Mind-blowing, magnified portraits of insects | Levon Biss

[@JHYW]

I was lucky enough to see this exhibition in the Oxford Natural History Museum. They had the gigantic prints set up around a display of these absolutely minuscule insects, the smallest of which was barely visible without a magnifying glass. The exhibition hit exactly as intended: I was taken back to my five year old self, poking at bugs in the mud in absolute bliss. This project is wonderful.

[@deborahgonzalezknight168]

How wonderful. I wonder where they are now.

[@paylmty]

Did they get any videos on the exhibition? I really want to see it. Or, do you have some pictures?

[@somsoc_]

Really interesting to hear a photographer at the highest level talk about disposability of images, not something you hear a lot. Definitely a real challenge in the digital era, to find a new vantage point. The honesty of admitting that it wasn't his conception, but his child, is inspiring.

[@jonathanstrauss2083]

somsoc seek out the child and father team of artists on KZbin. The father Works in Japan as an anime artist and his Young son comes up with these fantastic Concepts and the father takes that concept and adds a professional flare to it.

[@ryantrue4844]

Photographers are amazing and those photos are just incredible

[@GummiTomm]

What a great father giving your son credit for your work.

[@CelestialCookies]

I can look at the details of the insectes for hours in the microsculpture website . They are looking for aliens in the space but here we have species that we truly "see" for the first time . These beautiful aliens are between us . The pictures opened a new whole world and insight for me , thank you very much.

[@sotra697]

This is absolutely fantastic. I've actually seen his work before briefly at an photography exhibition, and I was absolutely blown away. Also, that last comment about C. Darwin is cool :)

[@tdawg719]

I do macro photography and I am blown away at his technique. The fact he is photographing sections and reassembling the parts later is such a painful technique to master.

[@Zajcooo]

Good old TED. Comfy and inspiring video.

[@joannot6706]

That's not inspiring, that's mortifying, do you think they waited for these beautiful and conscious species to die naturally or they killed them? And why? For our own amusement, for our pleasure? That's sick and psychopathic.

[@wtflol6969]

conscious lol?

[@Marvaloza95]

Joannot Fampionona Whether or not they killed them, they will die rather quick because of their short life span. Human does not want their history to go away because if they do extinct, we dont have their data on file. It is true that biologists love animals and plants but for the sake of saving or even resurrecting them in case of extinction, we need their replicas, the one that has been mortified. Only one per species needed. Please dont talk like youve never step on ants. You kill them everyday unconsciously or not, same thing, they die.

[@xivix6710]

This is incredible ! The quality of the pictures he makes is so amazing it gave me goosebumps !

[@daniella3813]

Sempre amei os insetos e agora com essas fotos maravilhosas amo mais ainda!

[@EMvanLoon]

Just saw this exhibition in Maastricht, Netherlands, yesterday. Amazing feeling to stand in between these giant insects. Thanks for revealing the beauty of the tiny natural world!

[@littlewigglemonster7691]

working with this guy wouldve been a childhood dream!

[@ericwidder2954]

I hope it comes to the states one day, would love to see it. How cool that must have felt to photograph that shield bug once held my Charles Darwin. Just wow.

[@rajasimanta]

I visited the site & it literally changed my prospective of bugs ... Nowadays if I see any bugs, I actually look them them with respect & curiosity, they suddenly are looking gorgeous to me .. *WOW*

[@ASANIEable]

Wow just phenomenal great message too

[@ElanSunStarPhotographyHawaii]

Incredible amazing and so relevant we never see the worlds surrounding us.....this is what science and art must demonstrate ..bravo !!!!

[@joannot6706]

All this is demonstrating is the unnecessary death these conscious and beautiful beings had to endure for our own amusement. This is not what art should be about, art and science should never be about killing innocents.

[@witzont]

I got goosebumps browsing his website

[@Mybliss24]

I watched the video in 144p and still its mind blowing!

[@umarfarooq5519]

So much beauty in nature.✌️

[@joannot6706]

And we kill nature for this sick hobby of taking unrespectfully, undeservingly a picture of their beauty since we choose not to do that without harming them even though it's possible. They are desacrating nature.

[@leeohmoon231]

@@joannot6706 I had exactly the same thought, what a uninspiring punk

[@bluehoodieguy7568]

@@leeohmoon231 idiots...🙄

[@G4M5T3R]

Member when almost every uploaded TED Talk was this good? Yea, I member.

[@joannot6706]

You mean the unnecessary death of beautiful, magnificent and conscious being? And you call that *good* . The masses needs to reconnect with reality and the violence of death, violence that we should all reject.

