© 2003, M. Plonsky
I know quite a few people, who always wonder if there are other dimensions beyond this physical world and whether we can see what’s there. I would say they do exist, that’s for sure, and one of the methods how to approach them is easy in principle: you just have to
magnify things. You magnify and magnify, and suddenly it’s like you are in another world. Many photographers taken up this challenge, and they also invented a name for this discipline -
Macro Photography. I am a big fan on “Macro” myself, since it’s really able to produce very stunning and spectacular images - when done right.
Professor M. Plonsky does, as you can see in his
personal website with beautiful macros of bugs, flies, dragons and other insects. And what’s even better, you will find an instructions how you could do something like that yourself.
How did it start? Mr. Plonsky explains in his article called
Bug Pictures (Insect Macro Photography) -
“When I first got the camera, my (then) 5 year old son came into my office one day and suggested I photograph a bug that he had his eye on and we did. It was worse than terrible by my current standards, but it did allow us to see the bug in more detail than we could in real life. That is what got me started and what I enjoy so much about macros. They let you see what you ordinarily cannot. As a scientist, I am quite curious by nature. I kept shooting the bugs, had fun, and my camera was reasonably good at it. I also liked that as I developed skills shooting bugs, all of my other photos (dogs, family, etc), got better too.”
If you would want to shoot bugs and other small animals, this article is an invaluable resource. It shares many things you will need to know: how to “get closer,” which camera equipment and settings should be used for best results, how to use close ups (diopters), and more. I was glad when I discovered this place, since this is how I think a good photo website should be like: good simple navigation, lots of good photos, and explanation about how they were created.
Phoetica would like to praise professor Plonsky for the three things he has been doing right: following the advice of his son, creating beautiful macro photos, and knowing how to share them on the web. Good job!