Art is theft

And there are plenty of photographers leaving their cookies on the windowsill to cool[1].

The Guardian has a series, My Best Shot which showcases photographers' favourite works, accompanied by a short article about how the photo was taken.

I love Thomas Joshua Cooper's picture. It joyously breaks the rule about using an object to give some sense of scale. I can hardly tell if this is a crystal under a microscope or a mountain seen from a helicopter. The ambiguity makes me tingle.


Likewise the PhotoSynthesis blog showcases some of the best science photography on ScienceBlogs, with a different scientist curating each month. April was the turn of molecular entomologist and keen photographer Alex Wild. These photographs document some previously unseen behaviour: flies mugging ants for their food. And there are some stunning images in this essay on the dangers of anthropomorphism in science photography.


[1] This crap metaphor courtesy of high octane dental painkillers. Sorry...