photography - Gil Wizen

Photographing a total solar eclipse (with a macro lens)

Turn around
Every now and then, I get a little bit restless
And I dream of something wild

I wonder what Bonnie Tyler was thinking about when she recorded her song “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” I can definitely relate to these words. Sometimes I feel antsy and eager to step outside of my comfort zone and do something I am not too familiar with.
“Total Eclipse of the Heart” is often used in association to solar eclipses merely because it has the word “eclipse” in the lyrics. There is, however, one element in the song that resonates perfectly with what happens during an eclipse, but I am getting ahead of myself.

In August 1999 I witnessed a partial solar eclipse in the desert of Israel. Back then I was not aware that it was actually a total eclipse that passed over most of Europe and south Asia. Being in Israel, I was located outside the path of totality, but it was still an impressive experience. I clearly remember the dimming of daylight, the quick drop in temperature, and noticing songbirds around me preparing for sleep, only to realize a few minutes later that it is still midday.
I knew that experiencing a total solar eclipse is on a whole other level, as often expressed in the famous quote “The difference between 99% and 100% totality is literally night and day.” However, even with my frequent travels, I never found myself at the right time and place, and traveling far for the sole purpose of catching a few minutes’ glimpse of a total eclipse seemed a little extreme to me (more on this later). So when I realized I am very close to the path of totality on this year’s total solar eclipse, I knew I had to witness it in person. I decided to team up with two friends (one of which is the president of The Kitchener-Waterloo Astronomy Club) to travel a few hours southwest to the path of totality and spend eclipse day there. This was a very rough plan, because we knew it relied heavily on the weather cooperating. Due to the forecast changing continuously, I can honestly say we had no idea where we were going until the night before eclipse day.

Total solar eclipse sequence (composite image)

Of course, I also wanted to photograph the event, but this proved more challenging than I anticipated. Shooting the sun or the moon often requires a long telephoto lens due to their distance. A few years ago I sold my 500mm prime lens, so I no longer own any telephoto lenses. I could rent one, but probably not without prior booking so close to eclipse day. I could also go for a wide-angle view with a composite image of the different eclipse phases as they pass through the sky, but I was never a fan of those images, and ideally this also requires prior scouting for locations to ensure an interesting composition. I did not have the time or the means to do that.
I decided to use a 100mm macro lens mounted on an old Kenko 3x teleconverter. On an APS-C sensor DSLR camera this should give me a decent view of the sun while still leaving enough room in the frame for what I was really after – the solar corona. In preparations for the eclipse, I tested both my Canon 100m f/2.8L and the Laowa 100mm f/2.8 macro lenses, and although the Laowa came in sharper I decided to go with the Canon. Why? Because I hoped to photograph a phase called “diamond ring” in which the sun peeks behind the surface of the moon. My hope was to capture the effect with a sunstar, and the Canon lens performs better in this regard (spoiler: I failed).

Unfortunately, my Frankenstein gear setup meant that I was going to sacrifice several stops of light. I initially checked out the solar eclipse exposure calculator to figure out what ISO, shutter speed, and aperture values to use for photographing, but upon testing my gear a day before the eclipse it became clear that I was missing a lot of light, resulting in an image darker than normal. Luckily, I found this article by Gordon Telepun (remember the name, he will be mentioned again in a bit) that explains how to manually calculate the correct exposure for each phase of the eclipse. I ended up choosing a combination of high ISO, slowish shutter speed and a low aperture value (ISO 800, 1/3-1/200, f/5.6 for those interested) for my eclipse photos, which would help me capture the sun’s corona at the cost of image noise.
Another helpful webpage is this lens and sensor visualization tool, where you input your camera’s sensor size and your lens’ focal length (and whether you are using a teleconverter or not) and it shows you what part of the frame the sun will occupy and how fast it will move across it. The latter can save embarrassment in the field if you do not have a tracking mount, as you can plan ahead to check your framing periodically to prevent the sun from escaping due to the earth’s rotation.

One of the most important things to keep in mind when planning is to look for a place in the eclipse’s path that has clear sky. It sounds intuitive but if I had to choose between watching a total eclipse in the city where I live where clouds are common and a desert location where clouds are rare, I would choose the desert in a heartbeat. We used Windy.com to check for cloud cover forecast and eventually settled on Erieau Beach as the site to observe the eclipse. Forecast still showed a range of 9-30% cloud cover but other options were worse.

We headed out at 5am. This was a short drive, only over a couple of hours, but after realizing that the adjacent beach is already fully booked we were concerned that we would not find parking. We ended up being the first people on the beach. Soon enough, more and more cars showed up as the morning progressed, so we were glad we got there on time. As the beach started to fill up with people we secured a space with seats (and later learned that it was on a private property, but the kind owners let us stay) where we would spend most of the day, waiting for the start of the eclipse in the afternoon. As a tip, it is good to have something to do during this time. I noticed people collecting observations for iNaturalist, playing games, or even going for a swim in the cold water of Lake Erie. My friend borrowed a solar telescope with a Hydrogen-alpha filter from his club. This was not really needed for the eclipse; you can observe the sun on any day of the year. However, this proved to be a great source of interest and entertainment to us and to fellow eclipse watchers during the wait. As for me, I spent most of this time reading and chatting with the friendly people from the local community.

Looking at the sun through a solar telescope. Notice the surroundings, looks like a normal sunny day.

It was a beautiful day and the sky was clear of clouds. The forecast, however, still predicted a 26% cloud cover at the time of the eclipse so we were a little concerned. Not as bad as other locations (looking at you, Niagara Falls), but still – we really wished for a clear view of totality. And like a clock, a wall of clouds could be seen approaching from the south at 1pm, when the eclipse was due to start at 1:59pm… Uh oh.
Despite this, we could still very easily see the sun when the eclipse started. It seems that the cloud cover consisted mostly of thin cirrus clouds made of ice crystals, and the sun, being so bright, had no problem shining straight through them. To be better prepared for the exact timings of the different eclipse phases, we downloaded Solar Eclipse Timer app by Gordon Telepun (hello again!) to our phone. I cannot recommend this app enough. It synchronizes your GPS location with the eclipse timings and calculates the different phases, giving you announcements in Gordon’s voice prior to each phase and recommendations what to watch out for. This is extremely important for several reasons. First, during the partial phases you can only look at the sun through a solar filter or solar eclipse glasses to prevent damage to your eyes or your camera sensor. Once totality hits and everything gets dark, you need to remove the filter or you will miss the whole thing. You can look at the sun without protection only when the moon completely covers it, and it is not always easy to know when it is safe. It is even more important right before totality ends, because your eyes have adjusted to darkness and are at risk of exposure to the sun’s brightness once the moon moves on. Second, if you plan to photograph the eclipse, having the timer app helps maximizing your time in totality as well as capturing the more elusive phases like Baily’s beads and diamond ring.

The start of the eclipse. The light is dimmer, everything is starting to look a little bland. My jacket though, looked brighter in person in the moments close to totality.

The time leading up to totality was not very different from my experience in 1999. Our surroundings gradually got darker as the moon’s shadow progressed to move over us, and it got breezy and cold, and I mean REALLY cold. I would not be surprised if we hit single digit temperatures – my hands were freezing. The lake now looked milky, devoid of any reflections. Shadows were fuzzy. I wore my most flamboyant jacket in preparation for the Purkinje effect. A detailed explanation of this effect from Gordon Telepun (hello again, friend!) can be found here, but to simplify, due to the change in illumination around the eclipse’s totality the color perception by our eyes changes. Red colors appear bland whereas greens and yellows appear brighter. This effect cannot be recorded with a camera because it happens inside our eyes. This is where the lyrics from the song I quoted earlier come into play. I highly recommend turning around (just like in Bonnie Tyler’s song – see, I told you we would end up here, bright eyes!) and looking at your surroundings right before and straight after totality. And indeed, as it got darker my friends commented that my jacket looked brighter with more contrast. We also saw the same effect on juniper trees that were growing in the garden behind us – they looked almost neon green, such a beautiful color!

Getting closer to totality, the light is eerie and the lake looks milky without any reflections.

The change in environmental conditions also triggered a change in animal behavior, of course. The birds we saw earlier in the day were now gone, but we noticed many red admiral butterflies low-flying sluggishly, looking for a place to sleep. I thought that was really cute.

In those moments leading up to totality I started feeling stressed. I really wanted to get some decent photos, and I was concerned that it would not be possible with my exposure values. I was also worried that I would have to push those values even lower now with the thin cloud cover blocking some of the light. Time was also an issue. I planned to record bracketed exposures, 7 shots for each series, and I felt that with the slow shutter speed I would not have enough time to both photograph and enjoy the eclipse. With this in mind I decided the remove my lens solar filter 1min before totality, and block it with my hand.

It was now 3:14pm. The moment of totality, when the sun is completely obstructed by the moon, is both terrifying and beautiful. The body floods you with adrenaline and you just cannot stay silent. People often discover their spiritual or religious connection and cry out “oh my god” or “Jesus Christ.” I found that very amusing. This is the only time you can safely look at the sun directly with your eyes, and you should! It is one of the most beautiful things you will see in your life. For me, I was surprised and shocked to see the actual size of the sun in the sky, and even more surprised that I could see prominences (solar flares) with my naked eyes without any help of binoculars or a telescope. It was mind blowing.

Total solar eclipse, the moment of totality. You can easily see the prominences (solar plasma flaring outwards from the surface) even with the naked eye!

At our location we had 2:34 minutes of totality. I felt every passing second of it, and yet it flew by fast. I immediately started photographing. It was very stressful. I closed the aperture to record the first diamond ring but I miscalculated and it ended up too dark and out of focus. Then I started the bracketed exposures. The first run went ok, but on the second run I miscounted the exposures and messed it up. I figured out that something was wrong on my third run, and I had to switch the camera off and back on, reconfigure the exposure bracket, and start over. This wasted precious time, not to mention meddling with the camera might have affected the focus. But I kept going. I tried to capture the second diamond ring and this time the result was better, but not what I was hoping for. I used a fast shutter speed but the aperture was still f/5.6, so there was no sunstar. And right then, after I recorded the second diamond ring, my camera malfunctioned and gave me an error.

The second diamond ring phase of the total solar eclipse, a first glimpse of the sun’s brightness after totality.

By the way, once you get a photo of the diamond ring phase you can be a little creative… Here is a mock up of the title card for the early 2000’s TV series “Heroes” that I made using my photo from the eclipse. Just for fun.

It is a repeated cliché heard on total eclipse photography tutorials, calling photographers to leave malfunctioning gear aside and enjoy the eclipse instead of trying to fix it. I remember asking myself “does this really happen?”
Well apparently it does. I don’t know what caused the error. I can only be grateful that it happened after totality was over, and that there was no actual damage to the gear. All I had to do was reinstall the battery and go back to shooting the partial phases. I was curious to see what images I got though, and was ecstatic to see that I captured some of the solar corona even with my low exposure values!

Total solar eclipse, the moment of totality. Here the corona (the outmost part of the sun’s atmosphere) is more visible.

The solar corona with its streamers. This is the photo I had in mind more or less when I thought about the total solar eclipse. You can tell I pushed my camera and post-processing to their limits, but considering I was shooting through a layer of clouds I am happy with the result.

I forgot to mention two things that happened at our location. First, the icy cirrus clouds that I mentioned earlier caused a halo to form around the sun. This is an optical phenomenon called sundog or parhelion. I have seen them in the past but never in a complete full circle. It was beautiful and mesmerising, and made the eclipse experience so much better. Needless to say, during totality when sunlight was blocked the sundog disappeared from view, only to reappear again after totality was over.
The second thing was an interesting optical effect on the lake’s water. I mentioned that the water looked milky leading up to totality. It was very difficult to make out the horizon line because there were no reflections. In the moments right before totality and straight after it, there was a subtle shimmer on the water, like a silvery sparkle. It was one of the most beautiful optical phenomena I have ever seen. People who observed total solar eclipses over snow mention the same effect.
The following clip was filmed right next to us. You can see this effect if look at the water right before totality (WARNING – people shouting):

Here’s another clip that demonstrates what an out of body experience a total solar eclipse is. It shows the shadow of the moon passing overhead during the eclipse. You can see the sundog here too.

