Amy R shot at 1 to 1

When not chasing after critters in the backyard, I also have been working on another personal project. It's been in development for about 3 years now and I am very excited to see how it is turning out. 

I call it the 1to1 - Up close and very personal.

This is a socially significant fine art project conceived, developed and created by me. Be sure to check out my website built specifically for this at www.1to1.me.

This images is one of my latest. The file is 45,000 pixels by 48,000 pixels. That's 2.16 GIGAPIXELS. Wow. My poor computer.

In real terms this is a 12 foot by 13 foot print. 

What this also means that printers can't handle this. It will take each image to be printed separately and then put together manually. Which is what I am proposing for an installation… coming soon!

Papa at 1:1 ratio

This is a short video from my iPhone of my computer monitor. On the screen is a digital version of my grandfather for my fine art project simply titled 1 to 1.

The final file size is 37,800 pixels wide by 54,000 tall. Equivelant to a 10.5' x 15' print.
For more upcoming info about this collection and upcoming gallery exhibits, be sure to like my page at Facebook.com/ansarovstudios

Cuban Tree Frog and Sphinx Moth

So I started doing photo nights at my home studio. I used to do this in Virginia when in the Navy and would get upwards of 15 kids. The goal is to make myself an open book to all who are interested to learn and ask questions regarding anything photography or photo business. I've had a few here already with sometimes 3 guys, but last night all but one cancelled. I was a bit let down to this since I am providing time that I really don't have with no agenda other than helping people I know to be successful. So the one that did show up I spent a few hours with. As we were talking my neighbor knocked on the door. He said he found a cool critter for me. It was this giant Cuban Tree Frog (Osteopilus septentrionalis). I was very excited about it, but didn't want to stop with the student so I captured him in a cage and set aside. Her son was with her so I took a few minutes to show the many details and beauty of this simple creature.

Then as the student was leaving her son, now interested in nature, saw this beautiful Tersa Sphinx moth (Xylophanes tersa)sitting on my van door handle. It was another creature I had never seen before. I was completely amazed and captured him as well. It was if nature knew how I felt and decided to raise my spirits by presenting two new opportunities. Both creatures where extremely calm and docile. I spent upwards of a half an hour on each before releasing back into the wild. I went to bed very happy.

Silver Argiope and family

Recently I found a beautiful Silver Argiope (Argiope argentata) in the backyard. She was pretty large and not easy to overlook. What I didn't notice was this amazing egg sac. It was HUGE. Almost bigger than the Argiope herself. At the same time, I had a new student, Amy Yeatts tell me she wanted to get into Nature photography. What better way to bring one into nature photography than by forcing to get close close to a spider. She did well.

Sunrise Symphonic Pops Orchestra

Yesterday was a great day!
One of my classes at school gave me the opportunity to work with the Sunrise Symphonic Pops Orchestra in Sunrise, Florida. This is a small, yet strong orchestra that has been in operation for over 25 years. As part of their new marketing campaign, I offered to donate my time to help shoot their portraits and video interviews. These are a few of my favorites from that shoot.

A baby corn snake visits my backyard

So I was mowing my lawn today when the beautiful Corn Snake (Elaphe guttata). He was only about 12 inches, but put up a fight like a super predator. Because he was so active I had to re think my typical way of shooting. Usually they are manageable to the point where I can keep them on an open vinyl, but this guy was not going to cooperate. So I pulled out a small fish tank and cut some foam core as a base and background. It is a set in progress, but it is a good start. The little fella was acting up a lot, but I was able to keep him in enough of a confined space that made for some great shots.

Father / Son / Spider bonding

Today, my son, Corbin Ansarov, found a baby Banana spider. He captured it in his little bug cage I gave him and asked to photograph it. So we set up the lights and I let him go to town. With a little guidance he quickly saw how close we can get to these things. He had a great time and I was very proud of him.

Delray Beach Jelly Fish

The latest addition to the My Backyard Beach project. A very colorful jellyfish. This one stung me a little, but the images are very worth it.

a living Sand Dollar

Today was a great day at the beach. The water was calm and very clear. I decided to go out snorkeling for a bit and relax with the fishies. I drifter about 500 feet out when I found a great surprise. Hundreds of Sand Dollars where casually resting everywhere under the sand. They were only visible by their edges sticking out from the sand. I took a deep breathe and dove the 20+ feet to get one, brought him back, shot these images and raced back out to put him back. It was pretty cool being that most of the time a person sees a sand dollar is when it is dead and bleach white. I never jnew how amazing the texture was. Not just on the bottom, but his entire body was moving with millions of living arms reaching everywhere. Before I took it back, I showed a bunch of kids that were playing nearby. I really enjoyed sharing this magnificent gift with other kids. It truly was a great gift.

Thorn bug wanted to be a school project

Found this guy (a thorn bug, Umbonia crassicornis) on a Royal Poinciana leaf today. Funny thing was I was on a school assignment to find an interesting item to make a story about. I grabbed the leaf because I wanted the leaf. I only found him after I got back to class. He was pretty cool just sitting there pretending to be a thorn.