Photographer Pete Burford earned a Finalist spot in Close Up Photographer of the Year’s ‘Death & Decay’ problem together with his picture Bee Meal. The picture is a visible feast for the viewer – and one other for the flower crab spider (Thomisus onustus) because it feeds on a bee.
Near the seashore in Crete, Burford found flowers inhabited by the spiders. He explains, “They can change color to match their surroundings, and bees were visiting the flowers for nectar, giving the spiders the perfect opportunity to ambush any that ventured too close.”
Burford is an award-winning macro photographer and OM System ambassador, relying on a “secret weapon” for wildlife and macro work – a MFT camera that rivals full-frame sensors for ISO noise and surpasses them in dynamic range – paired with DCW’s favorite macro lens for MFT systems.
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Finalist ‘Bee Meal’
“When I found this particular spider feeding on a bee, I wanted to capture the moment from the bee’s point of view as most crab spider predation shots focus on the spider, not the prey.
“Because both spider and bee were hanging downward, I flipped out my LCD screen and positioned the camera directly underneath, shooting upward to frame the bee head-on.
“The Cretan sunlight was so intense it blew out the background completely, so I used a card behind the flower to control the backdrop. Focus stacking was challenging in the sea breeze, and I had to time each burst carefully between gusts.”
The CUPOTY competition
The main Close Up Photographer of the Year competition invites photographers from all levels and corners of the globe to showcase their finest close-up work, captured with any camera, camera phone, or even microscope.
Next to this annual competition, the CUPOTY runs themed challenges with a specific theme, like ‘Death & Decay’. For more information and to discover more winning images, visit the CUPOTY website.
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