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“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
~Socrates
Looking at old photos never fail to brighten up my mood. Today I browsed my Flick gallery to cure my Monday blues. I examined old shots, figured out why some sucked, commended myself for nice captures and I also checked out EXIF data which made me realize that it's been 2 years since the day I started stalking bugs for photos. It also means that my compact camera has been a good company as it will turn 2 in a few weeks' time.
I always get good comments about my insect photos. The truth is, a couple of years ago, I thought getting a sharp photo of a bumblebee was next to impossible. Behold a blast from my out-of-focused past:
It was a fiasco, to say the least. I obviously didn't know anything about camera settings then. I found out how difficult it was to get a decent shot of winged creatures. Others may have given up at that point, but the masochist in me apparently took over. I kept on challenging myself until I was able to produce bumble bee photos of better quality. The photo below was from my 2008 summer album:
Before getting hooked on insect photography, flowers were my favorite subjects. Then it occurred to me that flower photography can be quite boring. I thought that they will always look the same anyhow. Who wouldn't be bored with a dull photo like this one:
Lack of light made the image lifeless, but that time I didn't know the significance of weather condition to photographs. I just took photos whenever I want to, until I finally realized that the details are better on shots taken on sunny days. Since then, I made it a point not to bother shooting on gloomy days. I ignored flowers for a few months until visits to photostreams of some friends inspired to take photos of beautiful blooms again.
I still take photos after 7PM, but only when the evening light is just right. Subjects that have blue, yellow and violet colors are not easy to take photos of. Based on my experience, soft natural light- a bit on the yellow side- makes a huge difference. Right lighting, framing, focus and voila! A bright and cheery photo:
Another obvious difference between my old and new pics is my distance from the subjects. I've learned that with macros shots, taking photos from a super closer range will yield good results. Getting very close to flowers is a piece of cake, however, with bees, wasps and the like, it can be a different story. I've been exposing myself to risks of stings from my usual subjects, but guess what? So far only the non-subjects, namely: stinging nettles, ants and mosquitoes, ruin my perfect days. The wasps and bumble bees have been harmless. According to Robert Capa: "If your pictures aren't good enough, you aren't close enough." With his wise words in mind, I will continue to shoot subjects from a few centimeters until my camera retires. Moreover, I promise that unfocused shots will forever belong to my past.
You've got to be original, because if you're like someone else, what do they need you for?
~Bernadette Peters
Date & time: January 19, 2008 at 13.07 GMT+8
Location: Bulacan, Philippines
Camera: Canon PowerShot A710 IS
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
I've got a confession to make. Almost 2 years ago I envied this shot so much and I even tried to imitate it. One summer morning, I found a similar bug in my mom-in-law's garden, I put it on top of a red flower and started to take photos. Then I realized that it was silly, why on earth would I copy one's work? I felt awful, so I brought the bug back to where it was and just took pictures of it in many different angles. Here's a pic of little greenie.
The morning light definitely did wonders to the photo. Composition-wise, I am not very proud of that shot but at least the colors and details look nice. More importantly, I learned that
imitating others' work for the purpose of gaining the approval of many is super insane. Some may think that my photos are nice but of course I can not please everyone. Since then, I just concentrated on learning how to take better photos and bear in mind that photography should always be fun.
I've got many Flickr contacts who are exceptionally skilled, each visit to their gallery brings delight to my senses because their shots never cease to inspire and amaze me. Time and again, I come across cool concepts for photos but I couldn't be bothered to imitate how the shot was executed, etc. I sometimes participate in Imagoism Thursday, but I just don't have the knack of composing shot the way V does. One thing that I learned from that weekly photo contest is that once in a while, I can apply the 'drama' my insect shots.
Bid me farewell
I haven't been actively participating in Imagoism Thursday because I just don't have many photos that would look good enough alongside the work of other Filipino photographers. Moreover, I just can be half as good as V when it comes to composing shots. I think I'm better off admiring her work from the sidelines.
Like in any form of art, originality is valued in photography. What's the point of imitating a shot that has been done thousands of times before? It's a waste of time. Coming up with unique compositions is the way to go. As usual I would like to emphasize that clever concepts do not require high-end gears, it's a matter of making brain cells work.
