Nomadic Bee

This is one of my favourite types of photography.
I go out early in the morning just before sunrise - it's peaceful, quiet, and gives me the time to think about nothing - I can even get out before my long day at work.  Local conservation areas are a great place to locate and shoot these tiny subjects.  Nobody is usually about but me (or the odd person walking their dog...staying clear of the strange man hands and knees in the tall grass).
Before sunrise, many insects, especially winged insects, are inactive or sometimes "sleeping" (I think it's actually a type of Torpor or mini-hibernation).
In the early evening, bees like this one ("nomadic" - no home or hive) find a sturdy twig (or blade of grass, etc) and use their mandibles to tightly hold on - often upside-down until the next day when the sun comes up.  Depending on the insect, they can be very co-operative allowing me take several shots/several stacks before starting to stir.
This has to be done early before the heat of the sun warms them up; cool nights are the best.  Last night it got down to 14 deg C which is perfect - also produced the dew you can see because of the warm, humid day prior.
I snip the twig and bring it to a home-made contraption (clamp, tripod, reflector) and start shooting.
No bugs are ever hurt or killed during the shoot - I always let them go.

Full res:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/134058849@ ... 4/sizes/k/






Canon 6D
65mm MP-E

Early morning, natural light stack

43 images
1/2 sec.  |  f/5.6  |  ISO160