Comic Insect Photography 



Bv I.<'liman Wciulcll 



ONF of llu' most iiitcrostiiiK of all 

 IDJiotographic diversions is tiicniak- 

 ingof coniicinsect pictures. Success 

 ill this class of work requires a suitable 

 camera, good taste and judgment in 

 composition, and an unlimited amount 

 of patience and perseverance. The im- 

 portance of the second and third (|ualifi- 

 catfons is too self-evident to need further 

 attention, but a word or two regarding 

 the eciuiiiment may not be out of place. 



Any plate camera having a long 

 bellows extension and an anastigmat 

 lens will serve the purpose. A so-called 

 miniature camera is preferable to a large 

 one, because by reason of the short 

 focus of the lens it has a greater depth 

 of field and all parts of the picture can 

 be brought into sharp focus at the same 

 time, giving a weallii ot microscopic 

 detail through- 

 out the picture. 

 Needless to say, 

 pictures of this 

 class are in t cr- 

 esting in propor- 

 tion to the 

 amount of de- 

 tail shown. 



Platesare pre- 

 ferable to films. 

 They are coated 

 w i t h a finer 

 emulsion, s'o 

 that en large- 

 men ts can be 

 made to any 

 reasonable size 

 without pre- 

 senting a mot- 

 tled appearance 

 or a loss of de- 

 tail. Further- 

 more, plates 

 can be had in 

 such a variety 

 of emulsions 

 and speeds that 

 by proper ex- 

 posure and de- 

 velopment the 

 desired (luality 



of negative can always be obtained. 

 The pictures accompanying this article 

 were staged and photographed indoors. 

 It would be out of the question to take 

 such pictures out in the open, where the 

 slightest movement of the air would be 

 sulticient to upset the whole scheme of 

 arrangement. The insects themselves 

 were first captured, then anesthetized' 

 and posed. The great variety of poses 

 needed for pictures of this kind would, 

 of course, preclude the use of dry 

 museum specimens. 



Chloroform is perhaps the best anes- 

 thetic for this purpose. The simplest 

 method of administration is as follows: 

 Moisten a pellet of cotton with the 

 chloroform aiul place it in the bottom 

 of a small wine glass. Next drop the 

 insect into the glass and cover with a 



small sheet of 

 glass. Thiswill 

 prevent the 

 c h 1 o r o f (5 r m 

 from escaping. 

 Complete anes- 

 thetization will 

 lollow in from 

 two to five min- 

 utes. Thestag- 

 ing of the pic- 

 ture should be 

 done immedi- 

 ately, and the 

 exposure made 

 before the in- 

 sect has had 

 time to recover 

 from the effects 

 of the chloro- 

 form. 



.\ a I urally, 

 one ol the main 

 dil'ticulties is to 

 get the insects 

 to stand up- 

 right, but a lit- 

 tle ingenuity on 

 the part of the 

 photographer 

 will soon solve 

 each individual 



Above, "At the Photogra- 

 pher's." At left, "The Elon- 

 gated Cigarette Smoker." 

 Below, "An Old Salt." This 

 last was staged in a saucer. 

 The canoe is a pea-pod 



191 



