Nikon D800 Macro and Focus Stack

When I was mowing the lawn, I came across a bee in the grass. I’m not sure what type of bee it is, but it could be one of the solitary ground dwelling types that can be found here. One of the wings was much shorter than the other and I don’t think it could fly. I put the bee in a safe place and took a few shots. The shots were taken with a Nikon D800 and AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens. I have another set of photos shot with the 105mm here (lower light, hand-held).

Update: I found out this isn’t a bee after all, but a hoverfly (Narcissus fly).  It mimics bees as a defense against predators.  Very cool.

This shot is a single image converted from RAW but cropped from a much bigger frame. ISO 360, 1/125 second shutter at f/9.
Garden Bee : 2012-06-20 : Single Image with 105mm f/2.8 VR Micro

I also took a few more images focus stacked them with Zerene Stacker, turned out better than I expected considering this is also a significant crop.

Garden Bee: 2012-06-20 : Focus Stack with Zerene Stacker (105mm f/2.8 VR Micro)

And a flower I shot shortly after, also a single image converted from RAW.

Flower : 2012-06-20 : Single Image with 105mm f/2.8 VR Micro

 

And an image I shot previously.  The detail when shooting the D800 with this lens is just great.

D800 Test Image - flowers