Observations on Photographing Insects

I showed my fledgling Flickr stream to Julie, a colleague, who didn't seem very impressed. Now, Elizabeth says she loves my work, but then again, she recently let me leave Einstein Bagels with a poppy seed wedged between my front teeth, so I'm not sure I can trust her. Anyway, Julie said, "It looks like you're trying to give insects personalities." I guess Julie doesn't anthropomorphize as much as I do. She is probably the type of person who reaches for the Raid before she lets the bug introduce itself. Even though her unenthusiastic response to the photos depressed me, I loved her comment because I am trying to capture the personalities of insects.

I have discovered that a number of fortuitous conditions must exist when photographing these little creatures, however. For example, the insect should contrast nicely with surrounding colors, not blend in with them. If the insect is itself vibrantly colored, then the background colors should be monochromatic. Dark colored insects photograph best in bright sunshine while light colored insects need an overcast sky or partial shade. And of course I have to get the bug within the crosshairs and focus before it decides to fly off. There are just too many variables when I am in pursuit of a bug. As a result, I sometimes get shots full of personality, but no matter how I crop them [the only image "adjustment" I allow myself], they aren't good enough for the stream.

Case in point, I went to Lukas Nursery, which was overrun with swallowtails. I took this photo of a black swallowtail atop Florida azalea:


When I see this photo I am reminded of Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver; I can hear the butterfly asking, "Are you talking to me?" The photo, though, is terrible: too much sun washing out the wing and leaf colors, too many dying flowers in the foreground, etc.

I shot another black swallowtail ascending over the same Florida azalea with wings like Dracula's cape flowing beside it:


Although I like the head-on angle of the butterfly, its I've-come-to-suck-your-nectar attitude, there are the same problems: wrong lighting, crappy foreground, etc. I have such a difficult time getting the little shits to hold still in time to focus that I get really bummed when I can't use the photograph for some other fault I neglected to avoid.

Sometimes, an otherwise great shot is ruined by an obstruction I can't remove:


I love this little guy atop a Mexican sunflower, especially his curled proboscis. But I have a problem with the crispy dead flower hanging upside down beside him. When photographing butterflies, I cannot move offending vegetation aside; such a blunder will, of course, cause the insect to fly away and me to miss the shot entirely.

Alas, I am still averaging one decent photograph per 25 that I take. Thank god there are no developing fees for a digital camera.