Insect photography as art
Recently I have been involved in discussions with some coworkers about insect photography in particular, and nature photography in general. The statement was that, though technically very challenging, most nature photography is not “artistic”. This goes back to the old “collectors vs. photographers” debate. Are you someone who simply finds things and photographs them, or do you attempt to tell a a message with your photography. The other gripe against insect photography in particular is it lacks the “I want to put it on my wall” phenomenon. Granted, my photography has not reached this plateau yet, but I strongly differ in opinion with those who do not believe that insect photography can be artful.
Above is a small caterpillar that I found suspended near building 30. I would have liked to get a number of shots of it but it was moving around so rapidly that I had a lot of difficulties getting this shot. The shot won’t win any awards, but I do believe it is artful. There are a number of emotions displayed here – freedom, dependency, soaring.
In my opinion the insect world is both a simplification and an exaggeration of our own. Things like competition, love, and life are available in the insect world – but are displayed in a much more extreme measure. Many emotions that are very complex for us are easily displayed in the insect world. Take for instance this shot I took some time ago.
This is one of my favorite shots, and I do have it hanging on my wall at work. I admit, most people would be rather turned off by this picture, but in my mind it displays so much more than simply a spider with an entrapped fly.
Another misconception from non-insect photographers is the creation of amazing insect shots relies entirely on technical skills and not artistic. Granted, there are a number of technical skills to master in insect photography. There is also the naturalist side- the top photographers learn a lot about the insects the photograph and make use of that information to get the best pictures. However, there is another element – and that is the setup of the shot. This is an area that I am currently working on, and I really don’t have a photograph that exemplifies this. This one comes closest to it.
There are a number of flaws with this photo – particularly that the red of the rose takes too much from the shot. When ladybugs return I plan to try to take a better version. However, this shot was setup in a way. I found a ladybug wandering in some grass and put it on the flower with the aphids. My wife had no problems with this – as she was already annoyed that I wouldn’t let her use pesticides on the aphids in the garden. The main distinction is I meant to take this exact shot – and I prepared the shot in a way to get it.
Other well known insect photographers deliberately place insects in places that are more photogenic. After all, dirt isn’t generally a photogenic place. When they do this, they often sacrifice artistic merit for scientific accuracy. I would argue that this shot still is accurate scientifically – as ladybugs are known to eat aphids. In the future though I plan to follow this technique more though – where I design the shot rather than depend on the insects I find.
With the advent of high end macro lenses such as the MP-E 65, insect photography is rapidly increasing. Many photographers often do start out the way I have – with taking accurate pictures of insects in the wild. However a select few progress from this to create truly outstanding artistic photographs that contain insects. I am not currently at this level, but I am striving to improve my art and skills so I will be.
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Tags: art, caterpillar, debate, insect, ladybug, macro, photography, spider
From the insect photos I put on my blog and the reactions I had from friends, I totally agree with you. Some people are turned off by the very aggressive looks of insect, others just discover, as much as me the beauty of the small world of insects. Add some insight from movies like “Antz”, “A bugs life” and you’ll get many people interested.
I have really fallen in love with insect photography. Not only have the new macro lenses been great leaps forward, but the ability for most point and shoots to be able to focus on a subject often within 1 cm of the lens has opened closeup photography to the masses.
Tom
Beauty can be found everywhere in Nature, especially at this size, the ladybug shot is amazing !
I definitely believe insect photography can be art, but gaining general acceptance as art is another matter. In some quarters photography itself isn’t fully accepted as art. Many consider all representational art forms as second class. Additionally, the “See bug; spray Raid” mentality is still much more pervasive than I once thought.