The Secret Life of Flies
09:09 PM February 22nd, 2010
If you know me, you know I like my insect photography. I primarily shoot (and release) live insects. But who amongst us hasn’t seen a dead bug posing while reposing in death and felt the need to capture that macabre Kodak moment? If my eyes are the only eyes of the universe to observe this detail, am I not obligated to record it?
Anyway, that’s how I feel about it. So, I’ve shot a few dead flies.
But this guy at Muhr Photography takes it to a new level, combining real live dead flies with simple line drawings. And I think they’re hilarious. I applaud the idea and the execution. I’m jealous!
After you start the slideshow – click the icon in the lower left corner to make it bigger so you can see the titles (in some cases, it helps you appreciate the image). Or you can see this gallery and others here.
Tara
10:57 pmFeb-22-2010
This was fun to watch in a really, really odd way.
Tara
10:58 pmFeb-22-2010
I mean…that’s a lot of thinking about dead flies.
Brian
11:14 pmFeb-22-2010
Not just thinking about…. playing with!
But I love it.
Tara
11:23 pmFeb-22-2010
Gross factor aside (which I don’t actually possess, even though I’m a girl), it is so creative I’m jealous. If you can look past the “insane” part of the project, it really is nifty.
Brian
11:25 pmFeb-22-2010
That’s what SHE said!
Greg
5:24 pmFeb-23-2010
Brian, what kind of camera do you use for your pictures?
Brian
9:31 pmFeb-23-2010
I’m just a hobbyist. The first camera that got me started was a cheap point-and-click from Olympus. It happened to have both a Macro setting and a SuperMacro setting which was really good (although, only in good, direct sunlight – otherwise, it would do too long an exposure). So that got me shooting tiny things and especially insects.
A few years ago I got my first digital SLR: an entry-level Canon Rebel XT. And I got a Canon 60mm macro lens (which is also great for portraits).
Still, some of my favorite pics were taken with the point-and-click. But the picture quality of the Canon is much more beautiful.
Anyway, I’m pretty sure all of the InsectPaparazzi pics I’ve so far posted were taken with the old Olympus. I’ll be adding more – including the Canon pics – as I go along.
Greg
9:12 pmFeb-25-2010
Point-and-click, eh? They’re very good. I’ve been taking insect shots with my p-&-c Nikon and they aren’t nearly as pretty.
Keep it up.
Brian
9:43 pmFeb-25-2010
Thanks, Greg! I was surprised at how good the super-macro was on that little Olympus. But, of course, the DSLR (Canon Rebel XT) has nicer glass (the Canon 60mm macro lens).
I just posted my first Canon pics to InsectPaparazzi:
http://www.insectpaparazzi.com/2010/02/25/here-be-dragons/
Brian
10:20 pmFeb-26-2010
Just stumbled upon these fly facts:
http://www.wikistupidia.com/?p=429
The average life span for a housefly in the wild is approximately one month. They can survive longer indoors, where temperatures are consistently moderate. Houseflies pass through the egg, larval and pupal stages in approximately 10 days, after which adult flies emerge. Houseflies cease growth after emerging from their pupae.
Houseflies are covered with small hairs that serve as taste organs. Their compound eyes are extremely complex: thousands of individual lenses allow them to see 360-degrees at a time.
Houseflies are major carriers of disease. They are known to transfer over 100 pathogens, including typhoid, tuberculosis, cholera and malaria. Houseflies collect these pathogens on their legs and mouths when feeding on feces, trash and other decaying material.
BenF
11:51 pmMar-9-2010
I tried this at home. How did you get them to stay still. I have been spending so much time on the costumes and lighting…then they just take flight.
Great post.
Het geheime leven van de huisvlieg « WEBLOG NORMAN VISS
1:26 pmMar-22-2010
[...] Voor meer, klik hier. [...]
Leslie
7:55 amApr-19-2010
But wait there are good things too! “Much of our knowledge of animal genetics and development has been acquired using the vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster (family Drosophilidae) as an experimental subject (Lawrence, 1992).”
“The earliest fossil flies are known from the Upper Triassic of the Mesozoic geological period, some 225 million years ago (Evenhuis, 1995). Since that time they have diversified to become one of the largest groups of organisms. There have been about 120,000 species of flies formally described by scientists; thus about 1 in every 10 animals described is a fly.”
http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/ftp/bwiegman/fly_html/diptera.html
Hmmm.
L. Saul from the Mojave Desert