Hi Joe, Bee swarms are pretty neat, eh? Same thing happened here a couple of months ago right in the middle of the street. I was scared at first approaching them with my 200mm, but I was able to get within four feet of them (close focus). My pics turned out great as the bees are close to 18% gray I guess. Never got stung, as Chris says, they got other things on their minds. Steve Larson Redondo Beach, California ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joseph Tainter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, May 10, 2002 4:00 PM Subject: Quasi OT: An incredible experience plus photography
> When I got home from work yesterday my wife showed me that we had a bee > swarm on a tree in our yard. She thought they were looking to establish > a new colony somewhere. It was amazing - about a cubic foot of bees. The > PZ-1p was loaded with Supra 400, so I slipped on the Sigma 70-300 APO, > ran it out to 300 mm. and switched it to macro mode (goes to 1:2). Then > I proceeded to shoot from several feet away. It was already too dark for > ISO 400, though, so off I ran to the nearest store (Walgreen's) and > picked up some Superia 800. Back to shoot, but even still too dim for > f5.6 (@ 300 mm.). After a few tripod shots, I got bold. Off came the > Sigma and on went the FA 100 mm. f2.8 macro. We crept closer and closer > and the bees never bothered either of us. They were completely absorbed > in whatever they were doing. Shot a roll with the macro lens (1/125 @ > f4) and called it a day. > > This morning they were still there. As soon as the light got pretty > good, another roll went through the 1p with the FA 100 going through its > paces. Then off to leave off the film, and to work. Returning home this > afternoon the bees are gone. > > What a privilege to have seen this phenomenon of nature. The mass of > bees was constantly in motion. As I moved in with the macro, I could see > that groups of them would form for a few seconds, and rub their antennae > together (exchanging nectar or information, I don't know). Then the mass > would swarm over them and the scene would be gone. But all the time new > scenes were forming. > > I'll be biting my nails until I know that the negatives came out okay. > If so, there'll certainly be at least one image posted to some future > PUG. > > Maybe this is more common in other parts. But I live in New Mexico where > even lizards struggle to survive. I felt like this was a > once-in-a-lifetime shoot. > > Joe > - > This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, > go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to > visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org . - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