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A post shared by Luke Hagopian (@lukesgoldies)

No one can tell you exactly how you would feel the first time you see a total solar eclipse. You might cheer, you might get emotional. One thing is for sure – something happens to you when you experience it, and you leave changed forever. The image of the sun turned black, surrounded by a glowing ring of its corona, is etched in my mind and I cannot stop thinking about it. It is only but a fleeting moment, but it is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.

I am having a hard time finding the words to describe how I feel. All I can say is that I was humbled by the whole experience. It was definitely something that I will never forget, so stunning and thought-provoking. And going back to my statement about traveling for the purpose of watching a total solar eclipse, I see this very differently now and I completely understand it. To be honest, I might find myself doing it if the opportunity presents itself. It really is worth it. If you plan to watch a total solar eclipse (close to home or by traveling), I highly recommend Xavier Jubier’s website, the best source for everything eclipse-related. Try it, you will not be disappointed. There are interactive maps, data calculators, recommendations, etc’ for both past and future eclipses. Xavier has put together staggering amounts of information on this website, free for everyone to use. I wish I could show him gratitude in person, he really created the best website for anyone interested in watching eclipses. I know I will go back to his website in preparation for future total solar eclipses. I hope you consider doing the same.

Oh yes, one more thing. I mentioned my friend bringing the solar telescope. It seems appropriate to end this post with a photo of the full sun, taken through the telescope’s eyepiece (using Canon’s criminally underrated lens, the now-discontinued 24mm STM pancake):

Our sun, as seen through a solar telescope. Note the prominences (solar plasma flaring outwards from the surface) and sunspots (magnetic storms on the surface).

Bear in mind the telescope produces a red image due to its special filter, so I was a little liberal with the colors during post-processing. Still, I think it came out lovely. Not only can you clearly see prominences flaring out of the sun’s surface, but you can also detect sunspots – strong magnetic storms occurring on the surface of the star. As I was looking through the telescope’s eyepiece I said to my friend “The sun is cute.”
“Cute?..” he chuckled with a raised eyebrow.
Well. I only said that because I was watching from a safe distance. I have no burning desire to touch the surface of the sun. Just give me a front row seat and I’ll be happy.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year: So, what’s it like?

This is the final post in my series about winning in Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021. If you read my previous posts, and especially if you watched my award acceptance speech, you might have noticed a message hidden between the lines: I had no intention to enter my photos to the competition. Even though I occasionally enjoy looking through the winning photos in competitions, the truth is it was never my goal to have my photos showcased in one. I just don’t need that external validation. Please don’t confuse this with my reaction to having my photos selected as winners; it is a great honor and it is a humbling experience to see your photos displayed together with some of the world’s best wildlife photographers’ work. What I mean is that photo competitions are not very important to me and I do not photograph with the competitions in mind.
That being said, my experience as someone who won in one of the most prestigious nature photography competitions in the world can be helpful for other people who are considering submitting their work but don’t know what to expect. This post is based on my experience winning in WPY57 in 2021. If you are looking for advice which nature photography competition to choose based on your goals and budget, I highly recommend checking out Jen Guyton’s excellent blog post about the topic. It was written a while ago but she still goes back and updates it occasionally. This post is more about the personal experience that you may have while entering your work to a competition. Before I begin, let me give you the best piece of advice on the matter, which pretty much summarizes everything I am about to write:
Manage your expectations.

Me with two of my Wildlife Photographer of the Year winning images at Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada

Before submitting your work to the competition:
Know why you are submitting. What is your goal? Do you want recognition? Or maybe just exposure? Are you doing this for the award’s monetary prize? Are you hoping this will lead into paid work? This is a personal question and there is no single right answer. Whatever the reason, make sure it is clear to you before you enter.
Curate you collection before submission opens. This is more of a tip, but it will save you so much time later when you select your entries.
Decide which categories in the competition will suit best for your work, and please PLEASE read the category descriptions. They are there for a reason, and they are supposed to help you focus your efforts. Remember you are trying to impress a jury of people with your work in the context of that category.

What is a good photo?
The answer depends on the competition you are entering and the jury. Your photos will be judged by people who do not know you, and most likely also not the subject in your photo. They will judge it by their own criteria, as well as the category’s. This means you have very little control over what is considered by others a good photo. You can just hope to get something that is sufficiently eye catching, novel, and technically solid to draw enough attention.

My winning images in Wildlife Photographer of the Year’s Invertebrate Behavior category, displayed alongside Caitlin Henderson’s katydid photo at Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom (screenshot taken from New Scientist’s coverage of the exhibition). Notice the order of images is different from one museum to another, and largely depends on the exhibition curators.

During submission period:
Create a collection of all the photos you think are your best work. This collection can contain more images than you will submit eventually, I would say up to twice that amount. Now, carefully select the images that fit best to the category. Ask yourself, is this what the category calls for? Is the photo technically good? (in focus, good lighting, well composed etc’). Does it have an impact? Does it tell a story?
At this stage I encourage you to reach out to fellow photographers for feedback, especially if they already won in competitions, and even to family members and friends to some degree (if they really understand photography). Sometimes we are so biased and emotionally attached to our own work that it is easy to inflate subpar work on one hand, and on the other hand to overlook hidden gems.
Once you narrowed down your selection, comes the part that I personally hate the most – you need to title your images and write captions for them. I would argue that at this stage you should not put much of an effort to write something that would be impressive to read but more of an account of what is shown in the photo. You will get a chance to tweak the text if your photos make it to the second round of judging.
After submitting and paying the fee, you can login again one more time, maybe a few days later, just to make sure that everything is accurate. Then I suggest you leave it and focus your energy on other things.
You see, the wait, and even more so the expectation to know what is going on with your photos, will both haunt you. Many people feel stressed at this stage. They overthink and lose sleep thinking whether they should have submitted or written something else. Do not fall for it. And do not endlessly log into your account to look for updates. That would be a waste of your time.
The wait will probably be agonizing. The anxiety and desire to know whether your photos are doing well will cripple you. But I am here to tell you that the less you think about the competition, the better your response will be to whatever is coming next.

I am actually not going to write much about the second round of judging. I believe the small competitions are missing the stage entirely, and for the bigger ones it is really a means to weed out most of the entries and focus on a small selection. If your photos are selected to move forward you might have more work to do, like writing additional text and providing further information as well as the original files, but otherwise it just means more waiting. If you get rejected at this stage, read on.

After a decision is made:
This is the day, you’re supposed to hear back!
My first tip here is to make sure you check your email spam folder. You never know, the decision email might land there (that actually happened to me! And for a couple of days I had no idea that I had four winning images in WPY). Do not log into your account and refresh the page. This will not help and will only cause you despair. When the competition organizers finally send out the email, trust me it will get to you. Be patient.
From here there are two options, of course:
1. OK, your entries got rejected. Now what? Well, this is the thing. Nothing. Try not to take it personally. If you feel sad, you obviously had some expectations, and maybe some of them are shattered. Try to keep your composure about the rejection and view it from a slightly different perspective. It does not mean that your work is not good, or that someone is trying to hurt you. It only means that in the context of the specific category, your work made a smaller impression on the jury compared to another person’s work. That’s it. And that’s ok. I know it sucks. But you can try again next time, and who knows, the results can be different then. In the meantime, get some ice cream. It helps.

2. Holy crap, you actually won! Scoop yourself a bowl of your favorite ice cream and brace yourself for what’s about to come. Oh boy.
This is where you have to manage your expectations H-a-r-d.
First of all we have to divide the timeline here to pre- and post-announcement.

Pre-announcement of the results to the public:
After receiving the email with the results, you might want to run and tell everyone about your achievement. You’re ecstatic, it’s understandable. However, I would strongly advise against it, and also many of the major competitions have a strict press embargo period until the actual public announcement, during which you are supposed to keep the results secret. Sure, you can tell your partner and some of your family, but I would stop there. There is a very good reason why the results are kept quiet – to maximize the impact during the announcement (more on this later).
During the embargo period you will most likely be asked to provide additional information about the winning photos, including renaming and sometimes even rewriting the caption. If there is an awards ceremony you will be given the details and asked to prepare an acceptance speech and handle media interviews at the event. And if you are one of the lucky photographers, your photos might be chosen as a press release teaser a month before the winners are announced. That’s a lot of fun, because at this point everyone is curious to see the winning images, and your photo gets heaps of attention.

“Beautiful Bloodsucker” spotted at a bus stop in London, United Kingdom (photo by Charlie Heckworth)

Post-announcement of the competition results:
I mentioned that the purpose of the press embargo on the competition results is to maximize the impact during the announcement. The competition organizers actually do their best to put you and your work in the spotlight, so I would definitely take advantage of this. If you are looking into generating income from your photography, and you are among the lucky ones whose photo ends up going viral after the competition results are announced, take every paid opportunity you can get to license it to publishers. Once a photo goes viral its potential to generate revenue decreases exponentially, so make the most of it while you still can. In fact, let’s just get this out of the way first – once the results are announced, and your photos are out there being reported as a news item, they are essentially gone. And what I mean is, it will be very difficult to gain control and stop the snowball effect. News and media outlets will report the news, and from there it will be picked up by online content creators and social media accounts. Some of these will share your work in line with the competition’s terms and conditions (usually an attribution and a reference to the competition). Others will copy and plagiarize, and encourage further unauthorized use. It’s frustrating. Be prepared. At the end of the day, there are paid opportunities for licensing the photo, selling merchandise, as well as interview or public lecture invitations, and you might even be able to generate some income from cases of copyright infringement now that you are an internationally acclaimed award-winning photographer.
One outcome worth mentioning is that very often photo agencies contact competition winners, hoping to recruit them as contributors to their growing collection of licensable images. This is a positive thing, and I highly recommend considering doing so. A good agent works on your behalf to find new ways to use your work for revenue. However, this does not mean you should accept every offer on the table. You need to do your homework here, research the agency to ensure its collection and regular clients fit well with your work. It is also important to negotiate a fair contract (a 50:50 split is normal). Do spend time reading the fine print and make sure you understand what the agency is offering and what it can do for you. Preparing images for an agency requires a lot of work in bulk that includes editing, captioning, and keywording. It is recommended to contact fellow photographers from your field who are represented by the same agency and ask about their experience and overall impression with it.

“Beautiful Bloodsucker” promotional poster spotted at Germering-Unterpfaffenhofen S-Bahn Station in Munich public transport, Germany (photo by Viktor Baranov)

Now, let’s talk about expectations again. Remember what I said? Manage your expectations? This is where it gets interesting. Because even if you won and you are happy, you might still find yourself comparing your experience to that of the other winners. That is normal, but try to keep it under control and not obsess over it. Depending on the photo’s subject matter and occasionally also the photographer’s location, some competition winners experience a jump-start to their career while others get very lukewarm attention. I remember feeling very bitter when I saw other finalists getting assignments and paid offers, especially after I swept the competition with four images, two of which were category winners. However, after thinking about it I realized that I am in a completely different stage in my professional life, as I have already gotten assignments and had my work published even before I entered the competition. Another example is that some photographers are invited to celebrate the exhibition’s opening event, while others don’t even hear about it. It’s important to remember however, it usually has nothing to do with you. In my case, the local museum that hosted the exhibition never bothered to invite any of the local winning photographers to view their work on display, and invited me only after I insisted.

