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!](https://whereissteve.blob.core.windows.net/images/potw/grasshopper/main.jpg)
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...](https://whereissteve.blob.core.windows.net/images/potw/grasshopper/1.jpg)
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.](https://whereissteve.blob.core.windows.net/images/potw/grasshopper/2.jpg)
![An incredibly awkward angle, but look at the /sheen/ in that /mean green/ color on the grasshopper!!](https://whereissteve.blob.core.windows.net/images/potw/grasshopper/3.jpg)
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!](https://whereissteve.blob.core.windows.net/images/potw/grasshopper/4.jpg)
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 Stamp | Saturday, August 22 2020 |
Camera Make | Panasonic |
Camera Model | DMC-GX85 |
Focal Length | 30.0mm |
Aperture | ƒ/6.3 |
Exposure Time | 0.016666666666666666s |
ISO | 800 |
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