Here is something we can learn from Flykt about the techniques and story behind this awarded photo.
1. Flykt,where did you take this photo?
I lived in Västerås/Sweden until the summer of 2012, it was there I took this picture.
2. What time of day?
In the evening, around 17:00-18:00 hrs.
3. Anything worth sharing about lighting?
I used an external flash and a white sheet of paper as a reflector.
The reflector paper stood upright, on the opposite side of the flash.
(The ant was sitting on a piece of moss-coverd stone that I had previously found in the forest.
The stone now lay in a bowl of water)
4. What equipment did you use?
Camera: Sony Alpha 300 (A300)
Lens: Sigma 105mm f2.8 DG EX Macro
Flash: Sony Speedlight
Reflector: A4 paper
Tripod
Backgound: a A4 page, hand-painted with water colors.
5. What inspired you to take this photo?
My fascination with insects/macro and especially some of the great photographers from this site like:https://irsen.35photo.ru/photo_752369/
6. Did you do any post-processing? if yes, tell us about it!
I cropped the image in Lr and then corrected the colors, light and tones.
In Ps I amplified the light in some areas, made a blur vignetting and finally sharpened the image.
7. What equipment do you normally have in your bag?
Camera, my macro lens, speedlights, tripod, a small reflector, batteries and memory cards.
8. Any advice for others trying to capture something similar?
I'm no pro! But in my opinion, You got to have a lot of time and patience!
When I was more active, photographing ants, it took between 1000-1500 (for me) exposures to get between 1-10 usable images to work with!
Ants are not exactly exemplary models! They don't pose the way You want them to!!!
They run around, most hysterical and seemingly without aim or purpose
But I surely have witnessed some great moments too!
I've gotten to see how the little creatures, completely calm and still, preening each other, feeding each other and "talk" with each other.
I assure You it is worth the wait!
Discover Flykt's photographic style and techniques.
Reflective by Flykt
Butterfly
Splash
