Other Than Electricity, I Like Photography Best

I love good photography.

Those of you who have visited here often enough already know I'm not a photographer, I take pictures. But I do have a thing for good photography. I often visit Bill Emory's photoblog just to dream that I could have his sense of balance and composition. I've included one of my favorites of his in this post, the one to your right. I hope he doesn't mind the reproduction of it here.

A few days ago I stumbled upon a Dutch (or possibly German, my proficiency in foreign languages is limited to "Dos mas cervezas, por favor") photographer's website that has simply blown me away. You see, photography is not my only obsession. Not even my greatest obsession. That would be my tendency to see a problem (defined as something I want to accomplish, but no clear path to that accomplishment readily at hand), devise a solution, and implement that solution. If something electrical can be brought to bear in order to solve that problem, so much the better! If, in the process, I can make a computer talk to another device, then I have reached nirvana.

Frans, the photographer I've just discovered, decided some time ago that he wanted to photograph bees. Not just bees on flowers. That's been done to death. No, Frans wanted to photograph bees flying. Bees flying close up. bees flying very close up. Bees flying very close up and fast enough to stop all motion. Like the amazing shot on the right.

Click on the photo to see it full size, you can only fully appreciate it that way. Below it I've included his photo of some other backyard bug. It's not a bee, but who cares what it is, it's a great shot. On the website I'm about to give you the link to, Frans outlines (in English translations) how he went about creating these amazing photos. He created not only the photos, but the apparatus required to take such shots. Yes, he uses electricity. And Lasers. And he makes his camera talk to a computer chip. All this makes his the ultimate project.

Be aware, in order to fully detail the effort required to produce such shots he takes ten pages. Believe me, if you enjoy technology and craftsmanship as much as I do, it's worth every click.

If you poke around long enough at his website, You'll find some more great shots of bullets stopped as they pierce ballons, wine glasses, and even a soap bubble.