The Bee's Knees

I bought my first camera at 16 - I still use it to this day. It took me 3 months to save up at my first minimum wage job. My parents discouraged me from getting it, saying it would be a waste of money. That it was too expensive and I should save for my future. I stand by the fact that spending that money paved the way for my future. I have never stopped taking pictures.

Throughout the years I have expanded my inventory of lenses, filters, mics, and tripods. I try to take my camera with me everywhere I go, just in case. The thing I enjoy most about photography is the way I can see things through my lens that I can't with the naked eye. Having eyesight troubles my whole life, it helps me see the world in a new way. It's like magic to me.

In late May of 2019, my friend Ally came up to Cape Cod to visit me from New York City. We were roommates in college but went separate ways after graduation. We still make time to see each other a few times a year, and we always have meaningful adventures when we link up. I'll never forget the beauty of this day. She had just bought her first DSLR camera and was thrilled to join me in our nature photography outing. The fun part about taking pictures with someone else is the different outcomes each person develops. She took some beautiful photos that day, and I took one of my favorite photos of all time.

We had just finished up taking pictures at the beach, of the water, the sea-shells, the markings in the sand left by erosion and animals. We decided to take the long way home, through the backroads. There, we ended up stumbling upon a field of wildflowers being lovingly tended by bumblebees. We just had to stop. I decided to take out my macro attachment and mounted it to my 75-100mm lens. I wanted to capture the details of the flowers and their leaves. There were aphids crawling around the stems that I couldn't see with my naked eye. That's the magic of the camera. The aphids were amazing but not my favorite moment.

I got close to one of the flowers and a bumblebee entered my field of vision. I began snapping away. Just hoping my shutter speed was quick enough to capture its body clearly. Turns out it was. I got a few pictures, but this was my favorite. The glossa is extended, being pulled towards its mouth. The bee has been sipping sweet nectar from the endless amount of purple flowers. Its knees are covered in pollen as it has been moving from one plant to the next. The soft texture of its fuzz seamlessly transitions from black to yellow and back to black again. I was able to see this bee in a new way. One that was unfamiliar to me. There was no fear or disgust of this bug. I was awestruck by its natural beauty. I was able to capture its important role in our ecosystem, in one photo.

Its wings are blurry, flapping at around 230 beats per second. But its trajectory is mapped out in one still. The bee is in the perfect spot for clarity. If I was too close or too far, the image would have been blurry. But I found the sweet spot to capture the sweetness of this important creature.

I've taken a lot of pictures of different animals, pets, and wild alike. But none are as special to me as this creature. The life of a bumblebee is less than a month. This picture allows it to live forever.