I vividly remember the time when I first saw a swarm of fireflies. Their flickering completely enchanted me, and of course, I also tried taking some photos. However, they were quite… underwhelming, to say the least. But photographer Daniel Kordan has managed to capture the beauty and magic of fireflies. He turned them into a series of images he kindly shared with DIYP, along with his gear and settings that he used to create them.
Nature photographer films adorable insect that looks like a piece of popcorn
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There’s so much beauty in the world, and so much of it we can’t see until we look through a macro lens. Physicist, biologist, and talented nature photographer Andreas Kay filmed an adorable little bug that looks like a walking piece of popcorn.
My process for creating insect portraits with macro photography
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Each print that I create is a composite of hundreds (sometimes thousands) of individual photos digitally stitched together. Using a method of macro photography called “photo stacking” it’s possible to create images with an incredible amount of detail, even when printed at a very large scale.
To show you the amount of work involved—often reaching 10 to 20 hours per image or more—I’ll walk you through my process using a giant stag beetle (Cyclommattus metallifer finae) from Indonesia. It is time-intensive and tedious, but worth it. Let’s get to it.
2020 Bug Photographer of the Year winners will take your fear of bugs away
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Most people I know are afraid of bugs or disgusted by them. However, insects are a magnificent subject for macro photography, and they can look gorgeous, elegant, even comical. This year’s Luminar Bug Photographer of the Year winners show all sides of insects that could make you stop fearing them. After all, even the contest winner overcame his fear of insects through photography!
Watch these weird insects as they take off in super slow-motion
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Super slow-motion can show us a lot of things that we’ve never seen before. Dr. Adrian Smith of Ant Lab wanted to show us how some unusual insects take flight, so he filmed them at 3,200 fps. It’s amazing to reveal what techniques they use to take off, but it’s also interesting to see how much they differ.
Winners of 2020 International Garden Photographer of the Year show how much beauty there is in your own backyard
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The coronavirus has stopped us in our tracks and prevented us from traveling, exploring, and taking photos at new places. But hey, this is our chance to rediscover our own city, neighborhood, even our own backyard. International Garden Photographer of the Year (IGPOTY) 2020 winners will inspire you to get out and find all the hidden beauty of your own backyard.
Five tips for handheld insect macro photography
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With macro photography, we can discover entirely new worlds and see tiny creatures in a completely new light. In this video, Micael Widell gives you five tips that will help you find the ideal subjects and then nail focus and exposure for some amazing macro shots.
Pest control company uses photos without permission, photographer sues them for $2.7 million
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Copyright infringement is something that most photographers have faced at least once. Recently, biologist and insect photographer Alex Wild has faced this problem as well. A company named Cypress Creek Pest Control used some of his bug photos on their web page. Wild’s website clearly states the terms of use, and the company reportedly neither paid for the photos nor asked for Alex’s permission. After failing to remove the images, Wild decided to sue them for a whopping $2.7 million.
A review of the Olympus STF-8 twin macro flash system for Micro Four Thirds
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Last year, Olympus Singapore loaned me a pre-launch unit of their new STF-8 Twin Macro Flash, together with their OMD-EM1 Mk1 and M.Zuiko Digital ED 60mm f/2.8 Macro for a test-run in the field. I’ve had the set for about a week — it was easy to use and the results were pretty good, although it took some time for me to get used to focusing using the LCD.
This review is grossly overdue, but I’m posting it because I had been receiving questions on macro photography performance on micro four-third systems. This not a technical review. Instead, I will explain its pros and cons, as well as simple steps to maximise its capabilities.
Using A Homemade Concave Macro Diffuser For Shooting Insects
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Macro photographer Mark Thorpe (A.K.A PixelHobo) just sent us this awesome macro photography tip. The idea is to create a concave macro diffuser that will illuminate your (itsy bitsy) subjects from all around, eliminating shadows. He calls it ‘El Monstro’.
The build is easy as long as you have ample supply of gaffers tape :)
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