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DPChallenge Forums >> Tips, Tricks, and Q&A >> how do you get bugs to stay still?
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Showing posts 51 - 75 of 88, (reverse)
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 08/02/2006 03:14:11 PM · #51
Originally posted by Gatorguy:
Originally posted by hopper:
also, you could use bait (sugar water and whatnot)


I've used sugar-water with good success, but I've never had any luck with whatnot, please share your secrets. ;)


I let the clover bloom and grow in the backyard, because I might run out of things to shoot and can alway do a fee bumblebees who come to polinate.
 08/02/2006 03:14:55 PM · #52
I've noticed a trend... the uglier the bug the more willing they seem to be to pose.

It just may be a vanity thing for bugs. :-)
 08/02/2006 03:16:16 PM · #53
If killing bugs is wrong, then I don't want to be right. Or how does that saying go? You are just trying to stir things up DP.

As far as the fridge goes, I use it for 2-4 minutes at a time and then check on them. If you want a natural model, it does work better to keep them alive. You just want to slow them down. There's a fine balance there you need. I used the trick with my latest frog picture and he cooperated just fine before I let him go in the backyard to hop back to his frog buddies.

Otherwise, a good camera can really get you a long way with macros of bugs. You don't have to be as close to them (so as not to spook them), the focus is faster, less light required, etc.
 08/02/2006 03:16:26 PM · #54
Stops 'em dead in their tracks:

08/02/2006 03:18:18 PM · #55
Originally posted by Gatorguy:
Originally posted by hopper:
also, you could use bait (sugar water and whatnot)


I've used sugar-water with good success, but I've never had any luck with whatnot, please share your secrets. ;)


I've used something I'd call a "whatnot" trap. Just to give you a clue...I caught a lot of dung beetles with it;) Probably TMI!

Here's a link describing various bait traps.

08/02/2006 03:56:48 PM · #56
Early mornings, cold mornings, even earlier mornings, calm conditions, a good tripod, manual focus and a lot of patience...

I don't kill insects to get my pictures, but then I want pictures of the creatures in their natural environment...and killing something for nothing more than a picture seems wrong to me.

Roger
 08/02/2006 03:58:07 PM · #57
A good hammer. When they ask what type of bug it is...tell them a dead one.
 08/02/2006 04:07:11 PM · #58
Originally posted by Judi:
A good hammer. When they ask what type of bug it is...tell them a dead one.

I'm not letting you anywhere near my Girl Scout troop!
 08/02/2006 04:10:26 PM · #59
I wake up when it's real early and still dark out, fire up my Grand Cherokee and turn on the floodlights. I send a few pounds of pollution into the clear morning air while driving to my favorite location, all the while cackling with heartless glee at the hundreds of insects obliterating themselves against my windshield. Having arrived, I walk through the meadow crushing even more helpless creatures as they sleep, and grinding blades of grass into pulp with my steel-toed work boots. Then I spot my prize - a red-speckled asian cricket rarely seen in these parts. Truly this is one of nature's rare beauties. I crouch down slowly and hold my breath while framing the shot. With the click of the shutter, the cricket hops back into the receding darkness. I love nature, I love to be a part of the balance. I wish him a long and healthy life and head back to my jeep.
 08/02/2006 04:10:39 PM · #60
I saw this on the front page and I just had to reply.

Alot of my earlier conceptual shots involved insects. You could go the route of 'freezing' them - but you run the risk of killing them and then they would be difficult to pose.

NOTE- with ladybugs you do not have to worry about putting them into the fridge (fridge, not freezer). Quite a few plant nurseries (natural pesticide) will sell you a bag of 500 ladybugs that you can keep in the fridge for up to 2 months. They generally go into a state of hibernation in cooler temp. and once you take the bag out it takes 30 secs to 1 minute for them to all wake up.

I have found that for a more natural pose you have to mix up tons of patience with loads of persistance - and maybe some fruit juice or a little sugar water. It is not easy and sometimes even with all the patience and persistance you may not get the shot you want on that day.

