Secret Worlds

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Stephen Dalton is the acknowledged world expert in high-speed
photography. By making ingenious modifications to his photographic
equipment, by constructing elaborate “flight tunnel” environments,
and, above all, by exercising heroic patience, Dalton is able to show us
things the human eye has not previously experienced—things like how a
honey bee moves its wings, how a lacewing somersaults backwards to elude
capture, how a toad’s tongue works, or how the Jesus Lizard walks on
water.

Secret Worlds is an album of nature photos, some merely outstanding,
most breathtakingly incredible in their subject, clarity, composition,
and color. Many of the shots took several days, even weeks, to achieve.
In applying his special high-speed techniques, Dalton refused to accept
anything less than perfect focus. No “artistic” blurred images
allowed. Every tiny insect antenna is crystal sharp, every hair on the
moth visible. Through his camera lens, we can see exactly how a bird’s
wing feathers are positioned at take-off, that a frog’s eyes contract
during a jump, how a bat captures its prey (not with its mouth but with
its tail), and much more.

Extensive captions explain each of the 125 photos and provide some
information on where, how, and why they were shot. What they fail to
tell us is how Dalton was able to consistently find the inherent and
compositional beauty in these exercises designed to capture scientific
information. It is intriguing to closely examine each photo for the
glimpse it gives into the mysterious world of insect, animal, and plant
life. And it is enjoyable to peruse the collection for the visual
pleasure it delivers on every page.