Bugged writer

TonyCooper

The article "Why Bug Photography Ethics Bug Me" might be of interest to
some here.

http://petapixel.com/2016/03/11/bug-photography-ethics-bug/

Lord Vetinari

Interesting article and I do agree with most of it. My guideline for macrophotography of bugs is that no harm should come to them from my actions. So I don't kill them, cool them down, spray them with water etc. However I do sometimes bait them or move them to a better location for shooting (I put them back after).
I do find it odd though that an entomologist is likely to ask for the dead insect to identify it. All this is really down to the photographer, most people have no compunction about squashing caterpillars, spraying flies and pests with insecticide etc. Last season even I resorted to catching and drowning sawfly adults the caterpillars of which had completely stripped my berberis shrubs the year before.
Most of the macro photographers I know revel in the bugs they get in their gardens and do them no harm.

Brian v.

e6filmuser

I do not move in circles where these practices happen, in particular I do not enter competitions.

I can remember, a few decades ago, when every flower macro had a small black, winged insect at two o'clock, right on the edge of the petal. In all the thousands of macro shots of flowers I have taken, over some 50 years. I have never seen such a combination. They were probably all fakes, as well as being misguided and clichés.

The only manipulation I use is such as to overturn pieces of bark on the ground (usually put there by me for that purpose) and I may then take the bark to a more comfortable place for high magnification macro. There would be no evidence in the images that I had moved the bark for its original locality. Of course I determine the lighting by using flash but that is very transitory.

I agree with the author's point of view, to the extent that his information is accurate. I am interested to learn that such things happen but it will not affect my activities in any way.

Harold

Stumblebum

I would say I am in the group that do not interfere with bugs at all.......get them as they are in natural life....going about their business!