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Bullet ant posing - frontal, La Isla Escondida, Colombia Disclaimer: this bullet ant was found by our guide in the forest of La Isla Escondida. Next it was fridged for 20 minutes to calm it down, photographed for 5 mins on a table, and then released, alive and seemingly unharmed. I&#039;m not a big fan of the practice of fridging. I don&#039;t judge others doing it, I just try to be as least invasive as possible when photographing subjects, as I do not think my wish for a photo outweighs the well-being of the subject. I did not fridge this one, but I did not stop it either.<br /> <br /> On the upside, it seemed fine and it&#039;s not every day that you can take macro shots of a bullet ant inches away from your head and it being relatively calm. Which didn&#039;t last long. It was rubbing and cleaning itself to warm up, making a pretty angry impression, and rightfully so. It became more active with every passing second, so I hope you enjoy the few quick shots I could get of this ticking time bomb.<br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/73469/bullet_ant_posing_la_isla_escondida_colombia.html" title="Bullet ant posing, La Isla Escondida, Colombia"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/2/73469_thumb.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1759968010&Signature=DSjNT0GrqT%2BMlaDqrWeg6wwP0to%3D" width="200" height="134" alt="Bullet ant posing, La Isla Escondida, Colombia Disclaimer: this bullet ant was found by our guide in the forest of La Isla Escondida. Next it was fridged for 20 minutes to calm it down, photographed for 5 mins on a table, and then released, alive and seemingly unharmed. I&#039;m not a big fan of the practice of fridging. I don&#039;t judge others doing it, I just try to be as least invasive as possible when photographing subjects, as I do not think my wish for a photo outweighs the well-being of the subject. I did not fridge this one, but I did not stop it either.<br /> <br /> On the upside, it seemed fine and it&#039;s not every day that you can take macro shots of a bullet ant inches away from your head and it being relatively calm. Which didn&#039;t last long. It was rubbing and cleaning itself to warm up, making a pretty angry impression, and rightfully so. It became more active with every passing second, so I hope you enjoy the few quick shots I could get of this ticking time bomb.<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/73470/bullet_ant_posing_-_head_la_isla_escondida_colombia.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/73471/bullet_ant_posing_-_side_view_la_isla_escondida_colombia.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/73472/bullet_ant_posing_-_frontal_la_isla_escondida_colombia.html Bullet Ant,Colombia,Colombia 2018,Colombia South,Fall,Geotagged,La Isla Escondida,Paraponera clavata,Putumayo,South America,World" /></a></figure><br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/73470/bullet_ant_posing_-_head_la_isla_escondida_colombia.html" title="Bullet ant posing - head, La Isla Escondida, Colombia"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/2/73470_thumb.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1759968010&Signature=tnZvrEnlCkTVZl4EBY0IFgw4hJA%3D" width="200" height="162" alt="Bullet ant posing - head, La Isla Escondida, Colombia Disclaimer: this bullet ant was found by our guide in the forest of La Isla Escondida. Next it was fridged for 20 minutes to calm it down, photographed for 5 mins on a table, and then released, alive and seemingly unharmed. I&#039;m not a big fan of the practice of fridging. I don&#039;t judge others doing it, I just try to be as least invasive as possible when photographing subjects, as I do not think my wish for a photo outweighs the well-being of the subject. I did not fridge this one, but I did not stop it either.<br /> <br /> On the upside, it seemed fine and it&#039;s not every day that you can take macro shots of a bullet ant inches away from your head and it being relatively calm. Which didn&#039;t last long. It was rubbing and cleaning itself to warm up, making a pretty angry impression, and rightfully so. It became more active with every passing second, so I hope you enjoy the few quick shots I could get of this ticking time bomb.<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/73469/bullet_ant_posing_la_isla_escondida_colombia.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/73471/bullet_ant_posing_-_side_view_la_isla_escondida_colombia.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/73472/bullet_ant_posing_-_frontal_la_isla_escondida_colombia.html Bullet Ant,Colombia,Colombia 2018,Colombia South,La Isla Escondida,Paraponera clavata,Putumayo,South America,World" /></a></figure><br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/73471/bullet_ant_posing_-_side_view_la_isla_escondida_colombia.html" title="Bullet ant posing - side view, La Isla Escondida, Colombia"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/2/73471_thumb.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1759968010&Signature=GRyepeHLPNZelWo9qblhRR0LvkI%3D" width="146" height="152" alt="Bullet ant posing - side view, La Isla Escondida, Colombia Disclaimer: this bullet ant was found by our guide in the forest of La Isla Escondida. Next it was fridged for 20 minutes to calm it down, photographed for 5 mins on a table, and then released, alive and seemingly unharmed. I&#039;m not a big fan of the practice of fridging. I don&#039;t judge others doing it, I just try to be as least invasive as possible when photographing subjects, as I do not think my wish for a photo outweighs the well-being of the subject. I did not fridge this one, but I did not stop it either.<br /> <br /> On the upside, it seemed fine and it&#039;s not every day that you can take macro shots of a bullet ant inches away from your head and it being relatively calm. Which didn&#039;t last long. It was rubbing and cleaning itself to warm up, making a pretty angry impression, and rightfully so. It became more active with every passing second, so I hope you enjoy the few quick shots I could get of this ticking time bomb.<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/73469/bullet_ant_posing_la_isla_escondida_colombia.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/73470/bullet_ant_posing_-_head_la_isla_escondida_colombia.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/73472/bullet_ant_posing_-_frontal_la_isla_escondida_colombia.html Bullet Ant,Colombia,Colombia 2018,Colombia South,Fall,Geotagged,La Isla Escondida,Paraponera clavata,Putumayo,South America,World" /></a></figure> Colombia,Colombia 2018,Colombia South,La Isla Escondida,Putumayo,South America,World Click/tap to enlarge Promoted

