Thomas “Opo” Shahan Interview

by Greg

Last week I found a Flickr Photostream full of portraits of little tiny insects. I couldn’t help but stare at each one of these little bugs at great length. I sent over request to the photographer behind these tiny wonders for an interview. Which he agreed and so I bring you the man behind the lens that captures these tiny creatures, Mr. Thomas Shahan better know in the Flickr community as Opo Terser. I hope you all enjoy his images as much as I do.

Photos

You take some very interesting photos of insects; what attracted you to photographing these tiny creatures?

After experimenting around with various ways of taking high magnification macros, I realized that nothing man-made is really all that exciting up close. I realized pretty quickly that bugs were one of the only things worth the effort. Nothing compares to the complexity, color, and intricate detail of arthropods up-close. Also, there is a seemingly infinite number of subjects when it comes to bugs.

How do you get a hold of all these tiny super models?

Finding them isn’t usually too hard, I just go outside and know where to look. After a year or so now of hunting for bugs several times a week, I know where to look. The difficult part is knowing how to approach and photograph them. Some bugs could care less about me and are easy to photograph, and some are so difficult I don’t even attempt to photograph them.

Are any of these insects dangerous?

Sure, though I’ve never really been bitten or stung by anything serious. Just a few days ago I found a brown recluse spider which is capable of quite a bit of damage and I also recently came upon a tarantula hawk wasp, which is an enormous type of wasp that kills tarantulas, and supposedly its sting is extremely painful. I’ve even read that some of the jumping spiders I photograph can deliver a pretty painful bite, even though I’ve never been bitten and I doubt that it would be that bad.

Could you tell us a little bit about what you use to capture such these tiny portraits?

I use a Pentax *ist DL dslr camera body and several different lens set-ups for my macro work. The main lens I use is a 1980’s 28mm Pentax Takumar (Bayonet) prime lens reversed to either a bellows, some extension tubes, or a 2x teleconverter (and rarely a combination of those). For lighting I have an old Vivitar Zoom Thyristor flash mounted to a flash bracket diffused by a homemade flash diffuser/softbox.

How much post-process work do you put in to the photographs after they are taken?

 I try to do as little post-processing as possible. I have to remove spots due to dust that collects on the sensor, which is unavoidable with macro work (though I only remove the spots from the out-of-focus background in the image, and not from the bug itself to avoid altering the bug in any way). I adjust the contrast and color balance a little, crop if needed, and apply a noise reduction filter to the background if it needs it. Occasionally, I will focus stack an image to provide more depth of field, which I do manually in Photoshop. Regardless of whatever work I have to do to an image, I never physically alter the color or structure of the bug in any way.

Have you looked into sending your pictures off to any wildlife magazines or publications?

No, not really. Though I would like to have my work published in some form some day.

What’s one of the current insects you haven’t shot yet but is at the top of your list to find?

 Nearly everytime I head out to search for bugs and spiders, I end up seeing more bugs than actually getting good photos. There are several types of jumping spiders I would love to find. Probably among the most notable of these would be an adult male Phidippus putnami or Habronattus americanus jumping spider. Both of these spiders really have some unequivocally beautiful markings and coloration.

Do you currently sell your prints of your work anywhere in person or on-line?

No. I’ve never really thought about selling them either. 

What is one impression you hope the viewer takes away from your photographs?

That they benefit and learn from them. I don’t consider photography art. I’m not creating beauty, I’m just recording and translating what is beautiful. Much of my photography is of details and subjects not visible to the human eye. I want to express and reveal to others the abundant, amazing world of arthropods and science.

Linkage

• Opo Terser ( Flickr Photostream )
• Kings of Kays ( His other passion vintage electric guitars. )

I hope Thomas will in the future sell some prints of these in a large format like 16×20 or maybe some day grace the cover of Natural Geographic.