The Wasp & the Grape

"Shoo, get away, lookout, a wasp, is buzzing around!" In the flash of a second, I transformed from peacefully soaking up the summer rays of sunshine to the frenzy of scrambling out of my chair as a wasp dive-bombed my delicious snack of grapes.

Dashing to the safety of my house, I slammed the door shut, and at that moment, a flash of insight hit me. "Use the opportunity for a photo-shoot; the wasp is after the grape, not me." Hmmm, okay!

I wasn't about to charge out there and agitate the wasp, so I came up with a plan. As with all photography, observation is vital. I watched as the wasp was content snacking on my grape; therefore, it felt safe to venture out, slowly and calmly. Nature is like that, be still, wait for something to unfold, never get too close or disturb its natural way of being and it surely will.

As I opened the door, the wasp flew off, " Oh, darn." Proceeding with my plan, I prettied up the scene placing a piece of paper towel under the grape. With the camera on my tripod, I checked settings for exposure (how much light) and depth of field (clarity only on the grape and wasp). Finally, ensuring my focus point was on the grape where the wasp would land.

I sat down and waited and waited. I ate a few more grapes, and still, I waited. Suddenly, to my delight, Buzz zipped past me, aiming straight for a grape landing. After giving it a few seconds to settle, I slowly snuck a peek through my camera viewfinder. Ah-ha! Wow, Buzz is so fascinating as I observe and take a few photos using my macro lens. I am thrilled to have seen this fantastic insect's body close-up!

To be clear, I didn't have an intent to bait insects and then take photos. When heading outside to enjoy my snack, having an event like this unfold didn't even cross my mind. After taking four quick photos, I gently shooed it away to look for a natural food source.

Note: Because the macro allows one to easily create a shallow depth of field, the aperture setting of f/11 gave me the grape and wasp detail. If I had used f/2.8 the, grape would have been out of focus.