The Periodical Cicada - Part III: A Few Tips for Photography Them in 17 Years

If you missed photographing the cicadas this year, don’t worry, you have 17 years to prepare for the next emergence. So, to help you prepare – and remember, you have 17 years to practice – here are some of the techniques I used to document this amazing natural event.

The periodical cicada is the easiest and most accommodating critter I ever photographed. The most challenging aspect was dealing with the hot and humid days when I photographed during the mid-day hours of late spring and early summer.

Why the mid-day hours? As the temperatures rise, the cicadas become more active and of course, noisier and louder. But with so many cicadas perched on vegetation and flying about, you have many options for capturing images. Just bring a towel to wipe off the sweat and drink lots of water.

The photographic challenge is discovering compositions that show the close-up details of the individual cicada and compositions that illustrate the wider perspective of the insect in its environment. So, when going into the field, bring an assortment of focal lengths to help tell the whole story.

Periodical cicadas are easy to find. First, just listen for them and then start exploring, and while cicadas are very tolerant of your photographic meddling, their patience level varies by individual. Just bear in mind, if one cicada flies away, you still have millions of them to consider.

My approach involved using a few different focal lengths. For overall habitat scenes, I used a Nikkor 24-70mm f.2.8 wide-angle zoom and even an ultra-wide zoom. While I focused a lot on individual cicadas, I also looked for situations where I could photograph several in the same scene.

Sometimes I would use a polarizer to reduce reflections from the leaves, usually when photographing after a rainstorm or during overcast skies.

For closer views I used a Nikkor AF-S 105mm f/2.8 VR ED Micro lens handheld with the vibration reduction function engaged. This lens gave me enough focal length to keep a respectable distance from the cicada, but still allow a close-up view.

For closer looks of the cicada, I also used a Nikkor 200mm f/4 Micro lens, which provided even more working distance between me and the cicada. It also gave a narrower angle of view, which helped to better control the background.

For a “bug eyes” view, I used the Nikkor AF-S Fisheye (Ultra-wide) 8-15mm f/3.5-4.5E ED lens, which was fun to use. With this lens, I was sometimes as close as an inch from the cicada.

I usually shot at f/16 - f/22 and my white balance setting was either auto or daylight. While I did use a tripod at times, I found that there was enough ambient light to get a fast enough shutter speed for the focal length I was using to just handhold the camera.

With the quality sensors in today’s digital cameras, I was confident in using ISOs as high as 2000 if needed and not get a noisy image. However, I always started with the lowest ISO possible to get the speed I need, only increasing the ISO when more speed was needed.

Since I photographed during the mid-day hours with extreme contrast, I used a Nikkor SB-910 flash with a dome diffuser to provide some light to the deep shadows. I often used a combination of adjusting the flash output and the camera’s exposure compensation to help balance the light. To check my exposure, I just reviewed the camera’s histogram to ensure proper exposure and then adjusted as needed.

For compositions, I searched for scenes where the background was complimentary and not distracting from the primary subject – the cicada. I looked for scenes that illustrated the environment typical for the cicada – woodland edges, and meadows or fields with tall stalks of grass and forbs where the cicadas perch. For cicadas in trees, I explored the low hanging branches of redbud, sycamore, hackberry, and various species of oaks. Believe me, you would have to have your eyes closed not to see hundreds of cicadas and compositions in your angle of view!

So, there you have it, all the natural history you’ll need about the cicada and a few photographic tips to help you prepare for the next emergence in 2038 when these fascinating insects once again bring a noisy addition to our natural world. Just whatever you do, don’t ask my neighbors about them. Sore subject.

The Periodical Cicada - Part III: A Few Tips for Photography Them in 17 Years

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