“Beautiful Bloodsucker” spotted on a flier for Museum Mensch und Natur, Munich, Germany (photo by Viktor Baranov)

It was also interesting to compare the number and quality of interviews I got in Canada to those I got from Israel. Interviews can be an amazing experience but they can also be a disaster. For example, I had a live radio interview for which I had to be awake at 4am, and the interviewer quickly shifted the topic from my spider photo to rats for most of my time on air. I think I handled it quite well considering the conditions I was given, but it registered with me as one of the most disrespectful interviews I have ever experienced and overall just not a good look for that show in general. Did I have high expectations? Not really. Would it be nice to have gotten a bit more positive recognition after representing my country? Yes, it would.

There you go, Port Credit, Mississauga. I fixed it for you. (Please, before you go searching for it – this is NOT a real monument. I’m just poking fun.)

And then, there are the public reactions and comments about the competition results. Let’s start with the bad. It is almost guaranteed that you will experience a lot of jealousy coming from other people. And jealousy makes people do interesting things… For starters, some people might inspect your photo and look for something wrong with it. Let’s be honest, we’ve all been guilty of this to some degree. This can be something technical like a sensor dust spot that you forgot to remove, an element out of focus, or a flaw in the composition. But it can also be something more nitpicky, like trying to make a case that your photo does not follow the category description or competition rules. I experienced this when someone questioned the authenticity of the story behind one of my winning images, and I had to go back and look for photos of the location from the time it was taken to prove my case. Not exactly a pleasant experience.

Another manifestation of jealousy is making a nasty or snarky comment. For example, one of the most common comments you get after the winners are announced is something like:
“For wildlife photographer of the year, I’d expect spectacular wildlife images. The kind I’d like to hang on my living room wall. Almost none of these make the cut.” (this is a real comment, by the way)
People have different tastes and preferences, so I totally get it. And I truly believe those who say they can take great if not better photos themselves. The question is why they aren’t submitting those photos to competitions. If you have something better, show us and go for it, enter and win! I’d be the first person to encourage and support you. Another common criticism relies less on the actual photo and more on the act of capturing it, for example I have been told that the camera I used, an almost decade-old Canon 7D, is now obsolete. Sure, but who cares? The piece of gear I used is not what the competition is about, it’s what I was able to produce with it! I have nothing against modern mirrorless cameras. The reason I do not own one at the moment is far more simple and depressing: I’m poor. Probably thanks to all those people freely using my photos without paying any licensing fees.

What I am trying to say is that you have to be mentally prepared for people being rude, smug, know-it-alls, or entitled in the comments. How you choose to deal with it can be very personal, but you don’t always have to be pleasant in response. People seem to forget there’s a person behind every work, and that creators put in a great deal of effort in their work. Nothing is ever perfect, but when things are constantly being pointed out as insufficient, especially with a superiority attitude, and without any positive reinforcement, you can’t expect the creators to be all nice. We have feelings. To the commenters out there I say: a better approach would be to put yourself in the creator’s shoes before posting a comment and see if you’d like to receive it several times a day, on every thing you make and feel proud of.

“Gil Week”, social media guest posts on NHM’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year Instagram account

On the positive end, you will most likely gain an immense exposure and following, more people will be familiar with and support your work, and you will inspire others. To me that last bit is really important. You might even get to know some cool new people. I have had amazing conversations with other nature photographers and people who now view insects and spiders differently thanks to my work. I mentioned this in my post about “The Spider Room”, the photo went viral fast and the response was a mix of negatives and positives. The number of people who reached out to me regarding this photo was jaw-dropping, and I had a great time answering questions about it. I’m very happy that it was a conversation starter that made people pause for a moment and think.

Visitors to the Australian National Maritime Museum expressing love for my photo “The Spider Room” (photo by Cassandra Hannagan)

Ok, so after writing this long post about photo competitions, and considering that they are not too important to me, the real question is –
am I going to enter my work to competitions in the future?
Well, the answer is yes, because the positive outcomes far outshine the negative ones, but… I’d pick only one competition that resonates best with me, and enter only ONLY if I have something unique to contribute, like a species or a behavior that has never been captured before, or an unusual composition. There are a couple of reasons for this. Remember that I do not produce my work with a photo competition in mind, but many photographers do spend a great deal of time and planning on it, and this makes winning in the competition very difficult. The other point is that the jury panel evaluates the photos by comparing them to other entries, and there is absolutely no way to know or control how well your photos will perform. In other words, it’s a bit of a gamble. But that’s what makes this game so interesting! As long as you recognize it as such and manage your expectations accordingly, you should be fine.

My winning certificates, book and merchandise from Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Not gonna lie, it feels good 🙂

To read part 1 about “The spider room”, click here.
To read part 2 about “Bug filling station”, click here.
To read part 3 about “Beautiful bloodsucker”, click here.
To read part 4 about “Spinning the cradle”, click here.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year Q&A: Spinning the cradle, Behavior: Invertebrates category winner

Up next in the series of Q&A posts about my Wildlife Photographer of the Year winning images is Behaviour: Invertebrates category winner: Spinning the cradle.

Spinning the cradle. Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Invertebrate Behaviour category winner. A female fishing spider (Dolomedes scriptus) stretches out fine strands of silk from her spinnerets for weaving into her egg sac. Ontario, Canada

You can watch the part when it appears in the awards ceremony here (timestamped)

“Spinning the cradle” really surprised me when it won in the invertebrates category. I knew the photo was good, but I never expected it to win. It is also a photo I took close to home, while on a routine walk in a forest. It goes to show the subject does not necessarily have to be something exotic or brightly colored in order to make an impact on the viewer. There are interesting things happening around us all the time. There are plenty of fascinating species very close to home, we only need to learn to find and observe them. You do not need to travel far to remote locations. Sometimes all it takes is just to look around you, you never know what you might find!

“An exquisite portrait of a remarkable piece of animal behavior”

What is so special about this photo?
While hiking out locally and searching for arthropods for testing the Laowa 100mm 2x macro lens, I found a fishing spider (Dolomedes scriptus) under a slab of tree bark. Fishing spiders are common in wetlands where they feed on small aquatic animals (insects, amphibians, and small fish), but they are also very common in temperate forests. The spider was in the process of laying the base for an egg sac, so I thought this could be a good opportunity to observe and photograph the process, since this behavior is rarely documented. In general, spiders prefer to be hidden while constructing egg sacs. They are usually busy and distracted during the process, so they try to reduce the risk of predation to themselves and their offsprings. What I like about “Spinning the cradle” is that the photo shows the spider stretching the silk threads right before incorporating them into the rest of the forming sac. If you look closely, you can easily make out each of the separate silk strands being stretched by the spider. I have photographed weaving spiders in the past, but never in such clarity and detail. After taking the photo, I reviewed it on the camera’s back screen and I immediately knew I captured something special.

The fishing spider laying down the silk base for her egg sac, slowly working it into the shape of a bowl. This photo is rotated for easy viewing – the spider is actually facing down.

Can you explain the orientation of the photo? Something about it seems off.
“Spinning the cradle” is a rear-shot (or… a butt-shot! Did you catch that during my award acceptance speech?) of the spider stretching silk threads, but you are not really looking horizontally at the spider on eye level. Instead, the spider is standing vertically on the bark while facing down. So, in fact, the spider’s butt is facing up, and you are viewing the spider from above. I hope this makes sense.

What is the size of the spider?
This is a medium-large spider with a leg span of 6cm.

How were you able to take this photo without disturbing the spider?
Any disturbance could have caused the female spider to stop spinning and abandon her project. The main challenge here was to keep the tree bark the spider was on very steady and avoid breathing on the spider while I was photographing the behavior. We often take our breathing for granted. Most spiders have rather poor vision, but they can sense when a large animal is breathing right next to them, and will try to flee the area. So I carefully leant on the tree in a bit of an awkward position, placing the trunk between my legs to keep my body stabilized. Then I steadied the bark with my left hand and gripped the camera in my right while holding my breath, and started photographing.

An animation showing the spider in the process of incorporating silk into the forming egg sac

Can you describe the spinning process? How does the spider make a spherical sac out of silk threads?
The movements of the spider’s spinnerets in action reminded me a lot of human fingers when weaving. The spider has complete control over the direction and density of the silk threads coming out of each spinneret. It is quite fascinating to watch. The spider starts with a flat circular base, and spins around in circles while adding more silk to its outer side, slowly forming walls. As the spider continues to build upwards, the silken disc gradually grows into a bowl shape. The spider continues to stretch and incorporate more silk until the bowl is deep enough to accept the egg mass. Then the spider stops, spends a few good moments laying the eggs, and quickly (and I do mean quickly) starts spinning again, this time carefully rolling the sac from side to side while tightening the silk threads, forcing its shape into a sphere. Once the sac is sealed, the process is complete.

The fishing spider in the process of laying her eggs inside her freshly spun egg sac

The spider moments after laying her eggs. Note the smaller size of the abdomen compared to the previous photo.

How long did the spinning process take?
Spinning the egg sac, laying the eggs, and sealing the sac is a long process and requires a great investment of energy from the female spider. The process takes about 1-2 hours, during which the spider is focused on the project and is in fact vulnerable to attacks. This is the reason why spiders usually spin their egg sacs in a hide (like in this case, under bark), unexposed to potential predators and parasitoids.

The fishing spider in the process of sealing her egg sac after laying the eggs inside

What did you do after the spider finished spinning its egg sac?
After about an hour, the spider completed most of the sac and was getting ready to lay its eggs inside it, at which point I snapped a couple of final photos, slowly moved the bark back in place and left the animal to its business. There was no need to cause damage to the next generation of fishing spiders for the sake of obtaining more photos. The attentive mother will carry the sac with her until the eggs inside hatch and the hundreds of spiderlings disperse.

Once the egg sac is complete, the female fishing spider is on guard duty until it hatches

We like the photo! Can we buy a print from you?
Of course. Contact me and I will do my best to assist you.

If you have any questions about my photo that do not appear in this post, feel free to leave them in the comments. I will do my best to answer them.

To read part 1 about “The spider room”, click here.
To read part 2 about “Bug filling station”, click here.
To read part 3 about “Beautiful bloodsucker”, click here.
To read part 5 about what to expect when entering a photo competition, click here.

Stay tuned for the next posts in this series!

Wildlife Photographer of the Year Q&A: Beautiful bloodsucker, Behaviour: Invertebrates highly commended

Part 3 in the series of Q&A posts about my Wildlife Photographer of the Year winning images is Behaviour: Invertebrates highly commended: Beautiful bloodsucker.

Beautiful bloodsucker. Wildlife Photographer of the Year, Invertebrate Behaviour category highly commended. A female mosquito (Sabethes sp.) in mid-bite. Amazon Basin, Ecuador

You can watch the part when it appears in the awards ceremony here (timestamped)

“Beautiful bloodsucker” is my personal favorite among my winning images, maybe because it took the greatest effort and longest time to produce (more on that later). This photo was released in September 2021 as a teaser for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards ceremony along with several other finalist images. Interestingly, upon release most media outlets chose to ignore the photo and omit it from their reports, however it eventually received exposure thanks to a BBC article that covered it extensively. The photo went viral online shortly after, as “the world’s most beautiful mosquito.”

“Now, come on. Come on! That’s the finest mosquito you’ve ever seen. It looks like a fantastic piece or art deco jewellery”

You can also read the CBC article about “Beautiful bloodsucker” here or listen to my radio interview.

Why is this mosquito so flamboyant?
It is not clear why Sabethes mosquitoes have such beautiful metallic colors, but they are not the only ones. Other mosquitoes (for example Psorophora cyanescens, Toxorhynchites, etc’) have blue metallic scales covering their body. I discussed the fuzzy leg ornaments in a previous blog post; it is believed that they play a role in courtship, but because they are present in both sexes it is not well understood how they are being used.