Destination Moon took 50 shots and 40 minutes to get this shot. This was the second ladybug as the first one flew off (but tis was O.K. since I had a bag of 499 more:-) ) Had I frozen the ladybug or picked up a dead ladybug I MAY not have gotten the legs to look naturally posed. I.E. After 1 1/2 hrs with trying to use a live ladybug and failing because they moved too fast I used a dead one that I found in the bag. A friend of mine laughed at me that I had to resort to using a dead bug:-) :-) :-) As good as it is, it could have been even better if the legs were visible and was in a 'natural' state of climbing.

Slaying the Dragon took an 1 and 10 minutes to get this final shot. The key is to have a one room you can block off, has lots of natural light AND the ceiling is no higher than 8 to 9 feet - that way if they fly off you just get on a chair and carefully capture them again. Yes you will have to touch them in order to place them where you want (not recommended for the squeamish). This little guy that I caught at the park in a butterfly net got tired of flying away & me constantly bringing him back. He just gave in and sat where I wanted him too.

Spring Forth From A Book took about 47 minutes to get the butterfly to sit. Sometimes my butterfly models would sit after 15 minutes sometimes it took anywhere an hour or more (depending on how hungry they are and how tired they get) . The key is also to have a closed room with a low ceiling (and lots of natural light) and some fruit juice placed on the object where you want the butterfly to sit. Blueberry and Watermellon juice were what the butterflies liked the most.

After the photo shoots were done, all insects were then set free - including all 499 ladybugs that had a feast on the aphids eating my garden.

08/02/2006 05:01:29 PM · #61
Originally posted by faidoi:
Originally posted by levyj413:
Originally posted by faidoi:
Waking up early in the morning ...

Ah, see. That's why I need other alternatives. ;)

Early bird catches the worm :P

No. It's:
The early worm catches the bird :)
08/02/2006 05:47:25 PM · #62
I usually shoot them au naturel - which means taking as many pictures as I can and hope that one at least is sharp in the right places. ;>þ





But this one had recently passed away...
08/02/2006 05:52:35 PM · #63
I have had luck shooting them in their natural habitat, but what also works is catching one in a ziplock bag, then squeeze most of the air out. The propellent from canned air (1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane) will put bugs to sleep for about 5 minutes, at which point they wake up and fly away. Just turn the compressed air can upside down and shoot some of the propellent into the ziplock bag, then close it. The bug will fall asleep for a bit, then fly away.
 08/02/2006 06:03:06 PM · #64
Originally posted by md8speed:
I have had luck shooting them in their natural habitat, but what also works is catching one in a ziplock bag, then squeeze most of the air out. The propellent from canned air (1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane) will put bugs to sleep for about 5 minutes, at which point they wake up and fly away. Just turn the compressed air can upside down and shoot some of the propellent into the ziplock bag, then close it. The bug will fall asleep for a bit, then fly away.


This is a great tip. Thanks!
 08/02/2006 06:24:37 PM · #65
This guy was really fast and I had to keep picking him up and putting him back to a starting place. I followed along and took 140 different pictures in three sessions.


I came across this spider by accident. I was lucky that he stayed in the same place for about 5 minutes while I could position myself at the exact angle I was looking for to get the straight head on shot.


There is a nice behive right in my backyard. I am going to be there a while.
 08/02/2006 06:46:16 PM · #66
this is probably the best advice given so far, and backed by the results to prove it ;}

Originally posted by elsapo:
i just follow them till they stop, then without making any noise, carefully approach. :)..


he did forget to mention that getting your settings dialed in before hand might aid in a quick success before the beast hauls off.


Message edited by author 2006-08-02 18:51:13.
 08/02/2006 06:56:23 PM · #67
Excellent tutorial for taking macro's with a point and shoot.
 08/02/2006 07:23:31 PM · #68
All of my insects photos (except for one) are what I would call "candid" shots (i.e. not setups and the bugs are alive and well).

