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.
How to photograph bugs in the field that look like they were shot in a studio
If you’re a bit of a macro addict, photographing bugs while out and about can be great fun. There’s so many out there to see, and they come in some fantastic shapes, sizes and colours. Not everybody wants to photograph them sitting on a leaf or crawling across the ground, though. Sometimes you want to have a cleaner look that features just the subject.
In a studio, this is quite easy to do, but how can you get a studio type of look while out in the middle of nowhere? Well, here’s a video from photographer Phil Torres at The Jungle Diaries to show us. It’s easy to do, and if you already have a macro lens, it only requires a couple of inexpensive extra bits.
Photographing a mosquito hatching from its pupa
I suppose like most photographers I have a “photographic bucket-list”, and documenting the life-cycle of the much maligned Mosquito has always been high on that list. Like many of my projects this turned out to be quite the undertaking filled with many challenging and unique problems.
Mosquitoes start off as eggs which hatch into larvae. The larvae, also called wrigglers feed on algae and micro-organisms in the water. They spend much of their time at the water’s surface sucking oxygen through breathing tubes attached at their tail. After about a week they turn into pupae.
How a personal project became an exhibition of the most beautifully photographed and detailed bugs you ever saw
As a commercial portrait photographer specialising in sports, this project is a little different to the regular subjects that Levon Biss is used to shooting, but keen to make a personal project that he could pursue in his spare time which didn’t take up much space, insects became the perfect answer and that project became Microsculpture.
Originally starting the project at home using specimens his son had caught in the garden, Levon soon perfected his technique and began to produce some amazing results, that are about to be exhibited at the University of Oxford Museum of Natural History.
The Hidden Wonders of the Amazon
Photographer Nicky Bay headed to the Amazon’s tropical rainforests, but he wasn’t after the jaguars, anacondas, sloths or piranhas the region is so famous for.
Instead, being a macro photography, Nicky set out to document the creatures so small they are often overlooked or disregarded.
If you like creepy-crawlies you will love these photos. If you don’t, you’ll probably remove the Amazon rainforest from your travel wishlist.
Using A Homemade Concave Macro Diffuser For Shooting Insects
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 🙂
This Time Lapse Of Hatching Bees Will Give You Nightmares
We all have this primal fear of bees. And while bees are generally a peaceful bunch, something about the buzz, furry appearance and the notion of a sting just hammers my head when I see one.
If that was not enough to keep one sleepless photographer Anand Varma did a 78 seconds time lapse video showing how a bee transforms from egg to larva to adult. The kinda of stuff nightmares are made of.
FAQ: So Your Company Has Been Found Using Alex’s Photographs Without Permission. What Next?
In August I hired ImageRights International, a reputable copyright enforcement agency, to assume the routine handling of commercial infringements of my professional work. There are a lot. Starting in September 2014, companies began receiving letters from ImageRights’ partner law firms seeking to resolve these infringements on my behalf.
Love Them Or Hate Them, These Ultraviolet Macros Will Change The Way You See Arthropods
Whether creepy-crawlies make you run for your camera or run for the hills, these photos will not leave you indifferent.
Be it a beetle, a spider or a scorpion, Nicky Bay has pointed an ultraviolet light at it – and a lens.
Beautiful Macro Photos Of Spiders And Flowers Being Reflected In Tiny Drops Of Dew
After browsing through the expansive (and insanely brilliant) portfolio of Italian photographer, Alberto Ghizzi Panizza, you might start to wonder how he always seems to be in the right place at the right time. His macro images are consistent perfectly timed feats of logic. But, as Panizza would explain, it’s not just good timing. After 10 years of practicing the craft, he almost intrinsically knows where to be when he wants to photograph insects, flowers, and peacock feathers as they are reflected into a tiny orb of morning dew that also just happens to be getting carried around by a spider. Needless to say, the photos are sublime.[Read More…]
