Lights! Cameras! Arachnids! And lizards and bees and beetles. Macro photography is like magic: curved glass gives an entirely new take on the world, from dust on a cricket’s brow to a curious mantid stare to the elegant symmetry of spider whiskers. Joseph Saunders is an Oklahoma-based wildlife photographer whose larger-than-life photos of bugs and reptiles will make you realize just how little we appreciate the creatures on our window sills and skittering up our porches. We talk shop about cameras, bug hunts, lenses, patience, Moth Week, BlackAFinSTEM, and also getting into nature with different mobility concerns. Alie is a shameless, rabid fan of Joseph and asked Patrons to help concoct an -ology to describe the art + science of his macro photography. Aperiology now exists to describe the tiny aperture used to keep these creatures in focus, and the huge world it opens up to us.

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A donation went to the American Chronic Pain Association

For more links: alieward.com/ologies/aperiology

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Sound editing by Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media & Steven Ray Morris

Transcripts by Emily White of The Wordary

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn