Saving the bees old style

Hi Shabaz,

Thanks.

It's an Olympus Tough TG-6 compact.

It has got good reviews for close-ups and it certainly delivers. Its close-up modes will autofocus reliably down to about 10mm and then on top of that you have manual options. There are also focus stacking and focus bracketing options if you really don't want to take any chances.

Unfortunately with the popularity of mobile phone cams, the options for compact cameras has suffered greatly and the prices have increased. 

Hi Dave,

Amazing photos! Just flicking through them all, I'm wondering how you got them all consistently very good! What's the new camera?

Bees <3

Thanks.

The wind was doing its best to make close-up impossible and giving the bees a hard time. I think a Novoflex rod support system could be handy there, as you could use the ground spike, rods, and stem clamp to support the plant in the wind.  Although you have to pick the right plant and hope the bee lands on that one when you are ready for it.

I later found out after taking these pictures that the camera has a close-up mode that could have been useful ( was the  first use, straight out of the box ). 

I've not seen a similar certification system here in the UK. I suspect that most would suggest replacing the formal lawn with a wild lawn but that is likely to devalue your property and spread weeds into your neighbours gardens so tough call. Also more variety of plants to encourage a wider range of wildlife but that's easier said than done as I've found not all recommended plants will grow well here.

Great pictures!  I’ve been seeing a lot of native bees on my walks with the grand dogs, but because they are on leash and haven’t the patience - I haven’t been able to get any decent pictures.  Plus as you mentioned, any wind adds to the difficulty.  I think I should go out with a real camera instead of using an iPhone, but I don’t get many long walks without the dogs.

You’ve done a great job with your yard.  I haven’t taken the opportunity to apply what I learned about bee friendly plants yet.  My wife has decided to get our yard certified as a “backyard habitat” - part of a local and national program in the US, not sure if the UK has something similar.  Certification is pretty straightforward as we have enough native plants, don’t use pesticides, and have water features for the insects and birds.  We don’t have high canopy (trees > 30 ft), but my neighbors do.  Best parts of the program are that they do a site visit and give advice and recommendations about how to improve your habitat.  And they also provide discounts at local nurseries that sell native plants.  Good news and bad news is that the program is very popular, so even though she applied a few weeks ago and paid our fees and donations- we still don’t have a site visit scheduled.