Thomas Wilder
For three years I have photographed small sculptures that I construct from dead bugs, lint, and dust found in the corners of my basement. Because of the scale of these sculptures and the nature of magnification at this level I use a technique called focus stacking. This entails taking many pictures of the same view (30-60 photographs) and combining them with the aid of various pieces of software into one image. This results in the entire miniature being rendered in fine detail.
hen I find the subjects for photographing they are often entangled in spider webs and covered in dirt and mold. It is often difficult to tell the dead bugs from the dust and surrounding elements. To me, the bits of dust, mold, and grime are just as, if not more stunning than the bugs themselves. I hope this project challenges the ideas we have about beauty and keeps us from falling victim to a way of seeing things that severs us from the revelation of beauty. cargocollective.com/thomaswilderphoto
