Dayton,
Ohio born resident Robert Oelman initially found his vocation in clinical
psychology in Boston, Massachusetts for about sixteen years before the endless
chain of experimental therapies and the clientele eventually took its toll on
him. After a chance meeting with the
Maharshi in India, Oelman wiped the slate clean and in an unprecedented (and
insane to many) step despite the language barriers he moved as a lone permanent
resident into the drug/political war-torn country of Colombia. While serious dangers were all around Oelman
with frequent State Department warnings against entering the country, somehow
he managed to find tranquility and fulfillment after purchasing a secluded farmland
in Cali, restoring a finca (country house) and forming a rapport with the
residents.
It
was around his time making a life for himself that Oelman found his true
calling when he began to take notice of hummingbirds flying about his home and
he began taking high-speed shutter photography of the difficult-to-photograph
birds. After a while, Oelman also couldn’t help but
notice the cornucopia of exotic and endangered species of insects all around
him. Quickly redirecting his cameras
onto what would become a lifelong mission of photographing and displaying some
of the world’s hardest-to-see if not never previously documented species of
exotic insects, Robert Oelman found his true calling and purpose in life in
this documentary produced and directed by his son Jake Oelman, Learning to See: The World of Exotic Insects.
While
brief and mostly comprised of still photos intercut with interviews and preexisting
footage of Robert Oelman restoring his finca, Learning to See: The World of Exotic Insects can be an eye opening
and even enriching experience. That
Oelman was able to settle and find peace deep within an otherwise dangerous
country is miraculous in and of itself.
Then once the film digs into Oelman’s work on exotic insect macro
photography, we’re given a smattering of examples of the difficulties
encountered with hunting down and photographing the insects themselves.
Take
for instance the katydids which there are many subspecies of, and their uncanny
chameleonic ability to blend in with their environments. Tracking them down and being able to sneak on
them with the camera without startling or alerting them to fly away clearly
takes a wealth of patience and perseverance, in some cases waiting around for
hours for the right moment. Then there
are those pesky but beautiful ones which bite and hiss if you try and
photograph them with Oelman recounting more than a few occasions where he
sustained some nasty bites. Not many people are willing to endure such hardships yet Oelman takes them in stride and even appears to be humbled by the experience and all the ups and downs that come with it.
What’s
most fascinating about Oelman’s remarkable photography work in addition to the
species being revealed to the world through his pictures is how much of it he
has done with a small capable crew of assistants. Some of the most expensive and technically
advanced documentary film crews with numerous technicians on hand spend hours
and millions of dollars just to hope to get some of the images Oelman and his dedicated
team were able to do with a fraction of the bigger team’s resources. That so many species of insects we never knew
existed could be captured on film and shared to the world by one man remains a
truly bold and enlightening feat. Yes
Oelman’s photographs are indeed breathtakingly beautiful but almost more
beautiful is the spirit which drove the man to bring these stunning photographs
into the world in the first place!
Score:
- Andrew Kotwicki