?   Posted: 10/08/2025 09:50:42

Very nice image. I think I prefer the original. The bee is nice and sharp and the complimentary colors work well   Posted: 10/09/2025 01:20:03

Over all, the bee is good and sharp, so the fact that parts of the flower are blurred is not a great problem! Good image of the subject!   Posted: 10/09/2025 14:41:49

I am impressed with how in focus all of the bee is!!! SF bees fly from one flower to another in split seconds :-). That prominent wing and leg looks great and in focus. Parallel to the bee are in focus so all in focus items are grouped tightly… thus opposite ends of flowers that are out of focus are of no concern…. It is just a macro photo. Background is nice - looks like natural green. Nice photo.   Posted: 10/11/2025 01:35:26

This is a great capture of a difficult subject. I found the clarity to be spot on. There are two areas that are not in focus, the "antennae" and the very top and very bottom of the flower. I think a more square crop would enable you to eliminate the very top portion if you felt it was warranted...and still be a very comfortable composition. I was surprised that with bracketing, that front antennae was still not in focus. However, you captured the eye so beautifully!! That eye really gives it life. Bracketing continues to be a puzzlement at times for me, but if anyone can coax it to maximum effectiveness, it is you.   Posted: 10/17/2025 04:37:13