Ray Watkins: A Bug's Life; Up Close And Personal

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Ray Watkins, "A Bug's Life; Up Close And Personal," 2020

photograph

Opening Reception : Thursday, February 6th, 6:00- 9:00pm

Artist Statement

My name is Ray Watkins. I am father of three grown men and have been in the land development and planning field for almost 40 years. Besides family and friends, my other love is photography.

I have been actively taking photos for over 30 years. This body of work is an up close and personal look at some of St. Albert’s insects. All of my photos are of live insects, on live vegetation, in a natural setting with natural light.

Years ago, I started taking my camera to the St. Albert Botanical gardens as a break from my busy household. I had been taking pictures of flowers and one day while reviewing them I noticed an insect on one of the flower petals. From that moment on, I was hooked. I purchased a screw on magnifier for my camera so I could get closer. I was fascinated with the insects and felt that the insects on the flower were much more interesting than the flower alone; that the flowers’ colours and textures only added to the insects. After exploring a number of different macro lenses, I settled on Canons MPE65, a lens that can provide five times magnification. The photos before you were all taken with this lens.

I hope you enjoy this up close and personal set of insect portraits.