Cell phone cameras have tiny lenses, and while that's a drawback for most photo applications, the little cameras do a remarkable job of impersonating a bug's-eye view. The iPhone turns out to be quite in its element for micro photos like this.
The trick is to wait for a pretty sunset, place the camera so that the sun is obscured behind the plant, and shoot away. Dandelion sunsets are remarkably easy, which is perhaps why so many people do them.
The views expressed are those of the author(s) and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)
Alex Wild
Alex Wild is Curator of Entomology at the University of Texas at Austin, where he studies the evolutionary history of ants. In 2003 he founded a photography business as an aesthetic complement to his scientific work, and his natural history photographs appear in numerous museums, books and media outlets.
[iPhone 4S - $330]