A closeup of a Sabethes mosquito in mid-bite, showing the beautiful scales covering its body

What are those curvy things above the mosquito’s head?
Those are the mosquito’s hind legs! All mosquitoes curve their hind legs upwards at rest, occasionally swinging them from side to side. These legs are covered with fine hairs and function as sensory organs to detect approaching threats. When an intruder (or a swatting hand) gets close, the legs detect the movement by changes in the air currents above the mosquito, prompting it to escape immediately by taking off.

What is the size of the mosquito?
Despite their exotic appearance, Sebethes mosquitoes are not too different in size from your typical mosquito. They are 4mm long, very tiny. The one photographed in my winning photo “Beautiful bloodsucker” is standing on my finger knuckle. Here is one photographed on my pinky finger for a better sense of scale.

Sabethes mosquito in mid-bite with pinky finger for scale

Do you normally let mosquitoes bite you?
Not by choice, but when you are visiting a tropical rainforest it is bound to happen. Especially after rain, small water reservoirs in trees, epiphyte plants, or fallen leaves fill up and trigger female mosquitoes to go out looking for a blood meal before laying their eggs. I normally try to avoid getting bitten by wearing long sleeve clothes and putting some bug spray, but it is pretty impossible to avoid them entirely in the tropics. You can protect yourself as much as possible, but the moment you are distracted they will seize the opportunity to sneak up on you. Sabethes is the only mosquito towards which I am more forgiving. I love these mosquitoes, and every time I encounter them on my trips to South America I cheer with joy and hope that they come closer for a bite so I can take more photos of them. Am I a masochist? …maybe.

Sabethes mosquito in mid-bite. Note the swelling abdomen, filling with blood

Isn’t this risky? Can this mosquito transmit any diseases?
It is important to remember that this is a wild animal, not a mosquito that was reared in a lab free of pathogens. There is definitely a component of risk here, as with all wildlife. These mosquitoes are important vectors of several tropical diseases, such as yellow fever and dengue fever, and perhaps other diseases as well. While taking the photo, I was bitten by this mosquito and several others, increasing the risk of contracting a vector-borne tropical disease. But I am still alive!

Is a bite from this mosquito painful?
Very. Every bite from a given species of mosquito feels a little different, mostly due to size and other morphological differences, but also thanks to differences in composition of the mosquito’s saliva. Sabethes mosquitoes are really something special. Not only do you feel them drilling into your skin, but it also leaves a painful sensation lasting hours and even days after the bite.

This Sabethes mosquito was photographed at the same location as the others, but it appears to be a different species with different leg ornaments.

How long did it take you to get this photo?
About 4-5 years. I planned this particular photo composition for a long time. I have been encountering Sabethes mosquitoes for almost a decade and I knew I wanted something very specific. Little did I know that it would take an unbelievable amount of preparation and patience. These mosquitoes are extremely skittish and difficult to photograph well, especially in the constant heat and humidity of the rainforest. The mosquito responds to the tiniest of movements and to changes in light intensity. This means you must stay very still while attempting to photograph it, and also be prepared for the mosquito’s escape if using a flash. Fortunately, you are never alone with a single mosquito, because usually there are dozens of them hovering over your head. After carefully studying and observing the insect’s behavior for several years I was able to get a head-on, intimate photo of a female mosquito preparing to bite one of my finger knuckles. Even on the successful shoot itself it did not go smoothly the first time, and I had to keep trying for a couple of hours, all while getting bitten, until I finally got the photo I had in mind.

Why does this photo look like it was taken in a studio?
That is a great question that I received more than once. Indeed the background in “Beautiful bloodsucker” looks very plain and uniform to be considered in situ (in other words, a photo that was taken on site, in the subject’s natural habitat). However, I assure you that it was taken in the rainforest while I was visiting Ecuador. The background is simply the sleeve of my long hiking pants. After experimenting with different backgrounds on previous photography attempts, I chose this neutral background to emphasize the full spectrum of colors on the mosquito’s body.

I have seen many Sabethes mosquitoes over the years, but this female might be the prettiest so far

Do you have any behind-the-scenes photos?
I do not, but maybe this it for the best. Almost every time I attempted to photograph these mosquitoes I was surrounded by a swarm of them. It was very annoying and I was frustrated from getting bitten. I bet it would look horrible on camera.

Sabethes mosquito biting my thumb

Do you think this photo will change people’s general view on mosquitoes?
I am a pretty realistic guy, so I do not expect my photo to make people fall in love with mosquitoes. My hope is that it will make people pause and look before they automatically swat a mosquito, and maybe appreciate and beauty and structural complexity of these animals.

We like the photo! Can we buy a print from you?
Of course. You can get a wall print of “Beautiful bloodsucker” directly from the Natural History Museum’s shop at affordable rates. If you need something different, contact me and I will do my best to assist you.

If you have any questions about my photo that do not appear in this post, feel free to leave them in the comments. I will do my best to answer them.

To read part 1 about “The spider room”, click here.
To read part 2 about “Bug filling station”, click here.
To read part 4 about “Spinning the cradle”, click here.
To read part 5 about what to expect when entering a photo competition, click here.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year Q&A: Bug filling station, Behaviour: Invertebrates highly commended

We are continuing our series of Q&A posts about my Wildlife Photographer of the Year winning images, and this time I will be reviewing Behaviour: Invertebrates highly commended: Bug filling station.

Bug filling station. Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021, Invertebrate Behaviour category highly commended. Predatory stink bug nymph (Euthyrhynchus floridanus) feeding on a moth caterpillar. Mindo, Ecuador

You can watch the part when it appears in the awards ceremony here (timestamped)

Out of my winning images, “Bug filling station” received the least attention and was skipped by many of the reporting media outlets. I think it is a shame, because it tells an interesting story of opportunistic survival.

“It’s a gruesome scene but it’s a remarkable piece of behavior”

What is so special about this photo?
The photo shows a small bug nymph feeding on a much larger moth caterpillar that was in preparations for pupating on a tree trunk. However, there is more depth to this story. The caterpillar is most likely a species of a tiger moth, which are characterized by having thick barbed hairs or spikes for protection against predators and parasitoids. As you can see, it didn’t really help the caterpillar in this case, for two reasons. First, the caterpillar is resting inside a very thin and poorly constructed cocoon, these are the black silk threads that can be seen in the photo. This cocoon is spacious and open because the cloud forest is a very wet environment. A typical cocoon with high-density spun silk will absorb rainwater and drown the pupa inside, whereas an open cocoon drains water better. Even though it is a thin cocoon, the caterpillar is still trapped inside and cannot leave. Second, pupating caterpillars are helpless and cannot defend themselves, as they lose the ability to walk prior to pupation, along with most of their senses. Therefore, the caterpillar is essentially defenseless at this stage, and indeed many predators and parasitoid insects seize this opportunity to attack.
Now the small bug nymph enters the picture, and decides to take advantage of the immobilized caterpillar by piercing its body with its proboscis and sucking its juices while the caterpillar is still alive. It is a great opportunity for the bug, because it can stay next to the caterpillar and feed as long as it wants or needs, without worrying about the prey escaping or the food supply running out.

Can you elaborate more about the bug’s mouthparts? I can’t understand what I am looking at.
The hemipteran proboscis is actually a complex system of mouthparts for sucking. The liquid food travels inside the narrow tube seen at the top of the mouthparts complex. This tube consists of the “jaws”; the elongated mandibles and maxillae are layered and arranged as a feeding tube. The folded part seen at the bottom is called labium (lower lip), and functions as a sheath to keep the mouthparts packed tightly together. During feeding this sheath is pushed backwards to expose the tip of the feeding tube and allows the bug to “bite” and start drinking.

What is the size of the bug?
Body length was 8mm. Judging by the size of the wing buds I would say it is two stages (=instars) away from becoming an adult.

A slightly different view of the bug filling station. The Euthyrhynchus floridanus nymph is very small compared to the huge moth caterpillar!

Do you have any behind-the-scenes photos?
I usually travel alone, but surprisingly in this case I do! I spent a few days in the cloud forests of Mindo, Ecuador together with my friend Javier Aznar, taking photos of the beautiful arthropod fauna there. He was kind enough to take my photo.

Me photographing in Mindo, Ecuador (photo courtesy of Javier Aznar)

What else can you tell us about this bug?
The species is the Florida predatory stink bug (Euthyrhynchus floridanus). It is a monotypic species, in other words it is the only species in its genus. It has a wide distribution in southeastern United States and northern Latin America. In contrast to most members of its family Pentatomidae, this species is carnivorous and considered beneficial. It seems to enjoy feeding on many plant pests, as well as other small insects. Interestingly, this species is also gregarious, sometimes attacking prey in groups, although in my case no other nymphs were present in the area. The adult bugs display high color polymorphism, with variable red or orange patches on a metallic dark blue body.

We like the photo! Can we buy a print from you?
Of course. Contact me and I will do my best to assist you.

If you have any questions about my photo that do not appear in this post, feel free to leave them in the comments. I will do my best to answer them.

To read part 1 about “The spider room”, click here.
To read part 3 about “Beautiful bloodsucker”, click here.
To read part 4 about “Spinning the cradle”, click here.
To read part 5 about what to expect when entering a photo competition, click here.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year Q&A: The spider room, Urban Wildlife category winner

Recently I was honored to have four of my photos commended in the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year photo competition organized by the Natural History Museum in London. This is a major achievement for me, and not something that I take lightly. A lot of hard work, dedication, and patience got me to this point. Most photographers spend years trying to get a single photo recognized in the competition, usually without success. To have four entries selected as finalists, with two category winners, is not something I expected even in my wildest dreams. The attention from the press and the general public after the awards ceremony and the winners announcement (watch it here) was overwhelming and sometimes exhausting (especially in the case of the photo “The spider room”). Now that things have calmed down a little, I decided to dedicate a few posts to the competition; to answer some of the repeating questions from people, and provide a bit of the background story for each of my winning photos.

We start off this series of posts with Urban Wildlife category winner: “The spider room”. First of all if you have not read the full story behind this photo, feel free to head over to this post.

The spider room. Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2021, Urban Wildlife category winner. Phoneutria fera and its babies under my bed. Amazon basin, Ecuador

You can watch the part when it appears in the awards ceremony here (timestamped).

Out of my winning images, this is probably the photo that made the most impact. The public response to it was phenomenal. It went viral immediately after the awards ceremony, attracting comments from thousands of people. I got literally hundreds of messages and questions about it over social media. It seems that people either like this photo, or really, REALLY hate it. The interesting thing is that either way, people have an opinion about it. They talk about it. It’s a conversation starter. I couldn’t ask for a better result. There is also a story behind the submission of this photo to the competition that I will mention later.

“Seriously… This was under Gil Wizen’s bed, I’m sure it might send a shiver down your spine, but when I tell you that it was a Brazilian wandering spider, a very large animal and one of the most venomous spiders in the world, you’d be more worried”

Ok, spill out the truth. Is it real?
Yes.

What is the size of the spider? It looks huge!
This is an adult female Phoneutria fera, or Brazilian wandering spider. It is one of the largest araneomorph (non-tarantula) spiders in the world. The spider can easily cover an adult human’s hand with its leg span, which is almost 6 inches or 15 centimeters. The lens used to capture the photo makes it look bigger (forced perspective).

What is this “forced perspective”?
Forced perspective is an optical illusion that makes an object appear physically different (larger, smaller, closer, or farther) than it actually is. In this case I used a short focal length wide-angle lens, photographing the spider under my bed from a very short distance to make it appear larger in the frame while still retaining most of the details of the background.

Don’t spiders have 8 legs? I only see 6!
Spiders indeed have eight legs. This spider is not missing any legs, but it holds the two front pairs closely together, making it look like it is a single pair of legs.