Uniqueness is what I've always been aiming at to the point that somehow it makes my shots extra weird. Nonetheless, I believe they deserve extra points in the originality department. Who else would be brave to get extremely close to spider webs or crazy enough to self-portraits from butt-level? Call it kick-ass originality, baby ;-)
“Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it.”
~Terry Pratchet
Camera: Canon PowerShot A710 IS
Exposure: 2 sec (2)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 13.2 mm
Modifications: adjusted contrast level, cropping
Date & time: December 27, 2008 10;05PM
Location: Santa Rosa Laguna, Philippines
I have mentioned that I prefer taking photos on a nice weather because I want to make use of natural light. In close up photos, flash can highlight minute details, that is, if it's not too bright. Using flash while shooting subjects that have light colors like pale yellow or those that have shades of white may give you disastrous images as results. The photo below was taken in a butterfly sanctuary in Finland:
The subject was in the shade, had I disabled the flash, we wouldn't get to appreciate the interesting pattern in its eyes. Most of the photos in my photostream are close up shots of bugs and flowers, however, 90 percent of the photos were taken in natural light. Why? Because there are instances when flash ruined my shots, and I don't want to make the same mistakes. I rarely go out on a gloomy weather when it's too dark for me to take pictures. Yes, I am afraid of the dark. I also didn't want to waste time on shooting scenes that my camera may not handle. But I discovered recently that taking long exposure shots with my camera is not as difficult as I thought. I even managed to take fireworks photos without a tripod, and surprisingly, some turned out very good
Good results always motivate me. Right now, I am considering going beyond nature close-ups and perfect lighting conditions, but that does not mean that I will get a new camera. I am a super newbie in the night shots department, my lack of knowledge in long exposure shots plus my ignorance of the features of my camera kept me in the dark for years. A new equipment can not guarantee that I would master long exposure shots immediately, it may ages for me to get used to different camera functions or settings. For now I think that I should concentrate on learning new techniques. The fireworks of new year's eve made me realize that I should not fear darkness as far as photography is concerned. My photography should not be a 9 to 5 thing because I can take photos even after sunset and they may turn out nice. I have always wanted to see the aurora borealis. I hope that when I finally get to witness that awesome phenomenon, I am already good enough to perfectly capture it with my compact camera.
"Sometimes less is more - less information, but highlighting it in a better way, sometimes better conveys important risk information.”
~Dr. Scott Gottlieb
Autumn love
Location: Kerimäki, Finland
Camera: Canon PowerShot A710 IS
Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200)
Aperture: f/4
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
Don't get me wrong, I don't even like autumn, perhaps I never will. After all, why would I love it? It killed the bugs and flowers, and I am not exactly the forgiving type. Prior to the death of the greens though, they were bright autumn days and that was when I decided to give minimalism a try. Actually, I wasn't even sure whether I was going it the right way or not, but my previous visits to the photostream of one of my photography idols gave me ideas.
Leaves were the most available at the time because they were everywhere. I tried my very best to follow the rule of thirds. Additionally, I wanted dramatic contrast of colors that's why all of the shots had the blue sky in the background. It worked well, at least according to the reviews of my Flickr contacts. I used flash in some of the photos but it was on a low setting. Less detail means less amount of post-processing work to deal with, sometimes the image may not even require any modification at all. Ain't it easy?
Autumn colors
Alone but standing tall
The key is to make the subject interesting given the minimal information in the image. Applying simplicity as a technique will be very effective. If the subject is a flower, you wont need the distracting weeds in the background. Give the subject more room to breathe. The right choice of perspective can also make the shot stand out, no matter how tiny the subject may be. The viewers may only minimal detail, but creativity should always be at its maximum level because it will give the photo a spanking impact.
“The policy of being too cautious is the greatest risk of all.”
