There was a dead moth on a window sill in my studio,
not sure how it died but I was sure about how beautiful it was.
Primal, complicated, fragile.
Moths turn to dust when you swat them, what looks like hair are actually tiny little scales all piled up. These scales are very fragile and the Moth loses vast amounts of them over it’s lifespan (2 months - 3 years) they work much like feathers trapping air for insulation but also for lift. To move this incredibly fragile, long dead moth around I had to develop a system of manoeuvring the carcass with a very specific weight of cardboard. To position the moth on the sweet potato I had to make a light form of pva glue with hot water as I wanted it to stay put but not be fully stuck down. Basically I created a little patch of stick friction upon which I could angle to moth. Obviously you have to be very careful doing this, one false move and your subject turns to dust. I did loose one antenna when I initially rescued the moth from the window sill but other than that the moth is still in good condition. I have to say this was a great lesson in being gentle and respectful and I found the whole thing very meditative until I hurt my right hamstring from leaning down so much… I was gifted the Stellated Polyhedron for my birthday from the very talented and kind @earl.oflemongraab, this took the moth into another realm altogether; a cyber world of cold, desolate, technology. So fitting of our time! No?
To the Moth and Potato I added an Icelandic rock, a house plant and a tiny magnetic LED stuck to a mic stand. I would say it took me about two hours from sticking the moth on the potato to set everything up and construct this scene.
At f 2.8 you can see that the depth of field is a matter of millimetres, having to focus this closely on an analogue SLR is really hard , i had to be so gentle with the camera as well the margin of error here is almost microscopic. Shot in warm, highly diffuse light.
f2.8
I took these pictures on Kodak 500t, analogue, 35mm film. I used this Nikon FM2 and a Voightländer 28mm. The lens is not strictly a macro lens but can focus as close as 15 centimetres. I think the film really enhances an otherworldly feeling and it is such a flexible stock that retains a lot of highlight detail. If these weren’t grainy as hell you’d think it was digital with all the sharp details it picks up. Excellent lens which I think speaks for itself in the results.
(I) V (I)
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Lemongrab in Loch Ard… Please go and follow @earl.oflemongraab
Cool, less diffuse light. I have absolutely decimated the highlights here just to see how much the film retains. This is f8 or 16 i think.
Directed warm light from underneath, cool diffuse light above, I have sprayed some water which has the made the potato sprouts glow in places. This is f22.
Spot lighting it with a cheap handheld magnetic LED.
ALBUM COVER ANYBODY? MOTH ON POTATO IN RAIN.
MOTH ON STELLATED POLYHEDRON
I LOVE THIS PHOTO. I have no idea why the moths eye looks so strange. The uniform lines of the 3d printed ‘Spiky Ball’ really bring out the scaley nature of the Moth. The cool blue background and two strategically placed LED’s really lend a cold, techno-dystopia. I managed to create cool and warm specular highlights, cool on the ball and warm on the Moth. I have no idea how I achieved this and I am absolutely in love with this aesthetic.
I have added a forest and shot the moth in profile . I used no adhesive here so the moth and the spiky ball are sitting in balance only, this required an incredibly deft touch and I was in complete flow state at this point. Working in an empty studio in absolute silence at about 1-2am.
This is Blade Runner as fck isn’t it. The Moth as epic journeyman… For some reason this reminded me of the American spy plane, the SR71. The rain was created with a plant scoosher, I had to direct the sprinkle of water whilst pressing the shutter at the same time as being incredibly gentle as everything was just precariously balanced with no supports whatever. At the end of this little project I felt like a total Ninja Monk, poised and at one with the most subtle of inputs. I woke up the next morning with a pain in my right ham string, which reminded me of my own fragility.
!!! MOTHS SCALES ARE STEALTHY TO BAT SONAR !!!
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✴With Gratitude
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