Bug series - finished.

[Sushigaijin]

hey all, sorry I haven't been participating much - I've been working two jobs and the bugs and snakes have all gone home for the winter. Pretty soon I'll have to break out the teleconverter and shoot birds again :cryin:

In any case, this is a series that I THINK is finished, although I might cut one or two depending on the response here. I'm interested to hear your feedback. I'm not going to arrange them in order, I'm not exactly sure how they will go and I think I will decide once they are printed. Yes, you have seen most of these before in various incarnations.

[scott-devon]

Nice series, that third shot....Wow!

[Cassie1]

Wow!....What an amazing series they just blew me away, I love them all. what lens did you use.

Cassie.

[Mule]

Nice. I too like #3.

[Mule]

I hope you and others will provide more background on just how you go about capturing shots like these. How much of it is setup vs. walking in the woods and coming across these shots? I've heard about sticking insects into the freezer to give you a chance to set up close to them without having them take off. Is this done more often than not?

[Loupey]

Looks great, Erik! Don't know what kind of specific feedback you're looking for as I don't know how you plan to display them. Are you looking for specific points on specific images or as an ensemble?

I've heard about sticking insects into the freezer to give you a chance to set up close to them without having them take off. Is this done more often than not?

No Never! At least not by the LARGE majority of those here I believe. I think that this is wrong for two reasons:

1. It's harmful to the subjects (if there are anyone who would disagree to this, they can't say that it is exactly good for them either)
2. I consider it equivalent to a photographic lie unless the subjects are used to point out specific anatomical parts for, say, scientific purposes. But even then, a dead rigid specimen would still do the job. Otherwise, sticking a still cold and helpless creature and posing them to look pretty is not the work of a Wildlife/Nature Photographer IMHO.

A valid question and I hope I'm not coming off sounding too harsh. But I think going out with the understanding of where to find your subjects and then having the technical execution to capture it on film is what makes it challenging, fun, exciting, and a continual learning process of both the subject matter and photographic knowledge.

[slayer7124]

very very good series! i really like the 3rd shot of the dragonfly. man, you guys must be lost in the winter time with none of these critters to take pictures of, haha.

[Mule]

Loupy, no offense taken. I enjoyed a spirited discussion. and I asked because I wanted to learn. I am still interested in understanding how this is done when I see these creatures moving all over and the macro lenses look like you need to get up close.

[Loupey]

Loupy, no offense taken. I enjoyed a spirited discussion. and I asked because I wanted to learn. I am still interested in understanding how this is done when I see these creatures moving all over and the macro lenses look like you need to get up close.

I think it's simply about getting to know subject behavior (the "when" and "where" being the most helpful) and being out when the chances of getting the shot is at the highest percentage.

When I came to this site last year, I had no idea how birds could be photographed so well (I never shot birds before). Paulnj and others here convinced me about the importance of knowing the subject. I would have never guessed back then that I can now approach certain bird species as close as I have been able to get.

As for the technical side for bug macros, I handhold a long lens so that I can follow my subjects where-ever they take me and so that I can stand back no closer than 2' so as not to startle or otherwise alter their behavior. A few times I could get no closer than about 8' to certain dragonflies and butterflies so I had to use the 300mm with a 2x converter to get the shot. For an SLR, I feel that 50mm and 100mm lenses are too short for in-field shooting of many insect species.

Erik has a good system for how he does it with his camera.

[Sushigaijin]

Thanks all, I'm glad you like these - I want to display bugs in a way that most people don't see them. I recently saw a photo show around town that had 10 or 15 bugs in field guide poses, and that made me think pretty hard about what exactly it is that makes a good bug photo. Obviously, a clear, in focus and well composed image isn't enough, because I didn't find the display to be very interesting - it has to have some personality I think, or some hidden aesthetic value. Hopefully in this series I've offered a bit of an anthropomorphic feeling, or alternately a view that hasn't been seen before. I'm still considering reducing the size of the series, I think I have to stare at it a few more days to make that decision.

as far as technique goes, these were all shot with my Sony H5, which is a super zoom "point and shoot" camera. All of these had a close-up lens (VCL-M3358) attached. The close-up lens working distance is about 10 or 11 inches. I can get pretty close to most bugs by using live-view to compose my shots, the camera doesn't seem to spook them as much as my big head does if I am using the EVF. I use the live histogram for a light meter, and usually meter to control highlights. Two of these shots have large areas of blown highlights, but I think that they work with the shots rather than take away from them. For larger bugs, I also attach a 1.7x teleconverter, which brings the working distance to about 20 inches. It also serves to give me less magnification with the same slender DoF, which is nice for isolating larger subjects. The native lens just doesn't offer a thin enough DoF for good isolation at working distances over six inches.

All of these shots are in situ, I do not pose bug shots. I do usually pose reptile shots, but in most cases I am in the field and don't have a refrigerator even if I wanted to chill the critter.

[Mule]

Erik, thanks for taking the time to provide the background. Sounds like the answer is get to know your subject, don't get so close as to spook the insect, use your zoom, and invest a lot of time in the field taking shots.

[Sushigaijin]

invest a lot of time in the field taking shots.

That's the best advice I could give. these were among the best from 10,000 frames I shot this summer, and countless hours in the field. I find that city parks with a bit of water are really nice places to shoot.