Early Monday, Labor Day morning, I took a short walk around the garden and stopped at our white Rose of Sharon, (we also have a pink one). These beautiful flowering shrubs proudly announce the end of summer every year without fail, and this year is no exception.
Evidently, it was not a holiday for this industrious fellow, (and his many colleagues), who busied themselves rolling in and collecting as much pollen as they possibly could, to the point where they were almost too heavy to fly from bloom to bloom.
According to eHow.com, Roses of Sharon contain both male and female reproductive organs and are capable of self-pollination, which with the help of these bees, and judging from the number of blossoms we get every year, means there’s a whole lot of pollinating going on.
Taken with my Nikon D90 and Nikon 18-200mm lens at a focal length of 170 mm and an aperture of f/5.6, hence the narrow depth of field. Shutter speed was 1/800 second.
Posted by Ed
2 Guys Photo 
This is stunning, Ed. Excellent clarity.
Wow, that’s a lot of pollen on that bee! Excellent clarity!
Superb catch Ed!
What a great way to start the holiday. Almost a macro shot by default.
Exceptional clarity and sharpness. Just look at the pollen on the bee. Did you focus on the bee and recompose?
Rey
Exactly. The DOF was pretty narrow and I was trying to make the bee the focal point. Thanks, Ed