A wandering spider (Phoneutria fera) female guarding her babies. Amazon Basin, Ecuador

What is that thing on the floor next to the spider?
The spider is feeding on a cockroach, so right under it there is a cockroach leg that it discarded. However, since the online version of the photo is usually of low resolution, most people mean the black area on the floor in front of the spider – that is simply a hole in the floorboard.

How venomous is this spider?
To quote from wandering-spiders.net: “Phoneutria venom contains a wide variety of peptides and proteins including neurotoxins, which act on the ion channels and chemical receptors of the neuromuscular systems of insects and mammals.” This means the venom has the potential to cause excitatory symptoms such as salivation, muscle spasms, loss of consciousness, loss of control over muscles, priapism (yup, you read that right), and in some cases even death.

Oh no! Banana spider aka Brazilian wandering spider (Phoneutria fera) in my kitchen!

Where was this photo taken? I am worried!
The spider room photo was taken in a biological research station in Ecuador. Phoneutria spiders are only found in the tropical regions of Latin America.

How did you not set the whole room on fire?? What’s wrong with you, look at this thing!
And why would I do that? The spider doesn’t know it is in someone’s room. It doesn’t even know what a human is. Allow me to quote myself: We DO NOT burn houses just because a spider happened to walk in. It’s absurd. Just because a spider found its way into your house, doesn’t mean it’s going to go after you. Spiders are constantly busy surviving, they have no time for us. If you find a spider at home, please kindly escort it out. The spider will thank you, and both of you will be happy. No need to cause property damage and possibly hurt yourself and others in the process.

It doesn’t look like any bed that I’ve ever seen. Can we see the bed?
Yes you can! Just don’t expect too much.

The bed where Phoneutria fera was found (photo courtesy of Alex Shlagman)

This photo isn’t mine. It was taken by my colleague during our previous stay at the site in 2007 and the room has changed considerably since then, but it’s the same bed.

Do you have any behind-the-scenes photos?
Unfortunately I was alone during the encounter with the spider, so I have no behind-the-scenes photos. However, I can try to communicate the experience. After figuring out that the source for the baby spiders in my room was under the bed, I decided to crawl under it to take a closer look. Someone on twitter posted this image, either directly or indirectly connected to my spider photo, and it encapsulates the scene very well:

pic.twitter.com/iSPd4TYwSo

— gumby screens (@GumbyScreens) October 13, 2021

When I looked under the bed, this is what I saw:

Phoneutria fera under my bed. Amazon basin, Ecuador

And one look was all I needed. I immediately knew which kind of photo I wanted to take.

Weren’t you scared to get so close to the spider?
I was not scared to photograph the spider from up close, because it was busy feeding and did not pay attention to me. However, after photographing I decided to relocate it outside, and this involved moving the spider. I was a little concerned because this spider is extremely fast and defensive, so I moved slowly and used extreme caution.

Is it a giant spider or a tiny room?

We loved seeing your reactions to this photo. Watch Gil @wizentrop speak about how he found this spectacular female and her brood.

Book your tickets to see more of Gil’s images at our #WPY57 exhibition @NHM_London: https://t.co/sBMkuA3pep pic.twitter.com/B6NirVyKyA

— Wildlife Photographer of the Year (@NHM_WPY) January 24, 2022

Closeup of a wandering spider (Phoneutria boliviensis) resting on a leaf in the Ecuadorian Amazon. I got very close when taking this photo and the spider could not care any less.

How did you move the spider outside?
There is a simple trick for catching spiders by placing a cup over the arachnid and sliding a piece of paper underneath. It works with any spider, large or small, tarantula or araneomorph spider. This is what I did with the Brazilian wandering spider before carrying it outside to release.

You said you relocated the spider outside, but what about all the babies?
The babies were left untouched. After hatching from the egg sac, baby spiders need very little attention. In some spiders the mothers stay close to the babies to protect them, but the truth is they are independent and can take care of themselves. That is why they were already dispersing around in the room. In addition, the baby wandering spiders have tiny fangs and physically cannot bite humans, so they are harmless.

Don’t spiders go back to their nest if moved away from it? Did the spider return?
After it was released the spider did not return to the room. However, this question is justified because I have heard more than one account where a wandering spider was relocated and showed up in the same place the day after. It is possible that the spider can find its way back following chemical cues. Silk may contain important information about the individual spider that placed it, and this information can be used by the same animal or other spiders for tracking.

Did you have any similar encounters with these spiders?
I encounter members of genus Phoneutria almost every time I visit Latin America. I always get startled at first because it is a very large spider, but then I continue to observe them without worries. They are interesting animals with an important role in their habitat and we should treat them with respect.

Wandering spider (Phoneutria depilata) preying on a katydid. Photographed on the thatched roof of a cabin in Colombia.

Wandering spider (Phoneutria depilata) preying on a katydid. Limón Province, Costa Rica

We like the photo! Can we buy a print from you?
Of course. Contact me and I will do my best to assist you.

Can I use your photo for my super funny meme? Please!
This has already happened even before the photo won in the competition.
I had a feeling that the photo would go viral after the winners announcement, and expected the internet to have a field day using it for memes. As long as the memes are civil, do not call for violence, damage of property, or the unnecessary killing of spiders – I am fine with it.

What is the story behind the submission that you mentioned in the beginning of the post?
As mentioned in my award reception speech for “The spider room”, I actually had no intention to submit this photo to the competition. My plan was to submit another photo of a wandering spider preying on a katydid, however my good friend Ellen Woods, who encouraged me to enter my work to the competition in the first place (something I will discuss in a later post in this series), insisted that I submit this particular photo in the Urban Wildlife category. And she was spot on! So the way I see it, this is more her win than mine.

Wandering spider (Phoneutria depilata) preying on a katydid. Photographed in Colombia. This was the photo I initially planned to submit to the competition. Looking back, it would probably not have been picked up as a finalist.

Why did you submit this photo in the “Urban Wildlife” category, when it shows a research station close to the rainforest and has nothing to do with being urban?
I admit I hesitated to submit the photo because of this. However upon careful inspection of the category’s definition in the competition, the text reads: “Across the world, humans have created new habitats. Many animals have adapted to these built environments, some more successfully than others. These images focus on the magic of the commonplace, the surprise of the unexpected or the wonder of the normally unseen.” This means that the category is intended for photos of animals adapting to any human-made environment. Not necessarily just cities, even if it is the first thing that comes to mind when hearing the word “urban”.

If you have any questions about my photo that do not appear in this post, feel free to leave them in the comments. I will do my best to answer them.

To read part 2 about “Bug filling station”, click here.
To read part 3 about “Beautiful bloodsucker”, click here.
To read part 4 about “Spinning the cradle”, click here.
To read part 5 about what to expect when entering a photo competition, click here.

Farewell 2019, hola 2020’s!

I’ll open this post with my usual mantra – have you backed up your files this week? In case you have, pat yourself on the back. If not, stop reading and back up your stuff first. Thank you.
Ah, 2019. What a strange year this was. Just as I thought, the previous year ended on such a high note, that it was difficult to shake off the sense of euphoria that came right after and get back to being productive as a freelancer. It’s funny to think that I wrote 2018’s wrap up way into 2019, so things were already stalling a little for me. Nevertheless, last year was full of surprises and new experiences, as well as meeting new people. Not to imply that all of these happenings went the way I thought they would, there is always good and bad and it’s unavoidable. I am happy to say that most of these were indeed positive experiences, there were no major failures this year (yay) and I definitely learned from the less favorable moments. So all in all this was a good year professionally speaking. On the personal level it could have been better, my attempts at dating were mostly embarrassingly hilarious and sad. But my love life isn’t the topic of this blog haha. If you follow my year-in-review posts, then you already know I no longer do the “best photos of the year” roundup. I gave that format up for “highlights of the year”, but I will spice it up with photos so it isn’t too boring.

Dung beetle (Scarabaeus sp.). Western Negev desert, Israel

Trip to Israel

Perhaps my most anticipated event last year was a trip back home. I actually planned two trips in 2019, but had to cancel my annual trip to Ecuador due to a nation-wide unrest. I haven’t been to Israel since 2015, and it showed. Not only did I miss my family, but I was also craving some of the amazing food my home country has to offer. Alas, this trip was short. Way too short! I am used to being busy when I visit Israel, but this time I barely got to meet any friends. Things have definitely changed in some of the nature sites I used to frequent, some areas are now closed nature reserves (good) and some were wiped clean to make space for development or construction (bad bad bad). Still it is a magnificent country with great finds.

Desert black widow (Latrodectus revivensis) preying on Wedge-snouted Skink (Sphenops sepsoides). Western Negev Desert, Israel

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) swarming on a tree branch. Upper Galilee, Israel

Male jumping spider (Cyrba algerina). This was one of the species I was hoping to find during my visit.

Catching up with the past

Much of what I did in 2019 was backstage work, in other words not things that I usually post about here or on social media. Only briefly mentioned on this blog, one of the things I do aside from nature photography and consulting is breeding arthropods professionally for different purposes. Usually it is for public outreach events, but occasionally I supply animals for live displays in museums or to research labs. It is a full-time job on top of all my other projects, but this is something that I also do for my own mental health. I have been doing this since… forever. Being occupied with keeping insects and arachnids calms me down and leaves no time for negative thoughts. Unfortunately, my busy schedule with trips and the ROM’s spider exhibit in 2018 also meant that I neglected some of my breeding projects. Sometimes that’s a good thing because it forces you to reevaluate which species are more important and worth keeping around. In any case, I decided to get back on track with some species, for example beetles. One of the main goals I had for my visit to Israel was to relocate lab supplies to my place in Canada. No sense in keeping it unused in Israel, and I can totally benefit from using it. One of the objects I wanted to bring to my Canadian home was a large industrial bin that I used for making leaf compost as substrate for breeding beetles. I had my doubts about carrying such a weird object on a commercial flight, but it worked out fine.

The rare sapphire flower beetles (Cetonischema speciosa cyanochlora) in captive breeding

Another hidden project I started working on last year was clearing up my backlog. I hate to admit it, but since moving to Canada I have not put much effort into managing my digital photography assets, and many file folders on my computer are still unorganized. After a long hiatus, I made the decision to go back to working on my photo collections and clear the backlog. This is a difficult task to accomplish, because while you are working on old photos, you keep adding new ones. I cannot put opportunities on hold just because I have stuff from the past to sort out, unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. Sadly, I do not know how long it will take to finish the work, but what a great way to pass the dreaded wintertime in Ontario, am I right? Too bad I actually like the winter.

Honey bee (Apis mellifera) pollinating. The winter is a great time to edit some wide angle macro shots from the summer. By the way, if I had to pick the best photo I took in 2019, it would probably be this one. It took 4 hours to get it!

Public outreach in 2019

In 2019 I continued to take part in public outreach to promote the appreciation of insects and arachnids. I really enjoy acting as an ambassador for these animals and striking up conversations with people I meet at the events. I gave two talks at Nerd Nite Toronto, one about non-spider arachnids and another about Epomis beetles. Quite unbelievable – this was the first time I ever presented my MSc research to the general public, up until now it was only to academic listeners. How come I have waited for so long? The audience loved it!
I also returned for my third time as a medical entomology expert for the Global Health Education Initiative at University of Toronto. And of course, I returned with my whip spiders for the third Guelph Bug Day. This event is becoming an annual thing for me, I really love it, and you can tell that the people organizing it are very passionate about insects and science communication. I plan to continue participating for as long as I can.

Our “Arachnids & Art” table at Guelph Bug Day 2019. Photo by Brian Wolven

Filming “Bug Hunter”

Speaking of education and public outreach, over the summer of 2019 I assisted in the production of an educational series called “Bug Hunter”. The project is a New Zealand-Canada collaboration in which a NZ entomologist (the wonderful Morgane Merien) travels between the two countries and explores different aspects in the life of insects, while comparing species from the Southern Hemisphere to ones found in the Northern Hemisphere.