This is the one setup shot I have in my portfolio, see below. I found him in my kitchen the other day and had heard about the fridge method so I figured I try that especially since I've never had much luck shooting hopping bugs in the wild. He was still a bit jumpy afterwards but he did calm down a bit to allow me to put him on some yellow foam board and get off a few quick ones.



It's pretty basic with no setup "scene" around him but I think it came out pretty well given this was just a quick impromptu shot. Afterwards, being the cool guy I am, I set him free outside. :P

Message edited by author 2006-08-02 19:25:10.
 08/02/2006 07:37:14 PM · #69
I put these little critters in a medicine bottle, dipped a q-tip in nail polish remover and let the fumes anesthetize the bugs. They slow down for a few minutes to allow picture taking.


or you can use superglue on the dead ones like I did here:

08/02/2006 07:49:58 PM · #70
Originally posted by lnede:
I put these little critters in a medicine bottle, dipped a q-tip in nail polish remover and let the fumes anesthetize the bugs. They slow down for a few minutes to allow picture taking.


or you can use superglue on the dead ones like I did here:



UH-OH! You are on deapee's sh*#t list! ;)

Edit to add: No worries...I've killed hundreds of bugs to send to collectors. I'll probably come back as an Ox Beetle in my next life!

Message edited by author 2006-08-02 19:53:52.
 08/02/2006 10:55:42 PM · #71
Thansk so much to all of you for sharing your techniques! That's what makes DPC so great. :)
 08/04/2006 11:20:50 AM · #72
I shoot with a 300mm and extension tubes. This gives you a distance that the insect will not think you are a predator. Medium ASA and not less than 1/400, with fill in flash in darker areas.

both 300mm and approx. 50mm extension tubes (two stacked)

Message edited by author 2006-08-04 11:21:54.
 08/04/2006 11:41:13 AM · #73
Originally posted by Bear_Music:
Most of the bugs you see depicted so well in DPC are actually professionally-trained bug-models. There are several web sites devoted to selling and/or renting out these bugs to photographers. They respond to hand signals and are very easy to work with. They are kind of expensive, of course, but it's worth it if you get a ribbon.

I have used bugs from www.bug_be_still.com in the past, myself. Only trouble was, I forgot to return them by the deadline and when I DID get around to returning them they had already passed away. The "restocking" fee killed my budget for the month, so I don't shoot bugs anymore.

R.


ROFLMAO !!!
I hope you have model releases for those bugs....

08/04/2006 11:53:22 AM · #74
I started playing with live mini-models recently too!

I made myself a bug room out of one of those gauzy bed canopies. It didn̢۪t interfere with my studio light getting through and my flying critters can̢۪t get away. I can manipulate it to put stinging bugs into it, and keep myself out. I use a smaller light tent on table top for non-flying confinement if I need it and then chopsticks as bug herders and a small plant for a launching and landing point. If I let them buzz for awhile without my being too near, they settle once they can't find an immediate exit. I have to move the lights once the bug settles, and reposition the tripod - so, it's not perfect, but it was low budget and worked pretty well.

So far my issues haven't been about the setup, but in finding interesting critters to shoot with all the heat and rain. I have half of Massachusetts looking for a Luna Moth right now. LOL :) I've found nothing but grasshoppers, crickets and Japanese Beetles.
08/04/2006 12:54:58 PM · #75
Originally posted by notesinstones:


So far my issues haven't been about the setup, but in finding interesting critters to shoot with all the heat and rain. I have half of Massachusetts looking for a Luna Moth right now. LOL :) I've found nothing but grasshoppers, crickets and Japanese Beetles.


You might invest in a black light, a portable one is best. Place it in your backyard or in the woods/fields and place a white sheet near it/over it. It might attract a luna and other moths/insects. They will land on the sheet and can be grabbed easily. Van
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