This is a photography blog, but sometimes subject matter themes present themselves at timely moments of the year. As we humans celebrate our holidays by consuming turkeys and other animal life, so too, do the bugs around us consume each other and it is all done in concert with the natural law of the jungle [...]
Dragonflies are remarkable subjects to shoot. They come in brilliant arrays and combinations of colors from cherry red to sky blue to emerald and olive greens. Each huge compound eye has up to 30,000 lenses and they see better than any other insect. Their four independently controlled wings flap at 30-80 times per second, which [...]
It’s been almost two years since I last wrote about shooting bugs in the act of procreation, and you know what? They’re STILL doing it! Right out in the open in public parks and backyards. This time around, though, I have more macro experience behind me and I’m better equipped to shoot them when I [...]
Macro photography of flowers and plants can be beautiful all by itself through the lens of a Tony Rizzuto or an Elizabeth Stone. But to me, the presence of a living creature like a bug or spider adds interest, enhances the aesthetics of the images (okay, maybe that’s just me), provokes a reaction (good or [...]
First off, I love my Tamron SP AF 90mm f/2.8 Di Macro 1:1 lens. I’ve shot thousands of quality macro images with it, but I began hungering to get closer still and discovered the Canon MP-E lens, which delivers extreme close-up images of up to five times (“5x”) the magnification of the standard macro 1:1 [...]
One exercise that had a lasting effect on me in Elizabeth Stone’s and Doug Johnson’s Intermediate Photography Workshop four years ago was how to work a scene. We learned to shoot from the same spot or shoot a single subject at least eight different ways. In the macro world having the mindset to find eight [...]
Damselflies and Dragonflies are some of the most curious, colorful, and strangest looking creatures I’ve run across in my quest for macro subjects, and also some of the most challenging and rewarding to shoot. I stumbled upon a popular roost for Damselflies in the park earlier this summer and shot them for at least [...]
I’m pretty sure Henri Cartier-Bresson didn’t have insect mating in mind when he coined the photographic term “decisive moment,” but I can’t think of a phrase that better describes these momentary opportunities that often happen by surprise. More often than not catching insects mating at the decisive moment is just dumb luck, although it helps [...]
In my last blog I had just begun to shoot bees hand holding my camera in natural light. This month I’ve experimented with my ring flash, shooting bees and bugs during the harsher mid-day light, and intentionally finding the most colorful natural backdrops possible. The result is that I’ve experienced a much higher shot-failure rate, [...]
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