Morgane Merien in “Bug Hunter”

I must admit that when the producer approached me at first I did not fully grasp the scale of the project. The series is a part of an augmented reality app that will eventually be distributed into the school system. I was initially hired as a consultant and a field expert to the team, but later on I was written into the script. This means that occasionally I appear in the episodes to give some information about insects native to Canada. Kind of like an Non-Player Character that always shows up (if you know Baelin the fisherman, something like that, hopefully not as repetitive). If I had to pick one thing in 2019 as the best highlight, it would be working on this series. The team chosen for this project was stellar, extremely professional but also good people. We all worked hard, had good laughs, and I got to hear some interesting stories about the industry. An amazing learning experience. On top of that, I dragged them to Guelph Bug Day (it coincided with one of the filming dates) and they were able to use it to get some useful footage for the series. The Canada portion is more or less wrapped up, and now a second team is filming the NZ portion with Morgane. I can’t wait to see the final result when it’s completed.

Filming “Bug Hunter” in Southern Ontario

Commercial work in 2019

In July I was contracted by Doritos Canada to help promoting the “Spider–Man: Far From Home” movie. The idea was to design and set up a box with live spiders as a fun challenge for people to get a chance to win an authentic Spider-Man suit. After some discussions with the PR company, we settled on having local wolf spiders and a tarantula inside the box. I had no idea how it was going to turn out, but it was a lot of fun! Being the science communicator that I am, I tried to turn this into an educational opportunity to show people that there is no reason to be afraid of spiders. The activity was covered by several news outlets too. I was debating whether to upload the video, but then I thought why should I be the only one to enjoy it. Hopefully it won’t be taken down.

In October I was involved in another cool project: filming a music video for the Finnish symphonic metal group Apocalyptica. The director wanted to incorporate live arthropods in the final video and asked for my assistance with providing and wrangling the animals. This was not my first music video work, but it was the first one on an international scale. Obviously, this was very different from filming news interviews or the educational show mentioned above. I brought in a handful of different animals, not all of which were used and made it to the final cut. Yet still, when I watch the video it sparks nice memories of some of the critters I keep. Two of my favorite animals, whip spiders and velvet worms, are shown in great detail in the video, and it make me very happy. This is probably the first time a velvet worm is shown in a music video, now that I think about it. And I was also surprised to discover my name mentioned in the end credits!

Social media

Despite toning down my social media activity in the past few years, I still remain somewhat active. In fact, my follower counts increased substantially over the past year (more on that later). Twitter is still my favorite platform for several reasons. Facebook used to be OK, but has deteriorated over the years. And then there is Instagram. I really tried to like Instagram, however after 1.5 years of using it I still find it mediocre for interacting with people. It’s not surprising; Instagram is a phone app, and as such it is designed to be used for killing time while staring at your smartphone screen. I hardly use my cellphone for that purpose, and to be honest I barely use my cellphone at all. I still post there, mainly because I already post in the other platforms, and it’s just a click away. You might recognize my checkered pattern of posting, which I do solely for my Instagram. Not sure how long I can keep this going, but hey at least it looks cool.

Checkered pattern of posting on my Instagram

I mentioned follower counts earlier. I never really cared that much about them. Okay, that’s not entirely true: I recently stumbled upon a list I made in my early days on Facebook (2010), listing all 90 friends I’ve made. That’s a little sad… Anyway going back to 2019, I sometimes find myself ticked if I see that my follower count is stuck showing an unbalanced, nearly round value. And I am sure I am not the only person with this problem, right? So every now and then I try to round that number upwards by posting something nice. Usually I follow the excellent advice given to me a while back, but it really depends on what I have available. Now, I have said many times that it is impossible to predict what is going to go viral on social media. But at least one time this year I posted something with the sole intention for it to go viral, and it actually worked. It was this photo of Euglossa hansoni from this blog post:

Male orchid bee (Euglossa hansoni) collecting fungus filaments from tree bark. Limón Province, Costa Rica

That post exploded on Facebook and even more so on Twitter. There was no surprise, it is one of my most stolen photos and that’s why I posted it. And sure enough, I was able to round the follower count up, before it went completely nuts and returned to an unbalanced state, only with a few additional hundreds of new followers. So what I did next was pretty cool. I tweeted this in hopes that as many people as possible will get to see it:

“This tweet has taken off a little, so I am told this is when I am supposed to take advantage of the situation and divert everyone’s attention to me promoting something. But I am not going to do that. Instead I will request something that I believe can be beneficial for everyone: Be kind to each other. Talk to each other. I mean actual talking – not just in texts messages! You’d be surprised how exhilarating it is. Spend time really listening. Respect and support others, especially those who are smaller and weaker than yourself (including smol friends!). I could go on, but I think this is the core of my message to the world. Practice being a good person. Do your best to be the hero in someone else’s story, I cannot stress this enough. Thanks for the love and support.”

This is my message for 2019. Actually scratch that. This is my message for the new decade.

Gilwizen.com in 2019 and what’s next

OK, this one is a bit embarrassing. In 2019, I published a “whopping” record of only three posts. That is a new low. It’s not because I had nothing to write about (I have dozens of stories “sitting”, awaiting their turn) or because I was busy. Writing blog posts is still a huge time and energy investment for me. Unlike some people who write a single four-line paragraph and call it a blog post, I try to make some decent content. I mean, look how long this post has become by now. In addition, every post goes through about 40 revisions before I hit publish, because I get pretty antsy about typos and grammatical errors (they still happen). This year I had very little motivation to sit and write. It’s almost like I need to be in a specific mood for it. I guess the good news is that there were no rant posts this year. But this posting drought needs to end.
I hope to return to regular posting in 2020. I also want to showcase more art that I have been exposed to, and bring back the Little Transformers post series. Following some helpful discussions with friends, I decided to add a media page to the website with some of the interviews and filmed activities that I have done over the years. Maybe I should also add portfolio page? I’ve never liked portfolios, do they really make a difference on a website’s appearance? Tell me what you think in the comments.

Framed tarantula molt (Brachypelma hamorii) for sale

Selling Ethical Ento-Mounts was a bit slow this year, but I have not made many new pieces. One thing I finally put together is a “deluxe” series: these are frames containing one species or more arranged in a pattern. It involves an insane amount of work, mainly gluing broken beetles and selecting them for size to fit the arrangement. Because the specimens originate from my breeding projects, the “deluxe” items will be extremely limited editions, probably two or three per year, and will be priced higher than my usual work. I think they look nice.

Ethical Ento-Mount “deluxe”: a group of flower beetles (Cetonischema speciosa jousselini) in flight around a Scarabaeus dung beetle. Sold even before I listed it online.

I just updated my shop page with new work, and to celebrate the new year I am offering a 20% discount on all items until the end of January 2020. Please check it out! If you ever thought about getting one of my framed molts, now is the time to do so. There are prints available too!

Final words (getting personal and emotional here)

2019 is also the end of a decade. As someone who was born in 1980, it is impossible for me not to look at the change of decades as an age-transition into a new point in life. This year also marks the end of my 30’s, and that’s kind of a big deal.

I started my insect journey 30 years ago with rearing butterflies when I was 9 years old. In 2019 I closed the circle by going back to my roots. How can you not fall in love with this black swallowtail caterpillar (Papilio polyxenes)? So adorable.

For me, the 2010’s were a decade where everything just went to sh*t. Especially during the second half. If my 20’s were all about getting my education in order and relocating out of Israel, during my 30’s came the hard realization that I’m probably better off outside of academia, that my past few relationships were all abusive, and that knowing what you want to do in life can actually get you stuck instead of moving forward. It is amazing that even though it is already buried in my past, I still refer to mid-2016 as the point in time when my life went downhill. Yet I came back from it stronger, more confident, and a better person overall. So I must show some gratitude to the bad experiences I had, after all they made me who I am today. Also looking back, alongside the bad occurrences there were heaps of positive ones, culminating in 2019. Not only growing professionally and developing a unique style, but also finding an audience; Learning to manage myself as a business; Changing locations and making new friends; Learning not only what is right, but also what feels good, and making more of it. These are all things that I am grateful for as I am stepping into the new era. It is important to remember however that there is still much work ahead. I often find myself arguing with friends that I am not famous. It is very flattering, but there is a problem with that statement that I will try to communicate using one of my favorite quotes, actually from a YouTuber: “I am very pleased that you call me a celebrity, I think of myself as barely having a career.”
But you know what I do have? My face on a greeting card.

Ending 2018 with a bang

Let’s go straight to the punchline: 2018 was a successful year for me. This is important because I am posting this late into 2019, so I had the time to reflect on the passing year’s events.
I was debating if I should write a summary post for 2018 at all. These things get old quickly, especially around the last two weeks of December, when such posts pop up everywhere. Even though I know I am expected to post my favorite photographs from last year, the truth is that I have not been particularly busy taking photos. Instead I have been focusing on other projects, giving invited talks and doing public outreach, as well as adding content to this website. In addition, there were a few notable events this year that helped shaping me as a professional and as a person. So if you want to know what I have been up to in 2018, read on.

Teaching about whip spiders at the Royal Ontario Museum

Opinion piece about giving away free photos,
and the rise to fame (not really)

One of the first posts I wrote in 2018 was aimed at people asking for free work. It joined other similar posts (examples are here and here), and to be honest I did not expect to receive any response to it. I merely posted the article so I can go back and refer people to it whenever I am faced with such requests. As many creative freelancers know, being asked to work or provide service for free is far too common. Apparently that post hit close to home because it received echo from fellow photographers and artists, and was later picked up by PetaPixel, one of the biggest photography-related news websites.
The piece featured on PetaPixel spread like wildfire and triggered some interesting discussions. On one hand, not everyone liked what I wrote, and some users even attacked me for it. On the other hand, I found myself discussing important topics like rates and copyrights with other, more experienced professionals. Even though this rant has been years in planning, I admit the post was written in the heat of the moment, and as such it is not a well-worded text. Now that I think about it, it is clear that I could have done a better job. That being said, I have no regrets whatsoever; the post is justified. If anything, having it available on my website serves as a deterrent for anyone who behaves inappropriately and disrespectfully towards creators by asking for free work.

Trip to Colombia

In February I went on a short assignment in Colombia, to photograph a tree. I know, right? It sounds simple and too good to be true, but in reality finding trees that fit what the client had in mind was challenging, not to mention it was not always possible to shoot the tree in the requested high resolution for the project. This trip also gave me a chance to test the Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro lens, and I am happy I did, because it proved to be an outstanding competitor to the renowned Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x macro lens. Laowa is quickly establishing themselves as one of the most interesting lens companies out there, and I am looking forward to see what other innovations they have up their sleeve!

Searching for trees. Anyone seeing any trees around?

Tree covered in climbing epiphytes. Is this the perfect tree for the job? Close to perfect, but unfortunately, it was not good enough.

Central American tree boa (Corallus ruschenbergerii). One of the benefits of walking around checking out trees, is finding tree-inhabiting animals.

Katydid nymph showing intense pink coloration or erythrism – a rare phenomenon that is occasionally seen in katydids, in which a genetic mutation causes an absence of the normal green pigment and the excessive production of pink pigment.

Fairy wasp (family Mymaridae) ovipositing in membracid treehopper egg mass. One of the best finds during this trip (watch this space for an upcoming post about it). This tiny wasp is only 0.6mm in length! Photographed using the Laowa 25mm lens.

Trip to Ecuador

In May I returned to my beloved site in Ecuador, this time it wasn’t really to get work done but was more of an escape to spend my birthday (ok, who am I kidding, I still worked during that visit…). I often feel miserable around my birthday and during holidays because many times I have no one to spend them with, and it seemed like a good idea to pass this time in a place that I love. More than anything I needed to clear my head before taking the role of a spider wrangler (up next). This trip ended up being very peaceful and relaxing, somewhat lonely, but still satisfying. I was able to finally find one of my target species for the area, the seasonal jewel scarab, Chrysophora chrysochlora.

