what the eye can't see

A few years ago, I made a trip to Harvard's Sackler Museum to see a special exhibition of Middle Eastern and South Asian art. The delicate calligraphy with which the artists embellished their work remains most imprinted in my memory, for I could not see it but with a magnifying glass. Imagine that -- details so tiny that one cannot see them with the naked eye. And it left me wondering how they managed to create such magnificent pieces.


ice serpent

The macro lens does something similar to that of the magnifying glass, allowing me to get ever closer to my subject, capturing details that I certainly would never notice, as careful and attentive as I might be. I love the feeling of diving into the subject, surrounding myself with lines, textures, nooks and crannies, and pockets of light that I did not know existed. I love looking at the photographs later, knowing that had I not taken the photographs, I might sit for hours wondering what the subject of the photograph might be.


ice-flake

For this project, I photographed a blue Nalgene bottle, water frozen inside it after days of sitting in the car. By rotating the funnel of ice around in the Nalgene, I could select sharp edges, bumpy surfaces, and glinting points of light. After framing my photograph, I shut off all the lights and, in the darkness, I remotely triggered the shutter, sending off a burst of bright light from the on-camera and remote flash unit. My favorite photographs are those which show the jagged edges of the ice, making them look like snowflakes or open-sea hazards. The blue tint from the Nalgene lends a frigid atmosphere to these lifeless stills.


the bubbles at jordan


scalloped ice


santa in antarctica


cape cod under ice age


oyster on ice

Photos shot with tripod-mounted Nikon D90, Micro-NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8 macro lens, remote SB-600 flash, Opteka wireless remote trigger.

See larger versions of these photos here.

cape cod: the island peninsula

grass mohawk


A week on the Cape this summer allowed me to explore the sandy dunes and colorful sunsets. Despite numerous shark sightings off the coast of Chatham, we did not see any, though we hoped desperately for a Great White to roar up out of the water and snack on a seal. Here's a selection of photos from the trip; be sure to check out the link at the bottom to see the full album, which includes some photos from previous posts -- the silhouettes and macro photos.





gulls at rest


goodbye, sun

See the full album here.

tidal flats macro

scallop shell in sand

I'm dedicating some time this week to macro photography. Being on the bay side of Cape Cod gives me the opportunity to explore the tidal flats at low tide, which has led to this series of photographs of the various creatures, dead and alive, scrambling about. I captured these images with my recently acquired toy, the Canon Powershot D10, a bulky, yet reliable, waterproof compact point-and-shoot camera.


One of the most fascinating things about observing marine life is realizing the interdependence between all of these organisms: Empty shells become homes into which growing hermit crabs can climb. Horseshoe crabs carry with them snails, barnacles, chiton, slipper shells, seaweed. Gulls drop mussels onto rocks before swooping down to retrieve the scattered flesh. Plovers and other shore birds stab at the sand with their sharp beaks in search of insects and small crustaceans.


upside down crab

Whether symbiotic or not, these relationships form but a portion of the delicate balance that allows all lifeforms to coexist on this Earth. To remove one piece of this complex web of life would inevitably lead to the removal of many other pieces from this web. To watch these organisms live their lives humbles me greatly, especially at a time when concerns about our stewardship of our environment demand our attention and right action.

It makes me realize how little know and understand about the world that surrounds us, and that for all the decisions we make with seeming knowledge and prudence, we actually act in ignorance and with self-serving intentions. The Earth is not for us to waste, yet current practices point in no direction other than that of destruction.

See more photos here.

bugs

These are kind of gross but cool at the same time. I have no idea what kind of insect that is with the big stinger(?) on the back. As for the spider, your guess is as good as mine what species it is. What I do know is that I would not want to meet either of these guys in a dark alley...

roaring into november

This weekend brought with it many photo-filled opportunities, including Heath's visit, a walk through Central Park, a visit to the American Museum of Natural History, the Village Halloween Parade, and the NYC Marathon. I'm the proud owner of a new Nikon D90, which is a huge upgrade from my Olympus E-300. Of course, the camera doesn't make the photographer, so hopefully I can create images that live up to the machine.

I've updated the NYC albums, both "urban" and "beyond urban", with nighttime photos of Times Square, macro images of bees and grasshoppers in the Conservatory Garden, and the silk cloth made from spider's silk, on display at the American Museum of Natural History. Check out my NYC marathon album, and my updates to Project Eat. (More to say on Project Eat in a later post.)

Images below to entice you to visit the full albums!

From NYC: Urban Images (13 new photos)



From NYC: Beyond the Urban Walls (52 new images)





From NYC Marathon 2009