[sergeremy]

The greatest insect pictures I've seen are by 'coker' on the british pentaxuser forums. They've all died a natural death and are most cooperative.

[Not a Number]

Chilling arthropods for photography and study to slow them down is a very commonly used technique. If you go through the videos and articles that have been posted you will find a few that mention this method.

Bee keepers regularly anesthetize their bees with smoke when working on the hives.

I have no doubt that many other macro photographers immobilize their subjects - this one photographer just happens to have mentioned it. Posing subject matter is a technique that is older than photography - indeed was necessary with the very slow emulsions and tin plates of the early days. Photographers used posing frames to keep their subjects immobile during the exposure.

Staging goes on all the time in nature photography. It may be as simple as moving foliage around for better lighting or camera angles, to introducing subject. Do you think all those encounters and events you've seen on National Geographic happened by chance? It may not go on to the degree that Disney was known for - the most infamous being the lemming sequence, but it still goes on.

[clackers]

There really is no way to get those focus stacked, super magnified pictures of insects - the damned things simply don't respond to us saying 'Cheese' and holding their selfie pose.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_jar

They are typically cleaned afterwards, too, to get a picture without distracting elements. Butterfly collectors would then pin them to card.

Of course, there are ethical implications of the sanctity and respect for life in all its forms.

[BeeShooter]

I am not impressed with taking pictures of dead bugs, any more than I'd be impressed by well-posed pictures of dead humans.

The dismissive nastiness in this thread towards heartfelt and reasonable concerns people have really reminds me why I don't usually stick with online communities very long.

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[swanlefitte]

I object to his snail. Not even close to a bug and it is 2 of his pictures. I object to his photo of a butterfly landed on a leaf drinking nectar. It didn't land there, it was posed. I doubt it was drinking but probably had its tongue thingy put there. The photo is a lie. The others are fine. Technically nice but boring.

[Ian Stuart Forsyth]

The sad thing is if photographers took the time to understand insects they are rather easy to photograph, but like everything else its down to the easy way to photograph.

[MarkJerling]

I am not impressed with taking pictures of dead bugs, any more than I'd be impressed by well-posed pictures of dead humans.

The dismissive nastiness in this thread towards heartfelt and reasonable concerns people have really reminds me why I don't usually stick with online communities very long.

I've not seen any "dismissive nastiness" in this thread.

That said, I have a raft in the swimming pool to provide bees with a means of survival when they fall in (which seems to happen often) but I murder flies without so much as a thought.
Go figure.

[luftfluss]

There really is no way to get those focus stacked, super magnified pictures of insects - the damned things simply don't respond to us saying 'Cheese' and holding their selfie pose.

There actually are several ways to do this, without killing, chilling, or anesthetizing...

- Early in the morning, many bugs are completely quiescent due chilly temperatures and/or dew. There was a person on the Pentax forum at DPR who posted pixel-shift images of butterflies taken this way. To a lesser extent, you can find insects in the evening that are also perfectly still.

- Some insects take a siesta at some point during the day. I have a few photos of bees that were completely still. I didn't attempt anything other than a straightforward snap, though.

- I've seen some butterflies and damselflies completely still while mating, to the point where I've wondered i they've died in the act...

- Ambush predators.

I think if you are prepared and dedicated, you will find opportunities.

[Ian Stuart Forsyth]

I think if you are prepared and dedicated, you will find opportunities

And learning of the subjects you are photographing. I spent a week just photographing Ant's and to capture Ants being Ants is why I take photos

[swanlefitte]

Ok so maybe he drugged a preying mantis to take its photo. He made sure the fly wasn't drugged when he fed the mantis the fly and it was eaten alive.

[clackers]

There actually are several ways to do this, without killing, chilling, or anesthetizing...

- Early in the morning, many bugs are completely quiescent due chilly temperatures and/or dew. There was a person on the Pentax forum at DPR who posted pixel-shift images of butterflies taken this way. To a lesser extent, you can find insects in the evening that are also perfectly still.

- Some insects take a siesta at some point during the day. I have a few photos of bees that were completely still. I didn't attempt anything other than a straightforward snap, though.

- I've seen some butterflies and damselflies completely still while mating, to the point where I've wondered i they've died in the act...

- Ambush predators.

I think if you are prepared and dedicated, you will find opportunities.

Nuh, I've taken plenty of those kinds of snapshots myself, none are the sort of focus stacked pictures we're wowed by.

There are often bellows or similar involved, and maybe 100 pictures taken moving the camera on a rail so it almost touches the insect's face as flashes go off each time. A sleepy grasshopper is not good enough.

Have you ever seen an electron microscope picture of an insect?

Again, not possible live. The insect has been dipped in liquid gold or similar.

[officiousbystander]

I think the rules need to make it clear that the macro bug photos are nature photos rather than posed or manipulated. If the rules aren't stated clearly who can blame the guy? Remember the stuffed anteater photo scandal? Anteater in prize-winning wildlife photo is stuffed, say judges | Photography | The Guardian. Imagine a photo of a stuffed anteater posed to look like it's eating drugged ants.

[UncleVanya]

Imagine a photo of a stuffed anteater posed to look like it's eating drugged ants.

This is a surreal idea…

[luftfluss]

Have you ever seen an electron microscope picture of an insect?.

Yes. After seeing a few, I'm no longer "wowed" by them.


To quote @Ian_Suart_Forsyth I want to see "Ants being Ants" (or whichever insect I fancy)

This is more my style...

2020 first butterfly pixelshift closeup: Pentax SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

Antonio De Santis

[clackers]

This is more my style...


Antonio De Santis

You should know Antonio shoots in the 'dead insect' style too ...

Occhi di una mosca – Antonio De Santis Fotografie