Technology
A Fake Makes it to the Smithsonian's Photo Contest Finalists
I was surprised to see this as a finalist in the Smithsonian's 2012 Photo Contest :I was surprised because, to this ant biologist's eyes, the scene is obviously faked.
Compound Eye
The many facets of science photography
Technology
Thrifty Thursday: The Ant and the Watery Lens
Thrifty Thursdays feature photographs taken with equipment costing less than $500. [iPhone 4S - $336; water droplet - free]One year ago I posted a short note describing how to turn your cell phone into a microscope using a droplet of water .I haven't used the technique much since, but this afternoon I turned on the faucet, grabbed an ant, and captured this macro shot of the insect as she rested on a backlit leaf...
Technology
A simple diffuser for Canon's MT-24EX macro flash
My standard macro kit costs several thousand dollars (camera, $1800; lens, $1000; flash, $600; various accessories, $300). Yet, most of what I consider the more unique aspects of my style are down to a mere few cents of tape, paper clips, and plastic diffusion.Consider:A homemade diffuser inserted below the flash heads makes a sizable difference...
The Sciences
The Scientific American Blog Network is not Scientific American
If you spend time reading Scientific American , you'll know the magazine does not tiptoe around controversial topics. The same is true for the 50-ish people who are part of the online blog network...
Technology
Thrifty Thursday: The iPhone and the Grasshopper
Thrifty Thursdays feature photographs taken with equipment costing less than $500. [iPhone 4S - $336]The ubiquitous iPhone isn't designed for macro photography, but when the subject is as large as this 3-inch lubber the little camera's optics do just fine.The challenge of making this photo was not optics but lighting...
The Sciences
A more realistic focus-stack
Why is this beetle so crisp?The clarity results from the image being not a single photograph but a composite. I took 50 exposures at different focal depths and merged them in a file sharp enough to cut diamonds.This extra-clean look is increasingly common, and for a reason...
The Sciences
Most zombie ant photographs are upside down
Since we're on the topic of zombies, a public service announcement:Most zombie ant photographs are upside-down.Few insect natural history stories capture public imagination as much as "zombie ants"...
The Sciences
Art of the Living Dead
Swarms of army ants naturally inspire fear, of course, but to people who know ants this painting is even more terrifying.Hashime Murayama has not only drawn army ants, but undead army ants, their reanimated corpses lurching towards us in eerie procession...
Evolution
The Spider Assassin
Here's a Belizean bug that doesn't look like much:I'm serious. In the field the insect looked like so little I thought it merely debris in a disorganized spider's web.
Technology
Thrifty Thursday: A Reminder of Summer
Thrifty Thursdays feature photographs taken with equipment costing less than $500. [Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3; $180]The secret to taking beautiful photographs with inexpensive digicams is to exploit what the little cameras do well (an impressive depth of field) and avoid situations that bring out their weak points...
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