Dr. Adrian Smith publishes incredibly detailed examinations of insects in motion through his YouTube Channel Ant Lab. While he generally picks backdrops to complement the colors of his subjects, this time he chose to mimic a more classic look.
Macro photography in the field is not always easy or comfortable, often requiring long hours outdoors in the heat. So now more than ever, I’m seeing the benefits of lightweight lenses and bodies.
Dr. Adrian Smith regularly publishes unique looks at insects using high-speed cameras. In his latest video, Dr. Smith focuses his lens on seven stunningly beautiful species of moths and captures their movements at a blistering 6,000 frames per second.
Dr. Adrian Smith is well-known for this slow-motion study of insect species and that skill set was perfect for a detailed study of insects known as "springtails." They normally move so fast that normal cameras, as well as the human eye, cannot perceive their motion.
When insects fly by, they do so usually too fast to really notice how they are doing it. They either zip by our periphery or jump into the air so quickly it's hard to tell how they do it. In this 6-minute video, you can truly appreciate the funny ways different species take flight.
Photographer João Burini has published a review of the Laowa Venus 50mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO for micro four thirds after a long time shooting with the lens. He has captured a large number of beautiful images of insects, and calls the lens "the best macro option in micro four thirds."
Over the weekend, Luminar (yes, that Luminar) unveiled the winners of the first annual Bug Photography Awards: a contest that the photo sharing software came up with in association with Buglife, Europe's leading invertebrate charity.
Insects and other animals have fascinated me since I was a small child. I remember well how I used to pick them up and simply stare at them in wonder for hours. The concept of photographing insects indoors had been on my mind for years, even when photography and playing with light was a hobby, and long before I considered photography a profession and way of life.
Imagine seeing a photograph of a baby zebra sleeping peacefully atop the head of an adult tiger. Sounds crazy, right? Now imagine that same crazy image winning grand prizes in prestigious photography competitions.