During flowering season, it is difficult to get a clear view of hummingbird hawk-moths using the naked eye. However, a super macro photography exhibition has given these rarely-seen moths — often confused with hummingbirds due to their body shape and posture — some much-needed exposure.
Taiwan’s celebrated Bird Photography Club is holding a month-long super macro photography exhibition at the Yangkuei Museum of Culture and Literature in Tainan’s Sinhua District, which aims to give the public a rare, close-up glimpse of the insect world, as well as a greater sense of Taiwan’s rich and varied ecology.
Professional photographer Fan Chao-tung has captured an extraordinary picture of a hummingbird hawk-moth in the act of hoovering up plant nectar, its wings fluttering as it hovers above a flower.
Photo courtesy of Fan Chao-tung
照片：范朝棟提供
Club president Huang Shu-ting says the exhibition features 38 works, including photos of, in addition to the hummingbird hawk-moth, several species of robber fly — also known as the assassin fly — blue-banded bees, carpenter ants, blowflies and jewel bugs. In addition to insects, the exhibition also features a spectacular photograph, taken by Huang, of red-eyed tree frogs that is a veritable feast for the eyes.
Of all the different photographic genres, super macro photography is considered one of the hardest techniques to master, Huang says.
According to Huang, the hummingbird is not actually endemic to Taiwan. She adds that the club hopes that the macro photography on display at the exhibition will provide both adults and children with an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the ecological environment, and discover a hidden side of Mother Nature.
Photo courtesy of Wu Shu-fen
照片：吳淑芬提供
(Translated by Edward Jones, Taipei Times)
在花叢間吸蜜的長喙天蛾，以肉眼不容易清楚見到，透過了超微距攝影展，在鏡頭下精彩呈現，只是因為體型與姿態的關係，常被民眾誤以為是蜂鳥，更添趣味。
國內知名的《拍鳥俱樂部》社團，在台南新化區楊逵文學紀念館舉辦平時罕見的「超微距攝影展」，持續一個月的活動帶領民眾貼近觀察昆蟲世界，感受繽紛、趣味的自然生態。
Photo courtesy of Tsai Chin-chin
照片：蔡進欽提供
專業攝影家范朝棟拍到正在吸蜜的長喙天蛾，舞動著翅膀停滯於花間，奇景令人矚目。
拍鳥俱樂部社長黃蜀婷指出，這次的聯展，共三十八幅超微距攝影作品，主角包含各種食蟲虻，以及青條花蜂、矛巨山蟻、大頭麗蠅、長喙天蛾、側緣亮盾背椿象…，還有紅眼樹蛙等，琳瑯滿目，真的很精彩。
黃蜀婷提到，在各類型的攝影中，「超微距」堪稱最艱難的手法之一。
黃蜀婷說，台灣沒有蜂鳥，透過吸蜜天蛾的超微距攝影，讓參觀的大小朋友，更深入瞭解自然生態的奧妙。
(自由時報記者吳俊鋒)
A: Apart from the musical Sunset Boulevard, Japanese pop diva Ayumi Hamasaki is also touring Taiwan after a 17-year wait. She’s holding two concerts starting tonight. B: Ayu has the most No. 1 hits of any Japanese solo artist, with 33 total. A: “Time” magazine even crowned her as “The Empress of Pop.” B: She staged shows in Taipei back in 2007 and 2008, causing an “Ayu fever” across Taiwan. A: Unfortunately, the singer has been deaf in her left ear since 2008, and is gradually losing hearing in her right ear. I’m so excited to see her singing in Taipei again. A: 除了音樂劇《日落大道》，日本歌后濱崎步睽違17年，今晚起在台北熱唱兩場。
Denmark’s state-run postal service, PostNord, announced that it would cease letter deliveries at the end of 2025 due to the impact of digitalization. As 95% of its residents now use the Digital Post service, Denmark has seen a 90% decline in letter volumes since 2000, from 1.4 billion to 110 million last year. On top of that, the Postal Act of 2024 removes the government’s obligation to provide universal mail service and puts an end to postal exemptions from value-added tax, raising the cost of a single letter to 29 Danish krone (US$4.20). As a result, PostNord is switching
Bilingual Story is a fictionalized account. 雙語故事部分內容純屬虛構。 “One DA-BEI... WU LONG... NAI?” Yujing smiled as the foreigner struggled to order. He looked like an embarrassed puppy. She repeated the order in Chinese, then English: “Oolong milk tea, large size. Half sweet, no ice?” she said gently. He beamed — the kind of full-face, sunshine smile that Latinos are famous for. “Yes! That! You are... lo maximo… the best!” After he left, Lily nudged her. “Nice save. You’re getting the hang of it.” Yujing had taken this summer job at the bubble tea shop to build confidence and get work
Although sending you an SMS (Short Message Service) verification code provides some security, many apps now use code-generating apps and two-factor authentication instead. But more recently, passkeys now use a biometric approach to logging in. Biometrics can offer an even more secure alternative. Following this trend, Google is reportedly planning to replace SMS verification codes with “QR code” scanning. SMS codes are currently used to verify user identity and prevent fraudsters from creating fake Gmail accounts to distribute spam. However, these codes present several challenges. They can be phished through suspicious links, and users may not always have access
RSS