Photographing The Insect World

"When I finally stand up and take the camera away from my eye, 
and fade back into my giant, human status, only then do I realize
 how small the world is that I just entered, and at the same time, 
how much larger it now feels to know so much life exists in that realm."

~ by Betsy Seeton

Green lacewings are delicate insects with compound eyes and typmpanal organs. Wikipedia explains, "A tympanal organ is a hearing organ in insects, consisting of a membrane stretched across a frame backed by an air sac and associated sensory neurons. Sounds vibrate the membrane, and the vibrations are sensed by this organ." I've never been much of a bug person, so this was very interesting. (If I could ever remember 'tympanal', I could use it in scrabble.)

GREEN LACEWING in Colorado - Taken the morning of June 5, 2011

Adults lacewings have typmpanal organs at the forewings' base, enabling them to hear well. Some Chrysopa show evasive behavior when they hear a bat's ultrasound calls: when in flight, they close their wings (making their echolocational signature smaller) and drop down to the ground. source: wikipedia

This green lacewing was incredibly camouflaged against the green leaf.  The wings were translucent with a slight iridescence and green wing veins. The only distinguishing feature it had, making it stand out a tiny bit from the leaf, yet only the size of the head of a pin, were the black and gold colored eyes. It would be so easy to never see this bug unless, like me, you were searching for insects to photograph. It was no bigger than one half inch.

GREEN LACEWING - Taken the morning of June 5, 2011

I followed this damselfly around from blades of grass to dandelions that had gone to seed, and then to dried up weeds and back to grass. It's a skill that can actually be sharpened. On each photoshoot, I train my eyes to be uncommonly observant. It takes complete focus; 100% attention. It's a great way to get away from life's stress. It gives me no time to mull over my own personal issues. All my thoughts must stay "in the field" and not wander away or drift off.

Taken the morning of June 5, 2011

To get a decent shot, I'm often crawling on my stomach or crouched so low in a squat position with my elbows on the ground. I have to move slowly, and quietly, and yet get comfortable enough, and close enough, to hold the camera steady. 

Taken the morning of June 5, 2011

 I'm no video game player whatsoever, but lately I wondered if photoshoots like this might feel like being inside a video game, where the shooting is not done with guns, but using a camera, and I'm not out to kill, only to get a killer photo. It has a competitive feel to it, but only against myself. I'm out to capture the world we rarely notice, but one that is all around us. I'm now taking notice of life that has largely been oblivious to me. It makes the world vastly more interesting. 

Taken the morning of June 5, 2011

It's a little bit like being a character in the Disney movie, Honey I Shrunk The Kids. When I'm working on this macro level, these critters seem much larger and much more imposing than they are. When I finally stand up and take the camera away from my eye, and fade back into my giant, human status, only then do I realize how small the world is that I just entered, and at the same time, how much larger it now feels to know so much life exists in that realm.

Taken the morning of June 5, 2011