Bee on Lupines

Today's photo is a bee on Lupines. I originally thought it was a honey bee until I saw the backside of the abdomen. It appears this bee is actually a species of cellophane or polyester bee. To learn more about these amazing bees, check out my post on Maine Garden Ideas.

This photo was edited in Lightroom and Photoshop to bring out the colors of both the flowers and the bee. It is a little different than some of my photos, like my wildflower photos, because I was more interested in bringing out the beauty of the image than highlighting the details of the bee and the flowers. It gave this a softer look that I really like.

As a photographer, I find myself walking a thin line when it comes to editing nature photos. For some, accuracy in color and detail is vital, while at other times creating an aesthetically pleasing image is more important. Although I did not drastically change the color of either the Lupine or the bee, I did use highlights and shadows to emphasize the areas I found most interesting.

Here's the same image with some textures added and given a Museum frame. If you are an aspiring photographer, don't be afraid to play with different programs and try different styles until you find something you like. The textures and frame in the above photo were done with a free online program called ipiccy. You can also create some interesting effects with the free online photo editing program Lunapic. (Check out the famous artworks filters, but don't forget to slide the slider to the left to decrease the effect and hit "adjust" before saving the image.)