Australian bull ant in 3D

[Patrick Cooper]

Not too long ago, I tried some 3D macro photography for the first time. I adapted a Canon FD 50mm f3.5 macro lens to a Panasonic G7 M4/3 camera and made use of a slide bar to vary the distance between photos. The subject is an Australian bull ant (Myrmecia genus.) These ants are pretty big with large serrated mandibles at the front and a venom-loaded sting at the back (on the tip of the abdomen.) 

Below is an anaglyph so you'd need a pair of red / cyan glasses to view properly.

 

There's also a cross-eye version in colour so no need for glasses with this one:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 20, 2023 by Patrick Cooper

[Jon O'Brien]

For those who don't know, with the bottom set of two photographs you can train your eyes to meld the two pictures together into one. It can take a while until you get the knack, but once learned you can always do it successfully in just a jiffy. You should feel your eyes cross slightly, and see a central image in 3D, flanked by a non-3D image each side. You don't need any gadgets to get a 3D image.

Edited April 21, 2023 by Jon O'Brien

[Jon O'Brien]

I remember those bull ants, from when I was a kid growing up in Victoria. In Queensland we have the infamous jumping ant, which are possibly more aggressive.

[Patrick Cooper]

Jon, yes that's a good explanation on the cross eye viewing method. Initially, that was something I really struggled with until I found this excellent tutorial which allowed me to get the hang of it:

http://www.3dphoto.net/forum/index.php/topic,10.0.html

Ive heard about those jumping jack bull ants and seen footage of them but Ive never encountered them in real life. Yea Ive heard about their reputation (not to be messed with.)