Plans for Summer 2010

I have my macro rig nearly how I want it. I've got the 430EX II on a cheap straight bracket, with an off-camera TTL cord and a DIY diffuser. I've got a replacement TTL cord coming in the mail (the current one damaged my Vivitar, leading to the 430EX II), and as soon as that comes, I'll put up some pictures of the whole thing.

I've already been out shooting, and have been pretty happy with the results. There are plenty of miner bees out and about, and I already met one of my goals for the year: shooting a miner bee, or a sweat bee, at the entrance to her nest. I've seen one or two metallic sweat bees, several carpenter bees, and one cuckoo bee. Hopefully it'll really warm up soon and more will start coming out.

Shooting a miner bee in the nest was one goal. I have a few others, in terms of subject matter and productivity.

• More bees in nests, on branches, mating and in other behaviors besides foraging.
• There's a mid-sized bluish-black bee I've seen a few times, but never have gotten close to.
• More wasps.  There are tons of them around, and I don't have much to show of them.
• Beetles, too.
• I want to re-do my series of ants farming aphids from last summer.  I feel like I got several great moments captured poorly.
• I'd like to rent the 180mm Macro and shoot Karner blue butterflies in the Albany Pine Bush.
• Same with a good wide-angle, for landscapes there.
• Build up my collection of rights-managed nature stock on Alamy.  I want to have at least 200 good images there by the end of the summer.  I've gotten 26 accepted in the last two weeks, so I'm on a good track for that.
• Put out a book of bee photos.  I'd like to focus on my favorites, the green metallic halictids, but I haven't decided how specific I want to get.  It would be a combination of images and text.