~ Jawaharlal Nehru
Stalked!Camera: Canon Powershot A710IS
Location:Punkaharju, Finland
Date & time: 5.36pm EEST
Exposure: 0.017 sec
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal length: 5.8mm
Modifications: cropping, adjusted brightness & contrast levels
I am keen on learning more about insect photography. I always read tips from some forums and blogs of professional photographers. Sometimes reading about some so-called tips make me wince. I was shocked to find out that some photographers resort to freezing bugs so that they could get 'better' photos of them. I think that is very wrong to sacrifice a bug's precious life for the sake of art. Talk about some human's selfish needs. No wonder so many species are now extinct. In my opinion such form short cutting defeats the real purpose of nature photography. There's nothing like capturing nature's priceless moments.
In case you find nature macrophotography very interesting, then by all means give it a shot. It's not exclusive to people with high-end cameras, if it was then I would not have the thousands of bugs and flower close-ups that are in my hard disk right now. I already have an entry about flower macros. For now I want to share with you how to find and stalk bugs in their natural environment.
One thing that you should do as you walk close to the subject is to adjust your camera settings. Lower the exposure if the light is too harsh. Do you think you need to change the white balance? Do all the necessary adjustments prior to getting up close to the bug.
Spiders
It's quite easy to find spiders. If not in their web, they are usually on leaves or crawling on the ground. These 8-legged creatures are not insects. They don't have wings, but once they sense your presence they will disappear in flash. Why? Because most of them have 8 eyes that's why they can easily detect human presence. Getting good photos of them is a bit difficult, but not impossible. Just don't do anything that will startle them, move very slow but press that shutter like a maniac. If you are very close, make sure that your camera won't accidentally hit the leaf or whatever the spider is on because it's going to blow your chance to take more photos. In a blink of an eye spidey will be somewhere else. Here are two spiders who didn't mind me taking photos of them:
1. Greenie
2. Spider on a stinging nettle
Bumble bees
These ever buzzing winged insects are very restless especially if they are surrounded by plenty of tiny flowers. A bumble bee will just stay on a flower for a few seconds. They are normally too busy to get intimidated by the camera, but you have to press on the shutter as fast as you can. I haven't had the luxury of time to use manual focus on bumble bees. My camera is always on full auto mode whenever I take photos of them. My best shots bumble bees:
1. Coming out of the shell
2. Another day in the office
Honey bees
If bumble bees are always in a hurry to get things done, honey bees are different. They are quite methodical. Hence, easier to photograph. You can follow it's movement from one flower to another and you can take many shots of it because it stays on a spot for a minute or more.
1. And yet another hard worker
2. Behind bars
Hover flies
I have plenty of hover fly photos in my gallery. Based on my experience, they are the easiest winged creatures to take photos of. You can find them on flowers and sometimes they rest on leaves or blades of grass. You can be just inches away from them but they would not care, except if you will shake the leaf or flower. Once you are used to taking photos of bumble bees & honey bees, then you can effortlessly photograph hover flies. You an experiment on many different angles. Hover flies are twice smaller than bumble bees, to capture more of its detail you have to be really close to them.
1. A praying hoverfly?
2. in the middle of something
Butterflies
These lovely creatures are probably everyone's favorite insect. Photographing them is quite challenging. Once you see one on a flower, approach it slowly. Your mere shadow will ruin your chance to take photos of these winged insects. So try your best not to cast your shadow over it. If you startled accidentally, it will fly away. But don't fret, because it will come back to the same spot where you saw it. I've seen it happen several times. Like when I took these photos:
1. A summer remembrance
2. Monday blues
The first time I saw a huge moth was when I was 5 years old. It was orange with beautiful patterns on its wings. The wing span of that moth as about 18-20 centimeters. It was my mom who saw it first. Until now I remember how that moth looked like. Sadly, it was the first and last time that I saw such a beautiful live moth. I saw something that looked almost like it but it was in a butterfly museum in Asia, pinned on a wall. I probably would never see anything like that in this lifetime. So while some species are still alive, let's not waste the opportunity. Photograph them while you can. A few decades from today they may no longer be around, but if you took the risk of getting up close to those critters then you will have beautiful pictures to show to your grandchildren someday.
A smile is a curve that sets everything straight.