[@Keepturbo]

Awesome

[@jebasteen7500]

*FANTASTIC*

[@LeonidasGGG]

Art for Mankind. Brilliant!

[@salokin14]

Brilliant Work. Extraordinary details. Inspired!

[@joannot6706]

You are inspired by unnecessary death and the mistreatment of conscious and beautiful beings.

[@Bridg2Peace]

Inspirational and beautiful! Thank you.

[@matc8085]

what a refreshing talk

[@NaNa-tr6wj]

Remarquable votre travail Monsieur, vos photos sont extraordinaires et nous permettent de voir en chaque petit insecte a la base ordinaire sa veritable beaute .....merci a votre fiston sans lequel nous n'aurions pas pu profiteret decouvrir cette biodiversite sublime. 👏 from France.

[@ErkkiPalmu]

The ground beetle in the beginning is a Harpalus affinis. Common carabids but still nice to look at☺️

[@bujoun76]

Spectacular!!!

[@drumetul_dacic]

2:52 - wow!

[@Ovarian_invasion]

Epic!!!!🎉

[@smithmark]

Excellent Photos Levon!

[@kalashchangal170]

TED is amazing

[@michaelhathaway5023]

This one has more of the Englishman Levon Bliss'es giant enlarged photographs, and offers more of his story. His subtle genius, and his beautiful modesty. At the end he shows us a bug that Darwin brought back from the Galapagos, and then his (always stunning) photograph of it. He expresses his feeling of great privilege and gratitude that the museum people have trusted him with their rare bugs, and he wonders whether Darwin would like his photograph. "I hope so," he concludes, with a breathtakingly soft modesty in his voice.

[@Digitaldesignhub]

Great Job!

[@evertongomes4248]

Wow, wonderful!!

[@darwn977]

Great work!

[@Lukas-ig9me]

They look like tiny aliens. That is so cool! Such a great artwork

[@verzinker]

Perfect images. Nice printer by the way.

[@adrianbaita6326]

Do you know what kind of printer is it Alexander???

[@verzinker]

I'm afraid not! But definitely no printer i can afford!

[@CoreyDrums]

Alexander Jarosik its not Ted's printer either....

[@rbaleksandar]

Pretty cool shots. Love the amount of detail.

[@Artchick1972]

He needs to do a TEDx in Boca Raton, Florida

[@Leotique]

inspirational

[@gladysnarvaezrocha4594]

Trabalho de Deus, o homen maravillado com a criação. Parabéns! Amei a sua dedicação e o amor pelas crianças!

[@ClemenceBergeron]

i love insects

[@HockeyJock]

This project couldn't be more timely... we've killed off 75% of the biomass of insects worldwide. We better photograph them now. :/

[@smithmark]

www.macroscopicsolutions.com

[@thrivesurvive]

astounding!

[@arunkumaracharya9641]

Eyes and head are most curious things of insect, pls take those!

[@leeluv96]

Awww man, I was hoping the host would ask him a few questions

[@marlbankian]

Impressive

[@TariqAq]

''Indeed, Allah is not timid to present an example - that of a mosquito or what is smaller than it. And those who have believed know that it is the truth from their Lord. But as for those who disbelieve, they say, "What did Allah intend by this as an example?" He misleads many thereby and guides many thereby. And He misleads not except the defiantly disobedient'' Quran 2:26

[@dejgreen4843]

ANT this just the BEEst video you’ve seen? I can’t BEETLieve how good was it was. Woooooooo

[@angelasims7377]

HA!

[@joylaura2775]

Tengo la suerte de verlo en Villahermosa Tabasco, México.

[@chinmayrevant8750]

Yo random awesome people !

[@Inrumpo]

I saw his expo in Basel. Not too mind-blown, even though that was a lot of work for sure. I really liked the prints though.

[@LindasJikoni]

Amazing🤗

[@cg0883]

this is gonna make my day :)

[@da537]

Very interested, I like to use some of the insects in my website. excellent job.

[@shrutibhat7186]

Awesome work, you need to have a eye of a child to create master piece

[@dopiepanda]

I'm so glad those insects are tiny..! They look terryfing when zoomed in on

[@TheSighphiguy]

i think "majestic" is a better word than "terrifying".

[@aquatichighs]

I honestly wish the pictures weren’t so dark

[@Stallnig]

Have you tried using other types of light on them, black, polarised, UV, Infra red...?

[@iamsyphax1405]

I discovered this channel recently, It's like love from first sight ! I loved the first video I saw, it's something interesting. Thanks for the great videos ! :) Best regards from Kabylia.

