Pollination Power

At the age of 74, when most people have long since retired, Heather Angel is working as hard as ever. Her latest project, on plants and pollinators, has involved travelling to 20 countries and has taken five years to complete. The most striking of these images are on display in Heather's new book - her 60th - titled Pollination Power. The book is an exploration of the ways in which flowers attract pollinators and help propagate the species. The resulting images are not only visually impressive but also scientifically interesting. They demonstrate the vital role a flower's structure plays in the pollination process and show that as well as insects, such as bees and hoverflies, a range of birds, mammals and even reptiles help spread pollen from one plant to another. To shoot these images, Heather used a range of techniques including focus stacking and specialised lighting, including ultraviolet (UV) and high-speed flash. This marriage of art and science is consistent with Heather's work over the past five decades, during which time she has remained one of the UK's bestknown nature photographers. She began her post university career as a marine biologist, but her growing passion for the more time you spend in the field at the right place.' Heather is enthusiastic about the use of digital technology and says the book couldn't have been done without it. Apart from the benefits of digital such as being able to shoot with high ISO in the dark, shady conditions of a tropical rainforest, she also enjoyed using post-processing techniques such as focus stacking. Using this technique, she could take as many as 50 focus 'slices' (like a CT scan) and then combine them using the Zerene Stacker software to greatly increase depth of field in the final image. For focus stacking to work, you need both a static subject and a constant light source. Heather usually shot those images in controlled conditions in her studio, or if travelling she would improvise and use a hotel bathroom as a studio. Another technique she used was shooting with UV flash, which gives a more accurate idea of how pollinators see some flowers (see image on page xx). 'We know that insects have the ability to see in UV and now scientists are finding that some birds and small mammals can too,' she says. 'We've also known for some time that flowers which appear a single colour to our eyes have distinct markings in UV light, such as a darker central bulls-eye.' Heather used a specialist UV flash to capture these secret signals and guiding marks on flower petals. However, when combining UV with the multiple images necessary for focus stacking, extra problems arose. 'The UV flash emits a lot of heat, so I could only do a few shots before it got too hot, then I had to wait for it to cool before I could do more,' she says. 'Therefore a UV focus stack was really tedious to do. Sometimes, a flower would start drooping even though it was held in place with a clamp and I'd have to start again. However, afterwards I was thrilled with the results.'The book's final image selection shows only a fraction of the photographs Heather has amassed on this project over the past five years and a further, more academic, book may follow. Nevertheless, Pollination Power is undoubtedly a worthy addition to her collection of photography titles. Heather, an active blogger and tweeter, clearly still retains her energy and enthusiasm for nature photography of all kinds and says she is enjoying her work as much as ever. 'The nice thing now, after having my whole life dictated by people setting me deadlines, which I've been happy to do, is that now I don't have to do anything,' she says. 'I can photograph whatever I want and I'm enjoying it.' -- David Clark Amateur photographer Heather Angel trained as a marine biologist before becoming a freelance wildlife photographer. She's celebrated for her exquisite images, which marry science and art, and sell all over the world via her picture library, Natural Visions. She is also a prolific author and is about to release her 60th book, Pollination Power. The fruit of five years' work at Kew Gardens and 20 overseas trips, Pollination Power reveals how plants attract a wide range of pollinators, with some images taken using ultraviolet flash, a technique commonly used to detect traces of bodily fluids at crime scenes. Appointed a Visiting Professor at Nottingham University in 1994, she is no ordinary nature photographer. -- Geoff Harris Digital Camera World