Grasshopper

• Series: Photo of the Week • Tags: insects

A photograph can capture a scene, an image, a fleeting moment, and transform it into an object of study.

Macro photography does this, but like super hardcore. By definition, macro photography is a 1:1-scale reproductions, where an object should be captured at life-size relative to the camera’s sensor. The lens needs to be able to focus quite closely on the subject, and it should be able to capture as sharp and distortion-free an image as possible.

Macro grasshopper!

A steady hand is needed, because shake can easily blur an image taken so close-up. Having a lot of light and a wider aperture can help cut down on shutter speed, but due to the closeness of focus, the focal plane also becomes quite narrow, such that you can only focus on a single facet of a complex surface.

With all that technical description provided, I invite you to instead picture me hopping around shoving a camera as close to a grasshopper as possible, framing photos poorly, and having it jump around.

From farther away, the grasshopper on top of an outdoor footstool. This, then is what I was dealing with...
From farther away, the grasshopper on top of an outdoor footstool. This, then is what I was dealing with...

Up close, you can really get a good luck at the way that the grasshopper’s body is composed of overlapping plates.

A little closer! I'm not doing magic, just waving a 30mm lens in the bug's face.
A little closer! I'm not doing magic, just waving a 30mm lens in the bug's face.
An incredibly awkward angle, but look at the /sheen/ in that /mean green/ color on the grasshopper!!
An incredibly awkward angle, but look at the /sheen/ in that /mean green/ color on the grasshopper!!

It’s pretty cool!

I’m also impressed by the spindliness of the legs.

Our narrow focus plane is focused on the back legs, which provide the JUMPING POWER of the little green beast!
Our narrow focus plane is focused on the back legs, which provide the JUMPING POWER of the little green beast!

And the insane length on one of the grasshopper’s antennas!

Obviously, I had an easier time getting photos from farther away than closer, so many of these pics aren’t ‘true macro.’ But, I think the technical aspects are less important than the fact that I’m happy with them.

They were fun to take, and I think they’re pretty cool to look at too!

Photo of the Week: EXIF DATA
Time StampSaturday, August 22 2020
Camera MakePanasonic
Camera ModelDMC-GX85
Focal Length30.0mm
Apertureƒ/6.3
Exposure Time0.016666666666666666s
ISO800

Thanks for reading!

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