Okay, it's official: I am completely obsessed with taking close-up photos of bugs. Where I once would squeamishly scurry for a tissue to squish them and put them out of my misery, I now run lickety-split for my Olloclip, a handy-dandy little three-in-one lens system that snaps right onto my iPhone. Its macro lens gets me even closer than my cheapo-but-champion macro lens on my Canon Digital Rebel (instead of three inches away, I'm now a mere half-inch away). Of course, with this increased degree of magnification, I have to stay (as Elmer Fudd would put it) "vewy, vewy quiet" and very, very still, or the whole scene goes blurry and is worthless--unless you like the blurry effect, which I sometimes do.
Aside from opening up whole new mini-worlds to me, and aside from helping me to practice mindfulness and mastering the moment, macro photography is teaching me everyday lessons in compassion. I don't want to get too "Dalai Lama" on you, but when I can see super-up-close what a bug is doing just to protect itself (like a roly-poly bug curling up into a tight little ball until it resembles a smooth pebble, or the millipede above, spiraling itself into a sleek, black-and-copper armor), I can't help but feel sorry for it. So, after I'm done with our photo sessions, I transport "the models" outside to the nearest bush.
Even the occasional housefly has gotten into my good graces! Where once I was called "The Fly Ninja" and could fell any fly with one deft strike, I now study their wings like a mad scientist in a lab. The photo of the fly at the top of this post is completely unretouched (except for the added copyright text). Can you believe how the crimson red and deep gold of the fly's body plays off of that leaf? Call me crazy, but I actually think it's pretty! Just be thankful that I spared you the photo of the house centipede and its many articulated legs in high-def. I loved it, but I know we must take these bug-celebrating measures in baby steps...
I can't help thinking that all of this intense studying of tiny creatures is some sort of lesson from one of Aesop's Fables--something to the tune of "Look closer at what you fear until you fear it no longer." Or: "Study what disgusts you until you find the beauty in it." Maybe it's a lesson for today's politicians? Kidding aside, while I was snapping these photos, I couldn't help thinking of a rather existential quote from author Toni Morrison: "Birth, life, and death--each took place on the hidden side of a leaf."
So, just for today, look closer. And then, edge closer still.
Food for Thought: Have you ever had a complete turn-around about something you used to despise? Are you able to see the beauty in any creatures that others think are ugly?
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