mel-*moth* the wanderer(s)

February 10, 2010 2:41 PM

Moth trails. Long exposure shots of moths at night, twirling around lights. Elsewhere, in video form.
posted by Sticherbeast (28 comments total)

Haunting.
posted by jefficator at 2:43 PM on February 10, 2010

these one looks like some freaky underwater worms.
posted by delmoi at 2:48 PM on February 10, 2010

When I clicked the link, the first thing to escape my lips was a very loud, drawn out "WOW!". Thanks!
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 3:00 PM on February 10, 2010

That is very, very cool. Thanks, Sticherbeast!
posted by brundlefly at 3:04 PM on February 10, 2010

That's fantastic. Stupid non-flying in winter moths. I'll have forgotten to try this in another four months when the moths are around.
posted by Keith Talent at 3:05 PM on February 10, 2010

I love the stroboscopic effect from the line frequency in the lamps. Great post.
posted by 7segment at 3:05 PM on February 10, 2010

First thing I thought of was the Squiggle from the animated version of Norton Juster's "The Dot and The Line."
posted by Mister Moofoo at 3:10 PM on February 10, 2010

Found them late at night. Beautiful. Thanks!
posted by Termite at 3:20 PM on February 10, 2010

Cool set! These also demonstrate quite clearly how the infamous 'flying rod' problem haunting conspiracy nuts can be debunked as nothing more than a regular flying insect captured in flight with a slow shutter speed.
posted by jimmythefish at 3:23 PM on February 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

Nifty. Gracias.
posted by Atreides at 3:29 PM on February 10, 2010

I love the stroboscopic effect from the line frequency in the lamps.

I think that's the motion of their wings beating as they catch the light.
posted by bradbane at 3:30 PM on February 10, 2010

Very cool. Similar to this video of mirrored snowfall with motion trails.
posted by DaddyNewt at 3:56 PM on February 10, 2010

Is it wrong that I wonder what one of these would look like with a bug zapper as the light source?
posted by jedicus at 4:02 PM on February 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

That was surprisingly beautiful. I'm really impressed with the variety of shots, too. Thanks!
posted by harujion at 4:38 PM on February 10, 2010

So cool. Thanks for sharing!
posted by arnicae at 4:39 PM on February 10, 2010

Really neat - if you flatten down a lot of those patterns into 2D, it kind of resembles the growth of neuronal axons in vitro on a 2D surface.

I wonder what kind of hardware is needed for these really high contrast images?
posted by porpoise at 5:14 PM on February 10, 2010

Really neat - if you flatten down a lot of those patterns into 2D, it kind of resembles the growth of neuronal axons in vitro on a 2D surface.

...That sounds like a line straight out of XKCD, only he'd somehow be talking about love.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 5:53 PM on February 10, 2010 [3 favorites]

Props for the Melmoth reference, too. I didn't realize anyone else in the last thirty years had read it.
posted by GhostintheMachine at 6:08 PM on February 10, 2010

lovely! thank you.
posted by marlys at 6:12 PM on February 10, 2010

Those photos are eerily gorgeous. Still doesn't change the fact that moths scare the hell out of me.
posted by thisjax at 6:40 PM on February 10, 2010

moths scare the hell out of me
Ladybugs too, Rod and Todd thisjax?
posted by Cold Lurkey at 7:02 PM on February 10, 2010

This is really neat, but I get the feeling the video version could be better if it weren't just a sequence of long-exposure photos, one per frame. It would probably look really nice if you could shoot normal or even high-framerate video with enough sensitivity, and then blend together the last 20-30 frames to create the trails. That way, the movement would be realtime, just with trails.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 8:04 PM on February 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

This made me instantly think of Mothlight by Stan Brakhage.
posted by bxyldy at 8:24 PM on February 10, 2010

I love these, and don't know why I never thought of (or have seen someone) doing something similar before.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 8:40 PM on February 10, 2010

How strangely attractive.
posted by anthill at 10:42 PM on February 10, 2010

ditto.

I've encountered all forms of "scary" creatures in the wild. Everything from Tarantulas, snakes, leeches, and flying cockroaches thingies the size of small aircraft to scorpions, and NYC subway rats. None of which cause me anything more than mild wariness if i think it's gonna bite or sting me in some way.

Moths? Full on pit of my stomach fear and panic. Makes no sense. How can I be unafraid of bats, but completely catch the vapors when a moth gets into the house?
posted by billyfleetwood at 12:03 AM on February 11, 2010

These are super, thanks.
posted by From Bklyn at 2:02 AM on February 11, 2010

I took a photo like this and didn't expect it to come out looking like it did. Somehow moths in long-exposure end up looking like barbed wire.

These examples however are something else entirely. Great post.
posted by Acey at 5:02 AM on February 11, 2010