Little Things that Bite a Nature Photographer

Ant Symbiosis

The photo to the right makes a fine print-I obviously edited it to a sepia tone, but the background was originally blue sky. It looks great framed on the wall...especially when I recall the pain that I went through to get the shot!

I had been on my way home when I noticed the ants making the trips up and down the stalk of the flower. Not thinking about it much, I set up a small tripod, dropped to my belly and started shooting. I did not realize how insensitive I was being to the ants' feelings tho.

They obviously took offense to me being there, because some of their brethren began stealthily crawling over me-up my pantlegs, shirt, etc. There were about a dozen on me when one solitary ant decided it no longer wished me to be there and gave the attack signal-I felt one fierce bite, then my body erupted in fiery pain as the rest of them bit down also!

I paid for this shot for about 3 weeks, since ant bites seem to fester and last forever-itching terribly. I learned my lesson that day-in nature, more often than not, it's the little things that you need to look out for! The shot was, however, worth the discomfort (one of my personal favorites), especially since I got a lasting lesson from the humble ant on respect!