When photographing flowers I like to get really ‘up close and personal’; to peer deep into their hearts. And if an insect such as a bee wants to join me on that adventure, so much the better.

Close-up of red and yellow tulip
Tulip, Ealing, 2021
Close-up of pink flower and bee with pollen
Mallow and bee, Ealing, 2020
Close-up of delicate pink flower
Dog rose, Ealing, 2020
Close-up of blue spiky flowers and bee
Allium, Hampstead, 2015
Close-up of orange flower and wasp
Poppy, Norfolk, 2016
Close-up of pink blossom
Ornamental cherry, Ealing, 2021

Dr B has challenged us this week to see how close we can go. I don’t have any specialist equipment for macro photography so I would define these images as close-ups rather than real macro shots.

The first and last images were taken this week especially for this challenge. But with flowers still in fairly short supply this early in the year, the rest are either taken locally last summer or elsewhere in England in previous summers.

To see a World in a Grain of Sand,

And a Heaven in a Wild Flower

William Blake

29 thoughts on “Gallery: beautiful blooms and bees in close-up”

  3. Stunning collection, Sarah. I love close up photography especially florals. The bees and dragonflies make the image that much more special. I end up using my phone on zoom for these shots and macros. I’ve had a few bees chase me away though!

  4. Absolutely stunning shots and I can only sit back in amazement. I can’t believe how close you got in some of those shots and I couldn’t choose a favourite from among the ones you’ve posted. A brilliant collection.

  5. Great work Sarah! The one photo is as beautiful as the next one … but I do like that close up of the tulip 🌟 … oh yes, and the photo where the bee’s wings are almost translucent!
    And what a funny name is “dog rose” 😁.

      1. Thanks for that … now I understand where the name “dog rose” comes from (rose canina … but dog rose is so much easier to remember 😉).

  7. These are beautiful photos! I have a special love for bees, they are so fascinating! And I love bugs. You can find some very cool creatures in flowers! Nice job!

  8. Great photos I particularly love the shot of the Allium and the bee. Like you when photographing flowers I love to be able to get up close & it’s always special when a bee or other insect gets in on the action.

    Roll on Spring so there can be more flowers in bloom to photograph. I need to get out more with my camera.

    1. Thank you Ryan 🙂 Yes, it’s great to have a bee or other insect in the shot – I just wish they’d stay still a bit longer so I could capture them more often! There were several buzzing around that blossom but I couldn’t manage to grab a decent shot there 🙁 And yes, I agree, roll on spring and spring flowers!!

    1. Thank you Margaret 🙂 Although none of these was actually taken in our back yard, I can go one better, as the tulip was (and still is!) in our front room 😂 A pretty bunch bought in M&S a few days ago 🙂

        1. Hmmm – but without a piste we couldn’t go off it 😂 Maybe I’m seeing the piste as suggesting a rough area and direction of travel rather a very fixed route?

          1. Then you don’t need a piste at all. The challenge I have tried to run is about challenging your camera, and the theme each week is to gently at first get people thinking about using the camera in different ways. Colour splash was getting folks to think about seeing colour differently even before taking an image, close up was to ask people to challenge their camera in terms of focus whether it’s an iPhone or a digital camera. The kitchen one was to lead into the close up challenge. They are all connected. But if people go off piste or just take images from an existing archive then tell me, how are they challenging their camera, because some of my themes will get more difficult.

          2. I do understand where you’re coming from. I guess my view is that I already do try to challenge my camera, so in response to your theme I would try to find examples of that which could be from my archive or taken especially. As I have here, mixing archive and recent shots with one taken deliberately, the tulip 😀

            It’s an interesting debate 🙂

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