Ecuadorian jewel scarab (Chrysophora chrysochlora)

Bird eater tarantula (Theraphosa sp.). I was extremely happy to encounter this giant for the first time in the wild, and add it to the species checklist for my site.

Male orchid bee (Euglossa intersecta) in mid-flight. This photo is not perfect in many ways: it is dark, the composition is not ideal, and it is also slightly cropped. But I achieved something very difficult here – taking a wide angle macro and freezing an orchid bee in flight. Those bees are fast!

Male orchid bees (Euglossa sp.) collecting fragrant compounds from a moss patch

Baby wandering spider (family Ctenidae)

Spiders exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum

And then, immediately after returning from Ecuador, I was recruited to the Royal Ontario Museum to work on their “Spiders: Fear & Fascination” exhibit. This is something I knew I wanted to do ever since I heard about this exhibit in December 2016. It was a long wait but I was finally in! I worked full-time as the spider wrangler for seven months at the museum, along with the awesome Mateus Peppineli. The role involved mainly taking care of spiders displayed in the gallery and in the live room, but also delivering presentations to the museum visitors. These presentations were open for whatever came in mind, so I could include information about different arachnids, not just spiders (as can be seen in the photo opening this post). A key component of the presentations was performing live venom milking from spiders and scorpions in front of an audience (you can watch a venom milking presentation in this video). This is something that requires some explanation – the idea was to extract venom from live animals that were sedated, and do it in a way that would not harm the animals and allow for future extraction of venom later on.

Milking venom from a fishing spider at the Royal Ontario Museum. Screenshot from TFO video

This is something I got trained for about a decade ago in Israel, I felt so lucky to be able to not only do this again, but also to present it to other people. In this regard I believe this ROM exhibit was one of a kind. Sure, the original exhibit coming from Australia also had a venom milking component, but I think the exhibit is really as good as the person running the show. I don’t know if there is any other place that has the unusual combination of someone passionate about arachnids, has over 20 years worth of expertise keeping and designing public displays for them, AND is also trained in venom extraction. And this is exactly why this exhibit made it well; people hoarded to see it, many coming back several times for more. Not only it gave me enormous satisfaction to see that people are interested in spiders, but also it showed me that without doubt there is a desire to see a similar permanent exhibit in Toronto, maybe on a larger scale. And I needed that affirmation.

Presenting spiders to an audience at the Royal Ontario Museum. Screenshot from Curiosity in Focus video

I met and talked with thousands of people. Many of them came to me wishing to learn more about spiders they saw in their own house or backyard. Children found in me someone who is on their side, because I could understand and relate to their passion for insects and spiders. Some people confessed that I changed their point of view and helped them conquering their fear of spiders. Young visitors told me that watching me working has inspired them to pursue higher education and a career in science. And sure, it was nice being in the spotlight for a little while.

Some screenshots from TV appearances, representing the ROM’s “Spiders: Fear & Fascination” exhibit

I enjoyed being the ambassador for arachnids on TV and social media. People started recognizing me on the street. Suddenly, I had fans. I got hugs. So many hugs. Some visitors stayed in touch and became close friends. I want to thank everyone who helped making this exhibit into a reality, and all the visitors who gave it a chance and came to see it. Now that the dust has settled I can honestly say that working at the spiders exhibit was one of the best experiences of my life. How do I fill the void that is left, that is the question that bothers me the most right now.

I will never forget this “finger fencing” moment. Screenshot from CP24 Live at Breakfast

Social media (Instagram)

As a part of my role at the museum, I decided to join the social media platform Instagram. I did it as an experiment, to see how well I can perform there. If you know me, then you know that I find Instagram useless and crippled compared to the other social media streams, because of the inability to post clickable links or share posts from other users. My initial thought was to share behind-the-scenes moments from my work at the museum, and indeed the very first posts were exactly that. However, I quickly learned that this does not always work well, I did not always have the time to post while working, and if I have to be completely honest, my phone camera is total garbage. Nevertheless, I persisted, posting the same stuff that I post on my other accounts, and people started following. So maybe it is not so bad… I am still a shy noob on Instagram and don’t interact much, but if you remember my post from 2016, I said the exact same thing about Twitter, and today it has become my preferred social media platform. So who knows. I’m ready for an adventure!

Collaborating with Daniel Kwan (Curiosity in Focus)

During my time as the Royal Ontario Museum’s spider wrangler I was fortunate to meet Daniel Kwan, a talented individual who was responsible for running educational programs at the museum as well as producing video content about the different museum exhibits and collections. Since the opening of the spiders exhibit we collaborated many times, producing videos showing live arthropods and their behaviour, as well as activities performed in the venom lab.

Daniel also has several side projects that he runs. Many of them are related to his big passion – games, but he also hosts a couple of podcasts. One of them, Curiosity in Focus, shines a spotlight on people with interesting professional lifestyles and backgrounds, and covers many different fields like science, history, archeology, design, and fiction. Ever since the day we met he has been trying to get me on the podcast, until we finally found the time to sit down one evening and record an episode. So if you like to know about more about me, feel free to check it out here. We chatted about my role as the spider wrangler at the ROM, my military service in Israel, and shared some stories from entomology-related fieldwork. This was so much fun. I am definitely looking forward to future collaborations with Daniel.
Regardless of this episode, I have nothing but good things to say about this podcast. This is Daniel’s own brainchild, he is very passionate about it, and it shows. He always finds amazing people and interesting topics to talk about. One of my personal favorite episodes is a chat with Kevin Rawlings, Canada’s northernmost resident. Check it out if you have a moment. You won’t regret it.

Gilwizen.com in 2018

Due to my trips and later employment at the museum, my posting routine on the blog was inconsistent. I posted only 14 stories on the blog this year, a huge drop compared to 30 posts in the previous year. I am happy with the posts I got to share, but I would like to write more. Even more surprising was to see old posts resurfacing on social media and attracting new readers, notably this one, this one, this one, and… this one? Hmm. Some of these are very old and there is no doubt my writing style has changed over the years. I am tempted to go back and rewrite some of them to make it easier and more interesting to read, but I know that something would be lost if I do so.

One of the framed tarantula molts I made this year. It was already sold before I got to finish it.

One thing that has definitely picked up pace is my shop page. I initially started that page in 2017 to see if there is any interest in my framed “Ethical Molts” (term coined by my dear friend Peggy Muddles, who also made the video below), and since then it has exploded. I have sold and shipped over 30 framed specimens, some went to distant locations overseas. Many times when I upload a new batch of frames it is sold within a few days. I cannot complain.

Final words

As you can see, I have been busy this year. Looking back, 2017 and most of 2016 were painful and unproductive years for me. 2018 marked a much-needed shift in the right direction. It is especially interesting to compare the summary posts from the two previous years to this one. Going back to my closing statement for 2017, a friend and I were discussing life goals and what counts as success. For many people, including my friend, financial prosperity counts as success. For me, success is not about getting rich. It is first about reaching stability (not necessarily financial), and then leaving something behind, making a positive impact on others. And in 2018, I felt I did exactly that. Thank you everyone for being a part of it. I am forever grateful for your support, and my life is so much richer because you are in it.

Me with a giant silk moth (Rhescyntis hippodamia) in Ecuador

Review: Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro lens

High-magnification macrophotography was once a niche mostly reserved for Canon users, thanks to the unique MP-E 65mm 1-5x Macro Lens, and for photographers willing to experiment with microscope objectives and focus-stacking techniques. This has recently changed, and slowly more macro lenses with a reproduction ratio higher than 1:1 are being introduced into the market. Two of them belong to Venus Optics Laowa: the 60mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro lens that was introduced in 2015, and the new addition Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro lens. Since I have been a user of Canon’s MP-E lens since 2006 I was intrigued by this new Laowa lens, especially how it compares in regards to ease of use and versatility. Venus Optics Laowa were kind enough to send me a pre-production copy for review. This is not a paid review and the content below is based entirely on my personal impressions.

Portrait of a katydid nymph with erythrism (intense pink coloration)

Before we begin, a warning: The Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X is a high magnification macro lens. As such it gives an unusual perspective of even the most mundane subjects. I could have gone through this review using closeups of everyday objects as examples, but I am a wildlife macrophotographer. There will be spiders.

Portrait of a male jumping spider (Phidippus arizonensis)

The boxed lens comes with front and rear caps, but also a tripod collar that is compatible with the arca-swiss mouting system (note that I did not receive the tripod collar with my copy, so I cannot share any thoughts about it). Upon opening the box I was struck by how small and lightweight the lens is compared to the tank that is the Canon MP-E. That being said, the lens is definitely well built, mostly metal construction (with some exceptions, see below), and has some heftiness to it, weighing around 430g. It does not feel cheap or fragile in any way.

Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Vs. Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X

Size matters? Next to the Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x lens, the Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X looks cute. Both lenses are fully extended to their maximum length here (5x magnification).

If you missed my previous review of the Laowa 15mm f/4 1:1 Wide Angle Macro lens, I don’t get too technical in my reviews to avoid repeating information that is widely available online. If you are reading this, I assume that you are mostly interested in the practical uses of the lens, what it can be used for, and how well it performs. If you are interested in a dry summary of its specs I will gladly refer you to the product page or Nicky Bay’s excellent technical review.

I tested the lens on a crop sensor camera (APS-C), which I found somewhat limiting because of the tight range and high magnification values, nevertheless I enjoyed using it. The lens is also suitable for use on a full frame camera body. For most of the photos shown here I used my existing Canon MT-24EX macro twin lite system, and occasionally a speedlite with a softbox as the main light.

Male jumping spider (Thiodina sylvana). Spiders make excellent subjects for the Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X lens.

Caterpillars are often difficult subjects to photograph well, not to mention when using a high magnification macro lens. However, this camouflaged looper caterpillar (Synchlora sp.) posed nicely.

Lens construction
Compared to its massive counterpart from Canon, the Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X has a narrow lens barrel that ends with a small front element. The tip of the lens is slightly conical. The lens does not have a filter thread. I am not sure why Laowa went with this design, as it may put off some people who prefer using filters and similar lens attachments. Instead the lens has a special bayonet with grooves that click and lock the front metal cap in place (for those interested – the lens tip diameter is 41mm, however externally it is closer to 43mm due to the bayonet). It is an interesting feature, and very useful in preventing the small cap from accidentally snapping off and getting lost. Here I must warn fellow photographers: The interlocking parts on the lens tip and front cap are made of plastic (whereas the rest is aluminum). If you like to tinker with and customize your gear (like me), and plan to come up with an adapter to allow the attachment of a threaded filter or hood, use extreme caution because you can damage the tiny knobs that lock the lens cap in place! The Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X has an 8-blade aperture, which produces nice looking bokeh compared to the hexagons coming out of the MP-E lens.

Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro

The lens itself is very sharp and produces high quality images. Depth of field, sharpness, and the level of diffraction change depending on the magnification used and aperture value dialed in.
When used at its lowest magnification an aperture of f/8-f/11 gives good results and good depth of field.

Laowa 25mm and Canon MP-E 65mm sharpness test at 2.5x under identical light conditions and camera settings. Notice the difference in color rendition by the Laowa.

The above photos were taken under the same light conditions and camera settings, and they are unedited (except for cloning out sensor dust). I used a glittery backdrop because I wanted to emphasize specular highlights in order to show the difference in Bokeh between the two lenses. That did not work, however I discovered something else. At lower magnifications, the color rendition of the two lenses is slightly different, with the Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X being more “punchy” than the Canon MP-E 65mm. I am not sure what can cause such a difference, but in any case this becomes less apparent as the magnification increases.
When taking the Laowa 25mm lens to higher magnification values I mostly used it at f/4-f/5.6 to get the best results, and wide open at its highest magnification. Comparison with the Canon MP-E at 5x shows very little difference in image quality, with the Laowa lens showing slightly more sharpness at f/2.8 and f/4.

