Alex Nguyen of UC Davis, who attended BugShot Hastings, focuses his camera. He is a 2015 alumnus of UC Davis with a bachelor's degree in entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The event takes place May 12-15 in Austin and will be taught by  noted insect photographers/entomologists Alex Wild,  Piotr Naskrecki  and John Abbott. (See information on instructors.)

"BugShot courses are designed to help you improve your macro photography technique in the field and in the studio, regardless of your equipment or experience," the organizers say. It covers, among other topics: 

• Macro-and microphotography equipment
• Composition
• Lighting and flash
• Working with live insects
• Introduction to insect biology (track 1) or Introduction to photography (track 2)
• Special techniques: focus-stacking, time-lapse and video
• Digital asset management and workflow
• Field sessions in beautiful natural habitats
• Evening photo-sharing presentations
• Photography in social media

Who should attend BugShot workshops?

• Entomologists who aspire to improve their photographic skills for work or pleasure
• Photographers who wish to learn arthropod- specific techniques
• Naturalists, beekeepers and gardeners who enjoy the little things
• Bug bloggers, social media users, and BugGuide.net contributors who'd like to spice up their online imagery

We attended BugShot Hastings 2015 at the Hastings Natural History Preserve in the Carmel Valley last May. Operated by UC Berkeley, Hastings is a biological field station with much to offer and much to photograph. We fanned out to capture images of everything from bumble bees to honey bees to ants.  The instructors-- Texas-based Alex Wild and John Abbott and Oregon-based Thomas Shahan--not only offered instructions and fielded questions but each delivered an evening program--Wild on ants (he received his doctorate in entomology from UC Davis with ant guru/professor Phil Ward; Abbott on dragonflies, and Shahan on jumping spiders. 

For BugShot Austin, prices range from $675 to $750. To register or learn more about it, access the website or contact Kendra Abbott at kendra@abbottnature.com with questions.