Anyone who has ever seen a crimson orphaned child up close, or a white tiger, or a Spanish flag, will never again say that moths are mostly unsightly moths. But, says photographer Rogier Maaskant, our senses are too limited to perceive everything during a walk in the dark. So when people think of butterflies, people quickly think of the 53 species of butterflies that we can see during the day, and about which worrying reports will appear this spring and summer.
You don’t hear much about the more than 2,300 butterflies that are mainly active at night. In his photo series sense of presence Maaskant makes that usually unseen nature visible. He went out at night, in the vicinity of his hometown Rotterdam. He was surprised by what appeared in front of his camera. Wonder was paramount. ‘Nature as set dresser, stylist and director.’
With most photos you know in advance what you will get, but Maaskant only saw afterwards whether there was something in his photos, and how, and what. He saw an insect flying, went after it and photographed while running. Not only moths appeared in front of his camera, but also mosquitoes, dragonflies and other insects. The fact that that one mother-of-pearl moth suddenly appears to be more than ten in the photo has to do with that movement, among other things.
Ultimately, Maaskant wants to show the ‘grace’ and beauty of these animals. Animals that are not seen as cuddly, but are magical. Insects that are going bad, and that everyone should value, to prevent them from being there altogether. “I give them a stage.”
The photo book is in the making and you can support this project via For the art.