~Phyllis Diller
" 
Camera: Canon PowerShot A710 IS
Location: Vantaa, Finland
Date & time: September 25, 2007 at 3.23pm EEST
Exposure: 0.002 sec
Focal length: 5.8 mm
Modification: cropping
It's another gloomy day here in the country. It's been raining and the temperature is 10 degrees centigrade. Not a good day to go out & take photos. The weather really affects my mood. I don't like autumn because it's the prelude to the dark winter and it's sad to see less of my favorite subjects.
A few hours ago, I was looking at the photos that I took at this time of the year because I wanted to know which insects will still be around 'til late autumn. I couldn't help but smile when I saw the above-posted pic. I took that photo after a long day at work. It was not that cold then, so I decided to walk around the nearest pond hoping to see lady bugs or any insect. I was so happy when I saw that dragonfly. I slowly walked close to where it was. It made a stop on a blade of grass and when I was about to press the shutter it flew to a tree, bummer! I had no choice but to get on my feet again and walk to the tree where my subject was resting. I took 5 photos of it. I was a bit surprised because it didn't seem to mind the camera even if it was very close to its face. It flew after the 5th shot and I headed home with dirty jeans. I didn't notice that I was kneeling on wet grass when I was taking photos. When I got home, my husband knew what I had been doing outside, based on how disheveled I was.
I laughed when I first saw this dragonfly pic from my laptop. It was smiling at me! Cool isn't it? Thanks to the nice natural light, because I didn't have to do much to the photo. I just cropped it.
Migrant hawkers should be around 'til late September, I just hope that I could spot some of them here. I wouldn't mind getting my jeans dirty again especially if they will smile for me.
I upload my best (to me) photos to my Flickr gallery. I get comments from other members and sometimes e-mails. They basically ask the same questions, I don't mind replying though. So while I'm at it, here are the top 10 questions from viewers of my gallery with my corresponding answers:
1. What's the camera that you use?
For those of you who have Flickr accounts, you probably know that under the photo tags there are more information about the photo. The camera model is there, and if you will click on "more properties" you wil find the EXIF data of the photo. Everything is there: settings, time, the color of my shirt when I took the pic, yeah everything. But I never whine whenever they ask me that question. My standard reply is: a Canon Powershot A710 IS.
2. Do you use a macro lens?
I don't because I don't have one. I don't even know if I can attach anything to my camera.
3. Do you use a tripod?
Nope, my husband has a tripod but I don't use anything that is not mine :-) lol! All of my photos are hand held shots because a tripod may just get in the way if I would stalk bugs. I am quite clumsy, I may trip on it or something.
4. It's crisp, how did you do that?
Natural lighting is the best. I don't take photos on an ugly weather.
5. Where do you find your subjects?
They are everywhere.We have a big backyard where I find different kinds of insects & spiders. I find true bugs on leaves. Bees are always close to the flowers. Spiders are sometimes under the leaves. Bigger beetles always crawl on soil, but ladybirds are on leaves where aphids are close by.
6. Why don't you get a DSLR?
Because I don't want to. It's too heavy and looks too darn complicated to use. It took me half-a-year before I got used to the buttons of my compact camera, so it would probably take me years to learn how to use a DSLR.
7. Why bugs?
I hate to answer a question with a question, but my initial response is: why not? Taking photos of insects is very challenging. Like I've said many times before, anyone can take photos of buildings and landscapes, but not everyone will be patient enough to chase tiny winged creatures. It's the thrill of the chase.. literally.
8. Did you take those photos yourself?
This is the most annoying question ever. I got rashes from stinging nettles just to take photos of ladybugs. ..I was chased by an army of mosquitoes on the way to the forest to look for butterflies I also got bitten by ants while taking photos of hover flies.. and I will be accused of uploading photos that I didn't take?! I don't understand how people can be so cruel. I answer them with a polite 'yes' even if they got me so irritated.
9. What camera can you recommend?
I don't know. I really don't. But if it's a compact point & shoot don't get a camera because it's cute slim and very light. It's super lightness is a disadvantage because you may not be able hold it steadily while taking a photo. You will get out-of-focus images as a result.
10. What's your messenger ID?
I never reply to that question :-)