[@anaisbkiss920]

wawwww this is amazinggggg thank you so much #loveit

[@groovezmuzume0210]

Hi what equipment do i need to do macrophotography using objective lens, So what kind of dlsr lens, objective lens do i need? I have canon 6markii thank you

[@JadieJamz]

This man searched for worth, and found it in insects 😂😂 amazing

[@adrianbaita6326]

What kind of printer did he use for getting those big masterpieces???

[@rheizramreact1064]

ITS SOOOOOO FUCKING BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

[@MrNicoJac]

Why is this not in 4k??

[@mydearfriendheather1931]

I love TED talks, but why are the links mentioned in the talk NEVER included in the about?! Get it together.

[@ulalaFrugilega]

"Mindblowing" is so overused these days, this talk took me by surprise: it really makes good on its title.

[@lukasjacob3721]

I was having an argument with someone what can he say on this... and he said, "they spend money on this and not feeding those hungry people in Africa. I dont see any gain on this." I dont really know how to argue with him...

[@randaalfahham6985]

The people are fascinated by the one who discovered and filmed, how about the One who created and fashioned?

[@PeetahIzKewl]

people should have been clapping at 3:00

Please, someone, overlay this with electron microscope so we can get even further zoom.

[@xerotoninz]

Cant imagine the size of the shoe need to squash those bugs

[@GNeuman]

Wow, if you look deep enough you can find the miracle of creation everywhere, like Bob Dylan wrote, "Every Grain Of Sand"..Amazing..

[@oldcowbb]

I wonder if he can make 3d model of these insects

[@qutaibaali2830]

Charles Darwen would realized the magnificent of the bug and flush all his evolution thoughts. This can't be something else but intelligent design.

[@rixpix2957]

Once again: Thank you God, for everything!

[@justinbeloy5829]

Does the bug on the right in the thumbnail make you think "Aunt Sponge" or is it just me?

[@leegenny8712]

wwwoooh,i was so amazed that i almost forgot to "like".

[@jeffbingaman2754]

That ground beetle looks like the Japanese beetle and the beetle that is killing ash trees. But I'm not a bugologist.

[@melizbeth1]

Beautiful beings yet i wish you'd given more attention to them as art while they live amongst us. Once they are killed their beauty fades. Is it possible to show their mastery, beauty, magnificence without killing them? Sorry as i was excited to watch this yet seeing these tiny dead beings photographed reminded of hunters with their larger kill of bengs like Cecile... As humans we really need to stop the killing & manipulating of living beings for our research as our desire to study, dominate, control... is why we are where we are now in 2020. There must be a way... Live and Let Live.

[@ricomx29]

If you have the money for equipment, i think there is nothing very complicated to do so, just a matter of money in that case, it's beginning to be a real challenge when you don't have the money...

[@Awrange]

He really looks a lot like Rodney Mullen

[@chrisnever9783]

God is a true artist

[@adobemastr]

The photographer Levon Bliss has unique skills, but I was stunned to hear him give Charles Darwin credit, at 7:19, for "his beetle." What did Darwin contribute to the making of this beetle, or any other wonderful creature Darwin studied? Nothing. These incredible photographs show the beauty, majesty and glory of the One who created them: the great and awesome God of the Universe. Levon Bliss should give Him the glory and credit...not to Darwin.

[@falgunivora2750]

The site doesn't work properly

[@basil3663]

That website is amazing, though I'm a bit of a sissy and get uncomfortable looking at corpses for too long.

[@amd8969]

720p

[@matthewwilliamson10]

enda kenny was on the cover of Time haha

[@tonmoymirza8140]

Indeed, Allah is not timid to present an example - that of a mosquito or what is smaller than it. And those who have believed know that it is the truth from their Lord. But as for those who disbelieve, they say, "What did Allah intend by this as an example?" He misleads many thereby and guides many thereby. And He misleads not except the defiantly disobedient. Al Quran chapter 2 verse 26.

[@zasaranimation7322]

Sorry, its micro, not photo. Great, no question. The border is the best imaginable human eyesight. Whenever you cross this border, you leave the ground of what the term of photography means.

[@shanethomas1524]

Just look at most Rappers

[@geraldmerkowitz4360]

Now the same with spiders maybe ?

[@pubuanga4793]

4gb image what a mammoth

[@sasachiminesh1204]

clicked on this to see bugs, not hear someone i never heard of narcissistically rag about how important and privileged they are. why is that necessary?

[@63M1N1]

O _ O

[@LeicaM11]

Das sind natürlich immer alles montierte Fake-Fotos, wegen der geringen Tiefenscharfe der Makrofotografie.

[@payotl]

Mind-blowing? Wat wea, ¿dont you have another palabra mejor? TED is more vendido than the chuch. Lujo Insects by the way.