This article was taken from the January 2015 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
This pin-sharp portrait of a hoverfly was composed from over 3,500 photographs. It is part of a series on insects by London-based photographer Levon Biss. "I have an illustrator's mindset," says Biss, 39. "I always like to enhance my subjects."
Each specimen is photographed using a 36MP Nikon D800E DSLR with a 200mm lens, attached to a further 10x objective lens for microscopy.
The portrait is composed in tiny segments; an automated rig moves the camera ten microns (0.01mm) between each shot. "Each section is lit to enhance the beauty of that part of the insect's body -- just as I do when taking the portrait of a person," says Biss. He is now working with the Oxford University Natural History Museum to document its archives. "We are looking at beetles in particular, due to the fact that they refract light to make their colour, rather than use pigments," he says. "This gives me the ability to play with the colour of the specimen depending on how I light it." But the giant pictures aren't intended to scare -- quite the opposite. "I don't want creepy crawlies looking dangerous," says Biss. "I prefer to celebrate their ingenuity."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