Bullet ant posing - frontal, La Isla Escondida, Colombia

Disclaimer: this bullet ant was found by our guide in the forest of La Isla Escondida. Next it was fridged for 20 minutes to calm it down, photographed for 5 mins on a table, and then released, alive and seemingly unharmed. I'm not a big fan of the practice of fridging. I don't judge others doing it, I just try to be as least invasive as possible when photographing subjects, as I do not think my wish for a photo outweighs the well-being of the subject. I did not fridge this one, but I did not stop it either.

On the upside, it seemed fine and it's not every day that you can take macro shots of a bullet ant inches away from your head and it being relatively calm. Which didn't last long. It was rubbing and cleaning itself to warm up, making a pretty angry impression, and rightfully so. It became more active with every passing second, so I hope you enjoy the few quick shots I could get of this ticking time bomb.

Bullet ant posing, La Isla Escondida, Colombia Disclaimer: this bullet ant was found by our guide in the forest of La Isla Escondida. Next it was fridged for 20 minutes to calm it down, photographed for 5 mins on a table, and then released, alive and seemingly unharmed. I'm not a big fan of the practice of fridging. I don't judge others doing it, I just try to be as least invasive as possible when photographing subjects, as I do not think my wish for a photo outweighs the well-being of the subject. I did not fridge this one, but I did not stop it either.<br /> <br /> On the upside, it seemed fine and it's not every day that you can take macro shots of a bullet ant inches away from your head and it being relatively calm. Which didn't last long. It was rubbing and cleaning itself to warm up, making a pretty angry impression, and rightfully so. It became more active with every passing second, so I hope you enjoy the few quick shots I could get of this ticking time bomb.<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/73470/bullet_ant_posing_-_head_la_isla_escondida_colombia.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/73471/bullet_ant_posing_-_side_view_la_isla_escondida_colombia.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/73472/bullet_ant_posing_-_frontal_la_isla_escondida_colombia.html Bullet Ant,Colombia,Colombia 2018,Colombia South,Fall,Geotagged,La Isla Escondida,Paraponera clavata,Putumayo,South America,World

