Our first Hokkaido squash of the season - a sure sign that the summer is getting older. Many thanks for the comments on yesterday's rose shot. I hadn't 'planned' on the bee (actually a wasp) at all - it was a bonus (a fuzzy bonus).
August Rose just before Sunset As seen in our garden. The light was somewhat golden and very soft. Re critiques: I ask for them and am always glad to get them. Yesterday's shot did have some problems - which fortunately I can blame on my five year old phone (first smartphone that HTC made) :)
Carpenter Bees on Clary Sage A shot from our garden. We haven't seen any hummingbird moths this year on the sage, but the carpenter bees are around. Xylocopa violacea, the violet variety that is common in Europe. Technical: I'll admit that this is a montage - that's only one bee - on approach and on the flower. But the shot looks a tad 'artificial' to me. The background is the hard plastic wall of raised beds about two metres away, so that can't be a shadow upper left. Maybe a different background would help.
