حشرات محلّقة داخل الاستديو .. مجلة فن التصوير اللبنانية _ ع٣٤

Insects flying in the studio

Some insects move their wings during their flight at a rate of a thousand times per second, so how can they be dealt with and photographed clearly? This is what we shed light on here with the experiences of Stephen Dalton, one of the most famous international photographers in this field.

The studio is very suitable for photographing insects for several reasons. Many of the technical dilemmas that the photographer faces in the outdoor work site, such as securing appropriate lighting and making exposure calculations, can be dealt with more easily when the working conditions are disciplined, and the subjects themselves are relatively easy to capture and transfer. If it happened to the insects that grew up in captivity, they become much better than they are in the wild, where wings and legs are often exposed to damage.

As for the equipment and methods of work, they differ only very little from those that we have previously explained about what is related to the studio, except that everything is usually on a smaller scale. Even with the smallest apertures - up to f / 22 and f / 32, the depth of field represents a problem no less than the problem in the wild, which means that adjusting the location of the insect within the limits of a few millimeters is a fundamental necessity. And as long as the subject will be picked up, it does not move.

A small twig or leaf can be placed in a suitable location, then encourage the insect to move to it.
Since the scale of operations is relatively small, lighting pressure becomes easier. The light of the pocket battery may be too harsh for a large lizard or a small mammal. The reflector bowl of the flash tube is larger than most insects, so that if used closely, it gives diffused light, with slight shadowy edges.

Insects, Stephen Dalton
Photography of flying insects requires very specialized methods to overcome two major dilemmas:
Stopping the rapid flicks of the wings in the film and timing the exposure so that the insect is just in focus are two dilemmas that call for precision custom-made equipment.
This type of photography of insects in flight was truly pioneered by Stephen Dalton. His first problem was lighting. A butterfly that flies at a small speed beats its wings eight times per second, while a small fly beats its wings at a rate of 1,000 times per second. This means that normal flash units are slower than those that freeze movement within this field, and that the period of a short light flash in thyristor units is achieved only at the expense of a very weak force. Thus, Walton found himself in need of a flash unit that flashes for a period not exceeding 1/25,000 of a second. , however give enough airtime
To achieve a correct exposure from a distance of 20 inches by 10 histems, on the subject at f / 16 and on 25 aza film, and he took a real-size snapshot of the subject, so he had no choice but to request a special flash unit, manufactured within these specifications, in order for him to achieve success.
However, this was only part of the solution, because most insects fly quickly and in unpredictable directions. Therefore, in order to capture them in the appropriate location accurately, he had to work with the dots button, characterized by the maximum sensitivity possible.
This in turn necessitated the manufacture of more electronics on demand, the use of an electronic photographic cell, and the preparation of small mirrors to make a network in light rays that interact in a very special way.
Even in this case, the camera still needed to adjust and install a special electronic shutter in front of the always open lens, because the standard shutter starts to work very slowly that is not suitable for this type of work: the Dalton shutter opens within 1/450 of a second.
With such remarkable equipment - developed and achieved after much patience and perseverance - came Stephen Dalton's photographs to support natural history, revealing for the first time the precise flight mechanics of insects.
And with a later developed stroboscopic flash unit, it became possible to record the actual flight sequences as the insect passed through in one frame⏹