Bug Portraits

March 9, 2004 9:24 AM

Bug Portraits by Frank Phillips. ". . .I always keep in mind the goal of capturing the bug from an angle that we humans don't normally see...and I believe that it shows in my work."
posted by Feisty (15 comments total)

Wonderful. Thank you, Feisty.
posted by tenseone at 9:30 AM on March 9, 2004

Very cool and cute bug pictures, but I have to say, that scripty font all over the place drives me nuts.

I know that's nitpicking, but you know, pics of nits are the point of the site, right?

Right? (*tap tap* Is this thing on?)
posted by chicobangs at 9:40 AM on March 9, 2004

I have to say, that scripty font all over the place drives me nuts.

Plus the font is about the size of a nit. I can't read it at all. Speaking of nitpicking, I hate it when people think they have to give all their photos cute little titles.

The photos themselves, of course, are spectacular. Not really an angle we don't usually see — more like a distance away we don't usually get.
posted by LeLiLo at 9:55 AM on March 9, 2004

It's starting to bother me that he's giving the impression that these are in nature shots, but it looks like studio lighting. A softbox and fill are in the same position in these three shots 1, 2, 3.
posted by Feisty at 10:20 AM on March 9, 2004

My brother, whom I affectionately call the "Bug Man" - has a wicked cool gallery of bugs he captured with his digicam.

Most of them were photographed in the wild, so to speak. I've tried and failed to capture insect images as well as he does.

The man has the patience of Job.
posted by bwg at 10:42 AM on March 9, 2004

bwg: the first photo of your brother's I clicked on at random is very very nice. (He got upset, though, when I tried to show it off here.) As are most of the others I looked at. Plus, a font you can read, and no cute titles. Thanks for mentioning his site.
posted by LeLiLo at 10:58 AM on March 9, 2004

Ah yes, hotlink protection.

Amazing, that.

Try his dragonfly photos - they are stunning, and probably his best work.
posted by bwg at 11:02 AM on March 9, 2004

Gorgeous photos, both in the FPP and in bwg's brother's site, but all I could think was that I am glad bugs are as small as they are. I wouldn't want to meet an identical life form that was say, 5000% bigger, in a dark alley.
posted by orange swan at 11:30 AM on March 9, 2004

bwg thanks for pointing out his site; the dragonfly images are wonderful. This was a very touching read.
posted by Feisty at 11:44 AM on March 9, 2004

awesome photos. pity the photographer's a bible-bashing right-wing nut, but that explains the tacky bevel on the photos and the awful script. don't ask me how, but it does.
posted by dvdgee at 12:11 PM on March 9, 2004

dvdgee: I noticed that too. I'd be all disappointed if I wasn't already hitched. He was also as handsome as his bugs.

Nice photos on the brother's site, too. I would like to know where he shot the dragons and damsels, out of curiosity where those varieties are native.
posted by Goofyy at 12:53 PM on March 9, 2004

My brother, whom I affectionately call the "Bug Man" - has a wicked cool gallery of bugs he captured with his digicam.

What camera is he using?
posted by NewBornHippy at 4:10 PM on March 9, 2004

What camera is he using?

Duh, I just found that out. Nevermind.
posted by NewBornHippy at 4:11 PM on March 9, 2004

... even though it could no longer move, it could still follow my movements with its pupils. You can see them as the black dots under the flash reflections.

It's so touching, I just can't bear to tell him about compound eyes.
posted by whatnotever at 8:12 PM on March 9, 2004

It's starting to bother me that he's giving the impression that these are in nature shots, but it looks like studio lighting.

Acutally it doesn't surprise me at all. A popular field technique for people doing this sort of thing is to build (or purchase) a two-light bracket to mount 2 flashes close to the end of the lens. When you are that close you should expect to see the same light pattern in the bugs' eyes.
posted by Qubit at 7:54 AM on March 10, 2004