Dead Bugs

[DougC]

I called out a person on FaceBook the other dead about a bee that was just too perfectly posed and he admitted that it was dead when he photographed it. Anyone know if this is common practice?

 

[DRwyoming]

I called out a person on FaceBook the other dead about a bee that was just too perfectly posed and he admitted that it was dead when he photographed it. Anyone know if this is common practice?

Once upon a time it was somewhat common though the more typical variation was to put a live bug in the freezer to slow it way down, photograph it and hopefully release it live as it warmed back up. I had some old nature photography books (very old B&W books) that actually recommended this approach.

Personally that never appealed to me any more than game farm or zoo photography as I prefer the wildlife to actually be wild and free to roam. I've certainly appreciated some fine zoo and animal rehab center photos from folks and have no issue with that as long as it's clear what we're looking at but personally prefer to do my best to find animals in natural habitat. But the chilled or dead bug thing never really seemed sporting to me.

 

[birdied]

Not sure how common, but yes it is done. Personally , I don’t do that, nor do I freeze . I photograph in their natural habit and am careful not to anything that would harm them.

 

[Blutch]

It's quite common with extreme macro that involves extensive focus stacking.