Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Volker Steger's Photos of Squashed Bugs

German science photographer Volker Steger, in his book BUZZ: The Intimate Bond Between Humans and Insects, published microscopic photographs of insects that crashed into the windshield of his car. He collected the dead bugs from his car’s bonnet and ran them under a scanning electron microscope. Steger actually taped plastic foil to the hood of the car, so that fallen bugs didn’t stick to the hood, and drove his car hitting as many insects as possible.

“The speed is important”, Steger says. “The right speed is about 70 km/h. Flies that get hit by a car at that speed look like fallen angels in the electron microscope.”

The specimens in the book came not only from the hood of his car, but also a pest control company, a pharmaceutical conglomerate, a zoo, a university, a flea circus, the police of Bavaria, a dead dog, and the rotting leg of a diabetes patient. His book features photographs of over 100 squashed insects.











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