Insect photography is a rewarding challenge for Tang Zhiyuan.

Since 2001, Tang Zhiyuan has obsessed on the art and science of capturing the smallest of many-legged and winged critters – digitally. During those eight years, Tang’s passion for photographing the various denizens of the kingdom of insects never waned and, indeed, the creeping-crawlers and flitting-flyers remain a big part of his life.

“From a very young age, I loved small animals and I liked playing outside while surrounded by nature,” answers Tang, when asked why he chose insect photography as his hobby. “It was 2001 when I looked for animal pictures on the Internet and bumped into a close-up image of a fly’s head. I could even clearly see the tissue of its eyes. It impressed me a lot. A couple of days later, I bought a digital camera.”

Getting started, Tang found that he lacked both photography skills and the requisite knowledge about the ways of insects. So he read many books and consulted with professionals. His photography skills advanced, as did his style of shooting. “At first, I used to focus on a single image like a beautiful insect sitting on a leaf. Gradually, I thought it more meaningful to use a series of images to display the behavior of insects. And I used my digital camera along with a voice recorder to record my explanation for each shot. The method is very useful and it helps to later remind me what I have shot,” says Tang. “I divide them into different categories. When I need certain category, like ‘hunting for food,’ I have many relevant materials at hand.”

Tang cherishes a special attachment to his ‘models.’ He loves insects and insect photography. But he has never collected insect specimens. “When I finished shooting a mosquito, I didn’t kill it even though it had bitten me. It’s such a good model, how can I kill it?”

Tang’s favorite model is the butterfly hestina assimilis. “I have observed and photographed this kind of butterfly for many years. Using my camera I record its life from the time it is a larva to when it becomes a mature butterfly. The larva comes to be in July and August every year. The caterpillars haven’t matured when winter comes. So they will climb down the trees and hide in the dead leaves. They are tiny but they can survive the brutal winter by themselves. When spring comes, they will climb back to the trees to eat leaves. Gradually they will evolve into butterflies. I think its name, ‘hestina assimilis,’ is too formal. So I nicknamed it ‘Xiaomai.’ Now all my friends refer to it as ‘Xiaomai’ and it has become the star in my photography circle.”

Tang recalls his experience, and explains: “I enjoy shooting on my own. When I go around the mountain, I feel myself tuned in to the environment. I become extremely relaxed in nature.” In 2007, Tang and his associates shot the documentary Insect Love.