Bullet ant posing - head, La Isla Escondida, Colombia Disclaimer: this bullet ant was found by our guide in the forest of La Isla Escondida. Next it was fridged for 20 minutes to calm it down, photographed for 5 mins on a table, and then released, alive and seemingly unharmed. I'm not a big fan of the practice of fridging. I don't judge others doing it, I just try to be as least invasive as possible when photographing subjects, as I do not think my wish for a photo outweighs the well-being of the subject. I did not fridge this one, but I did not stop it either.<br /> <br /> On the upside, it seemed fine and it's not every day that you can take macro shots of a bullet ant inches away from your head and it being relatively calm. Which didn't last long. It was rubbing and cleaning itself to warm up, making a pretty angry impression, and rightfully so. It became more active with every passing second, so I hope you enjoy the few quick shots I could get of this ticking time bomb.<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/73469/bullet_ant_posing_la_isla_escondida_colombia.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/73471/bullet_ant_posing_-_side_view_la_isla_escondida_colombia.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/73472/bullet_ant_posing_-_frontal_la_isla_escondida_colombia.html Bullet Ant,Colombia,Colombia 2018,Colombia South,La Isla Escondida,Paraponera clavata,Putumayo,South America,World

Bullet ant posing - side view, La Isla Escondida, Colombia Disclaimer: this bullet ant was found by our guide in the forest of La Isla Escondida. Next it was fridged for 20 minutes to calm it down, photographed for 5 mins on a table, and then released, alive and seemingly unharmed. I'm not a big fan of the practice of fridging. I don't judge others doing it, I just try to be as least invasive as possible when photographing subjects, as I do not think my wish for a photo outweighs the well-being of the subject. I did not fridge this one, but I did not stop it either.<br /> <br /> On the upside, it seemed fine and it's not every day that you can take macro shots of a bullet ant inches away from your head and it being relatively calm. Which didn't last long. It was rubbing and cleaning itself to warm up, making a pretty angry impression, and rightfully so. It became more active with every passing second, so I hope you enjoy the few quick shots I could get of this ticking time bomb.<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/73469/bullet_ant_posing_la_isla_escondida_colombia.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/73470/bullet_ant_posing_-_head_la_isla_escondida_colombia.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/73472/bullet_ant_posing_-_frontal_la_isla_escondida_colombia.html Bullet Ant,Colombia,Colombia 2018,Colombia South,Fall,Geotagged,La Isla Escondida,Paraponera clavata,Putumayo,South America,World

    comments (2)

  1. View Flown Kimmerling's profile
    Flown Kimmerling
    Lion
    View Lion class
    Wonderful!

    I think "fridging" would probably be the most humane way to go about getting these shots (without ending up in an emergency room), so no judgment here at all!

    On a side note: I bet you got an adrenaline rush from this experience!     Posted 6 years ago
    1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
      Ferdy Christant
      Lion
      View Lion class
      True, fridging is a relatively light "touch" if you consider that most people wouldn't even mind sacrificing an insect altogether. Which, if you take the human emotion out of it, isn't very impactful if you consider numbers, the short lifespan of an insect, etc. So I don't even judge people doing that, but I personally avoid it, or try to.

      The second part of the disclaimer is providing transparency on how unusual photos are taken. If a subject is manipulated (frozen, dead) or placed in fake backgrounds, I strongly believe that the photographer should disclose it.

      As for the adrenaline rush, yes this was a lot of fun and very exciting. Yet just like the fer-de-lance, I believe the reputation of this creature is overstated. I'm no expert but in my few interactions with them, they never seem interested in people particularly and even if they are on you (like they were on our guide's hand whilst capturing it), they still show no interest in delivering the bite. Even in the dare-devil Youtube videos, people need to press it against skin repeatedly to trigger an actual bite.

      Always better to be safe than sorry though, so avoid needless interactions :)       Posted 6 years ago

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By Ferdy Christant

All rights reserved
Uploaded Jan 29, 2019. Captured Oct 21, 2018 18:33.
country flag of Colombia Explore Colombia 8,334 2,805 0
  • NIKON D850
  • f/18.0
  • 1/60s
  • ISO64
  • 105mm