Laowa 25mm and Canon MP-E 65mm sharpness test at 5x under identical light conditions and camera settings. The image quality is nearly identical, with the Laowa having the edge at low apertures settings.

These settings only serve as examples; it all depends on the desired end result, of course. If anyone is interested to view the high-resolution photos for pixel-peeping, I uploaded them to a Flickr album. Some people mention a higher depth of field achieved with the Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X because of its shorter focal length compared to the Canon MP-E 65mm, but I will argue that because these lenses are constructed differently, this difference in DOF (if exists) is insignificant. There is a small difference in the field of view between the two lenses, but that is expected.

The Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X has a DOF that can be a little shallow when photographing highly 3-dimensional subjects like this long-snout weevil (Hammatostylus sp.). Still, it manages to squeeze in enough detail to make the image visually pleasing.

Chromatic aberration is well controlled and barely noticeable. One thing I noticed is that depending on the angle light is coming from, lens flare can sometimes be an issue. This can make some images look washed out or hazy, so in my opinion the lens can benefit from a small dedicated hood.

“Blizzard” – These scales on the hindwing of a brassolid butterfly reminded me of snowfall at night. In this case the lens flare in the image was intentional, to mimic the light reflecting from falling snow.

One of the points I heard people making against the lens was that it is unappealing in appearance (see the comments section of this post for example). I cannot understand why the external appearance of a lens is so important. If you buy a lens only to impress other people, you should take an honest look at yourself. As a photographer you should be more interested in the images you can create with it. More importantly, does the lens work and is it any good? Let’s see.

Operation
Although the operation of the Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X is pretty straightforward, the lens requires a break-in period similarly to other specialty lenses like Canon’s MP-E. The learning curve is steep at first.

Thanks to its white face mask, I was able to locate and photograph this spotted jumping spider (Phiale guttata) quite easily.

Shooting with a stopped-down aperture means that the viewfinder will be dark, making it difficult to track and focus on your subject. However, thanks to the narrower lens barrel compared to the MP-E I found it much easier to locate the subject in the viewfinder and follow it, even at the highest magnification. This is a huge plus, especially after years of exhaustion trying to chase down subjects in the viewfinder when using the Canon MP-E.

Although extremely active and skittish, I was able to track this ant-mimicking planthopper nymph through the viewfinder while using the Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X.

It should be noted that due to its high magnification values the lens cannot be used in natural light alone, and requires a flash as an additional light source. A good focusing light is also essential if using the higher magnifications but not always necessary. Surprisingly, even though the lens extends forwards a lot as you change the magnification from 2.5x to 5x (from 83mm to 137mm, respectively), the working distance stays consistent at around 40mm. This is another huge plus compared to the MP-E, for which the working distance changes considerably while changing magnifications.

The lens is fully manual. The aperture ring is located at the end of the lens barrel, it is clicked and turns easily, perhaps a little too loosely. That is not really a problem, and when the lens is extended you do not need to reach out and look for the aperture ring in order to turn it – you can just turn the whole front lens tube to change the aperture, pretty cool! The magnification/focusing ring turns smoothly as well with adequate resistance, however one should be very observant of its behavior. If the lens is pointing down gravity can pull the weight of the lens barrel causing it to extend further on its own and change the magnification in the process. Many times when I captured frames for later focus-stacking I found that the magnification has changed between exposures.

High magnification macro in the field
One of the main difficulties at this high magnification range of the lens is to figure out what to use it for. It sometimes forces you to think outside of the box in order to find a subject that is just the right size. Many macro subjects are just too big to fit into the frame, however the lens can still offer an intimate perspective on those.

This juvenile whip spider (Phrynus barbadensis) was exactly the right size to fit its face into the Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X field of view.

The long-nosed fulgorid planthopper nymph was too big to fit in the frame, but it made for an interesting and intimate perspective.

Portrait of a membracid treehopper (Membracis sp.)

Small subjects like these marching nasute termite soldiers are easy to photograph using the Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X.

Anyone ordered a noodle salad? Just kidding, these are whip spider babies (Phrynus barbadensis) clinging to their mother’s back.

The lens’ small size makes it easy to sneak up on unsuspecting critters in order to capture some action shots, like this jumping spider enjoying a freshly caught cicadellid leafhopper.

No high magnification lens review is complete without a classic shot of a butterfly wing, because it is a good method to test the lens’ sharpness.

Closeup on the wing scales of a brassolid butterfly, coming at an angle results in a shallow depth of field.

Closeup on the wing scales of a brassolid butterfly

Focus-stacking is not really necessary with this lens, but is a good technique for achieving a greater DOF. I almost never do “deep” frame stacks, most of the stacked images that are shown here were comprised of 2-10 frames. If you are into deep focus-stacking, I recommend checking out the test John Hallmén’s performed in his review here (in Swedish).

This focus-stacked image of a butterfly egg was composed of 10 frames taken at 5x magnification.

“Behind Bars” – A deep focus-stacked portrait of a whip spider (Heterophrynus armiger)

The Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X lens also has potential for producing wildlife images with a more artistic style.

“Liquid Rainbow” – Detail on the pronotum of a jewel beetle (Chrysochroa ephippigera)

Closeup on the eyes of a jumping stick (Proscopiid grasshopper)

Closeup on the eyes of a large jumping stick (Proscopiid grasshopper)

“Ghost Bunny” – Black and white silhouette of a membracid treehopper (Notocera sp.)

Brightly colored bark lice nymphs aggregating on tree bark

Dramatically lit portrait of a male jumping spider (Parnaenus sp.)

One thing I regret is not being able to test this lens for snowflakes and frost photography. Even though we had some cold snowy days here in Canada, the flakes were not of the right type (needles as opposed to star-shaped) and the ambient temperature was too high for the flakes to retain their structure after hitting the ground. I believe this lens has high potential for this type of photography, especially when taking into account its excellent optics and overall size. It should be easier to photograph snowflakes with this lens compared to other lenses.

To summarize my impressions of the lens –

Pros:
– Lightweight, small size for a high-magnification macro lens
– Highest magnification lens available for non-Canon users
– Excellent sharpness and image quality
– Consistent working distance
– Narrow lens barrel makes it easy to find and track subject
– Affordable

Cons:
– Manual, no auto aperture control
– No filter thread (but still customizable with caution)
– Dark viewfinder when closing aperture makes focusing difficult in poor light conditions
– Magnification range is short 2.5-5x compared to the competition

The key question is who is this lens for? First and foremost, this lens is for any non-Canon user who is interested in high magnification macrophotography. Aside from a Canon EF mount, the lens comes in Nikon N, Sony FE, and Pantax K mounts, making it accessible for a wide range of users. But I would also recommend it for Canon users who are not yet invested in the high magnification flagship, the MP-E 65mm. The Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro is a smaller and lightweight alternative for the MP-E lens, and in some situations it is easier to use. With its superb optics the Laowa lens packs a lot for its value, and with a price tag of USD$399 it is very affordable, especially when you cannot shell out USD$1050 for the Canon MP-E lens. On the other hand, the MP-E lens offers auto aperture control and a larger magnification range. Regardless of the brand, there is no doubt that it takes time and experimentation to get used to a high magnification macro lens. However, I would argue that the investment is well worth it, because it opens a whole new world of possibilities for macrophotography. When using it, you will see even the most boring subjects in a new light.

You can buy the Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro lens on Venus Optics Laowa’s website here.

A Moment of Creativity: Unwanted Neighbours

It has been a while since I started photographing for Meet Your Neighbours global biodiversity photography project, and throughout the years I have assembled a collection of some fantastic beasts (along with the information where to find them). But early on I had the idea of creating another collection of photos, a spinoff to the original MYN concept, bringing together neighbours that we often do not want to meet, or the way I refer to them: Unwanted Neighbours.

Human flea (pulex irritans). Central Coastal Plain, Israel

Unwanted Neighbours include household pests, biting and blood-sucking arthropods, disease vectors, venomous animals, parasites, and the like. Most of the photos can be found in my original MYN gallery, and it is only natural that this new collection will be smaller in size. Nevertheless it can be used as a reference for animals with any negative significance to humans, whether it is medical or economical. For example, brown recluse spiders are known for their potency, but are often misidentified. There are very helpful initiatives out there to help and fight the misinformation, like Recluse or Not. I decided that detailed high-quality photos of the spiders can help clarify doubts about their physical appearance.

Brown recluse spider (Loxosceles sp.), dorsal view

Black widow spiders also suffer the same public treatment as brown recluses, for no good reason. Sure, they are venomous, but they do not tend to bite unless they have to, even if you poke them.

Mediterranean black widow spider (Latrodectus tredecimguttatus) from Israel. Widow spiders are shy and usually keep to themselves.

Western black widow spider (Latrodectus hesperus)

This is not a gallery of “bad” animals. Despite their bad reputation, it is important to mention that there is no such thing as “bad” in nature. Many of these species are not even out to get us (excluding blood-feeders and parasites). Every creature has its rightful place on this planet. I was carful not to include just about any species that possesses venom, or incidental biters. Many times a bad interaction with an animal is our own fault. I am trying to avoid pointing fingers and propagating hatred towards nature, because in most cases these animals are doing exactly what they are supposed to, and we are just in their way. For this reason the representation of household pests, like ants, termites, wasps, and cockroaches will be kept to the minimum.

Everyone’s favorite nightmare parasite – the human botfly (Dermatobia hominis). Although unpleasant, in reality they are not so bad.

Telson and stinger of black fat–tailed scorpion (Androctonus bicolor). Scorpions will always try to avoid an encounter with a human.

At this point in time the Unwanted Neighbours page is still being constructed, but I expect it to stay relatively small in size. This is because most critters out there are harmless to us, and even those that have the potential to harm us, usually don’t. It is all about impact significance.

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Entomologist and Photographer

Archives

Photographing a total solar eclipse (with a macro lens)

Wildlife Photographer of the Year: So, what’s it like?

Wildlife Photographer of the Year Q&A: Spinning the cradle, Behavior: Invertebrates category winner

Wildlife Photographer of the Year Q&A: Beautiful bloodsucker, Behaviour: Invertebrates highly commended

Wildlife Photographer of the Year Q&A: Bug filling station, Behaviour: Invertebrates highly commended

Wildlife Photographer of the Year Q&A: The spider room, Urban Wildlife category winner

Farewell 2019, hola 2020’s!

Trip to Israel

Catching up with the past

Public outreach in 2019

Filming “Bug Hunter”

Commercial work in 2019

Social media

Gilwizen.com in 2019 and what’s next

Final words (getting personal and emotional here)

Ending 2018 with a bang

Opinion piece about giving away free photos,
and the rise to fame (not really)

Trip to Colombia

Trip to Ecuador

Spiders exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum

Social media (Instagram)

Collaborating with Daniel Kwan (Curiosity in Focus)

Gilwizen.com in 2018

Final words

Review: Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro lens

A Moment of Creativity: Unwanted Neighbours

Copyright Notice

Recent Posts

Categories

Archives

Trip to Israel

Catching up with the past

Public outreach in 2019

Filming “Bug Hunter”

Commercial work in 2019

Social media

Gilwizen.com in 2019 and what’s next

Final words (getting personal and emotional here)

Opinion piece about giving away free photos, and the rise to fame (not really)

Trip to Colombia

Trip to Ecuador

Spiders exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum

Social media (Instagram)

Collaborating with Daniel Kwan (Curiosity in Focus)

Gilwizen.com in 2018

Final words

Copyright Notice

Recent Posts

Categories

Opinion piece about giving away free photos,
and the rise to fame (not really)