Levon Biss: Mind-blowing, magnified portraits of insects
リヴォン・ビス: 驚くべき昆虫の拡大ポートレート
With his "Microsculpture" series, Levon Biss photographs the incredible details of insects. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
立ち上げるまで
I had shot global ad campaigns,
広告キャンペーンを撮影し
some of my generation's icons,
写真に収める機会もあって
that I dreamed of getting to,
望むところまで来たのに
I still felt a little bit unfulfilled.
I was shooting and experiencing,
素晴らしいものが
a little bit ordinary to me.
had started to feel in the digital world,
気になってきました
that had a sense of worth again.
撮りたいと思ったのです
that felt extraordinary.
I had the eyes of a child.
I wish I could look at the world
世界を見たかったのです
when I was a small boy.
as we get older,
slightly muted or dulled by familiarity.
すり減るのではないかと危惧します
one of the challenges for me
ありきたりのものを
in a new and engaging way.
挑戦の一つでもあります
I've got two great kids
世界に好奇心を示す二人の子供がいます
about the world, and in 2014, in spring,
2014年の春に
from the garden.
about this insect --
私のところに持ってきたので
under his microscope.
小さな科学セットをもらっていたのです
it blew me away.
of the ground beetle.
it reminded me of a galaxy.
been outside our window.
for this extraordinary subject,
求めていました
to bring it in to me.
これを私の元に連れてきました
and this is what I produced.
two simple questions.
of photographic lighting
that's five millimeters long?
creative control over that lighting
当てる照明に
on some other found specimens,
Museum of Natural History
to their collection,
博物館の所蔵品を使えないかと
that I'd been shooting,
the kind of detail I was able to get.
彼らに見せました
anything quite like it before,
見たことがなかったと思います
they gave me open access
their entomologist.
協力を手に入れました
37種類の昆虫を撮影しました
up into multiple sections,
like a small still life.
撮影しました
the eye of the insect,
and dome-shaped,
that is large and soft and diffuse,
on that surface.
面光源を使うとかです
turns over to a hairy leg,
will change completely.
look as beautiful as I possibly can,
可能な限り美しく撮影しながら
different sections.
完成させます
at high magnification
a very shallow depth of field.
問題となります
to move 10 microns in between each shot.
10ミクロンずつ進めるようにしました
of a human hair.
7分の1です
with a deep stack of images.
一連の画像を得られます
all the way through.
小さな部分があります
that is fully focused from front to back.
焦点のあった一枚の写真を作れます
25 sections that are fully focused
美しく照明された
between 8- and 10,000 separate shots.
写真から出来ています
weeks to create,
制作時間がかかり
are about four gigabytes.
およそ4ギガバイトです
to play with when I'm printing.
プリントする時にいろいろ試せます
are around the three-meter mark.
展示できます
in Milan two weeks ago,
that were nine meters long.
in the digital world.
使える必要があります
all my blood, sweat and tears
見せることが出来ないなら
500 pixels on a screen.
意味がないからです
and Will Cookson,
ウィル・クックソンの手伝いで
to immerse themselves
all that microscopic detail.
and I encourage you,
to the Middle East.
and goes to Copenhagen this month.
次は コペンハーゲンを巡回します
from all over the world --
who are using the website in school.
子供からもです
美術や生物の授業にも使っています
of the project.
I like to do at the exhibitions
the kiddies' reactions.
楽しみの一つです
in front of a three-meter insect,
みんな興味津々でした
for five minutes, motionless.
5分も見ていました
at the end of the day at the exhibitions,
the lower third of the big prints --
手の跡を拭き取らねばなりませんでした
all those sticky handprints,
全部拭き取らなければなりません
is touch those big bugs.
with one final image, if that's OK.
関するものです
that I photographed
in the box, not my cat.
brought back from Australia
1836年にビーグル号で
採集してきたものです
and stared at it for about 20 minutes.
of this beautiful creature.
信じられませんでした
was willing to risk me playing with this
標本を託してくれたのです
that my images had worth --
when I look at this:
make of these images?
この写真をどう思うだろう
of his shield bug? I hope so.
気に入ってくれるでしょうか
I'm a creative person,
to find my extraordinary subject.
子供の目が必要です
thank you very much, Sebastian;
お礼を言わないといけません
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Levon Biss - PhotographerWith his "Microsculpture" series, Levon Biss photographs the incredible details of insects.
Why you should listen
Levon Biss is a British photographer who works across many genres, including reportage, sport and portraiture. His passion for nature and photography have come together to create Microsculpture. For the project, a unique photographic process composites thousands of images using multiple lighting setups to create the final insect portraits. Each specimen was mounted on an adapted microscope stage, allowing close control over the position of the specimen in front of the camera lens. Most insects were photographed in about 30 sections, each section lit differently with strobe lights to accentuate the microsculpture of that particular area of the body. Each insect portrait is created from more than 8,000 separate images. In between his insect projects, Biss continues to photograph humans.
Levon Biss | Speaker | TED.com