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[music playing]
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ROBERT OELMAN: What is real?
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'Cause there's no instructions,
there's no guidance.
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You can't follow the culture
to tell you what to do.
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A person can open their
eyes to change their life
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and change themselves.
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Spectacular things
exist on this earth
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that we don't really
know too much about.
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There is some purpose
that we're intended
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to follow and do something.
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But I'm exploring
the very little
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known world of exotic insects.
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I'm using this modern
technology of macrophotography...
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new cameras, new lenses...
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to magnify something that is
normally very difficult to see.
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[music playing]
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I've spent a lot of time
traveling throughout the Amazon
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basin, searching for insects.
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And it all started
here in Colombia.
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You can find a lot of
insects in one place.
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You can find nothing.
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And yet there's no
explanation for it.
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Very little is known about
insects, and where they live,
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and their populations.
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I can't go and look anywhere
for a specific insect,
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because nobody knows
it's there or not.
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Youse look, and you
see what you can find.
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And some of these
are extremely exotic.
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I was seeing things that
I never noticed before.
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Pretty... green legs,
green-and-brown legs, red eyes.
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What was noticeable to me
was the instinct to survive,
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to not be killed and to
survive, is extremely strong.
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Oh, look at the... look at the...
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the black drop coming out.
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That's a toxic substance.
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It's used for self-defense.
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It's not like the intelligence
of a human being that's
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all connected with a big brain.
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It's just something organic.
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Every time I would
look for an insect,
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I'd find some kind
of spectacular thing.
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And eventually, I got hooked.
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Mhm.
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Nice.
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[jungle sounds]
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[music playing]
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ROBERT OELMAN: Ever
since childhood, I've
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been interested in psychology.
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I've always had empathy for
what people are feeling.
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It was easier for me to
understand other people.
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And the same time, I was
trying to figure out a way
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to understand myself
and what had happened
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to me as a child
with the aim, really,
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eventually, to cure myself.
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We grew up in southern
Ohio, in Dayton, Ohio,
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in the southwestern
part of the state.
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This was a pig farm.
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And I don't know whether
you've ever been to a pig farm,
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but you don't really
want to be in a pig farm.
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ROBERT OELMAN: My
childhood was tough.
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It was really more than tough.
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So it was either 100% perfect.
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You were 99%, you got it.
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You got whacked.
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ROBERT OELMAN: I was a therapist
approximately 20 years.
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I helped some people.
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But the help that
people receive really
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is not through what I did.
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It's through what they do.
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I think he took very seriously
the concerns and upsets
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of his patients, to
the extent that it
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was starting to bother him.
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Sometimes, when we
would visit with him
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during that period of time,
he was lost in another world.
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ROBERT OELMAN: At
some point the energy
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that I was feeling
in doing this work
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was not the healthiest energy.
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As most people that
are in therapy,
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they're depressed in
some way or another.
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The depressed energy
is something that
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has an effect on other people.
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So it was pulling
my energy down.
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My brother thought
that during his practice
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he was feeling his patients and
his patients were feeling him.
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So that was a great
source of frustration.
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ROBERT OELMAN: In
essence, they're
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putting the responsibility
for their lives onto me.
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And I didn't like that too much.
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It's an unpleasant
thing, because then I
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didn't know what to do.
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Do I just wait for them
to work through this,
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or do I need to call the police?
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And this happened many times.
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Very bad experience for me.
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ELIZABETH OELMAN: He was
really in a state of quiescence
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for a while.
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I think he wanted to
start something new,
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but I don't think
he knew what it was.
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BRADFORD OELMAN: My
brother stopped practicing
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psychology in the early '90s.
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He was about 50 years old.
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ROBERT OELMAN: It's
a lot of stress.
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You're in a situation with
just a lot of negative energy.
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So it was time for me
to go do something else.
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And I felt I was just going
into totally unknown...
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an unknown life.
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[thunder]
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I had a girlfriend once,
and she gave me a book
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by Garcia Marquez called
"Love in the Time of Cholera,"
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a very strange book
about Colombia.
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I was impressed by his writing.
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I was impressed by
the life view that...
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that's reflected in the book.
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I thought, hmm, this Colombia's
got to be a lot more loose
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and freer kind of environment.
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That's when I started
visiting Colombia.
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What impressed me most was the
friendliness of people there...
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friendly, open people
wanting to engage with you.
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[speaking Spanish]
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[speaking Spanish]
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ROBERT OELMAN:
People are not racing
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around as fast as Americans.
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They're not as competitive.
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They're always eager to
talk and really be friendly.
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Here in the United States, I
could call a friend and say,
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let's have lunch.
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And she might say to me,
well, I can have lunch
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in three weeks at 12 o'clock.
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You don't find that in Colombia.
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Life in Colombia is very
different from the life
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in the US.
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I thought to myself,
why not take this leap
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and move to Colombia?
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MARGARET TUTWILER: The
Department of State
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warns that due to recent events,
Colombia's security situation
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is unsettled and
likely to remain
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so in the indefinite future.
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REPORTER: Escobar was
notorious for killing
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anyone who posed a threat to his
overwhelming power and riches.
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ELIZABETH OELMAN:
Kidnappings, terrorism, drugs,
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all sorts of things loomed, and
I kept thinking that Bob would
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not be able to go unscathed.
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00:10:04,438 --> 00:10:05,939
BRADFORD OELMAN: I didn't
know anything about Colombia
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until six months
after he'd gone there,
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and my parents told me that
Bob had gone to Colombia.
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And I had absolutely no
idea why he had done so.
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He was brave from day
one, different and brave,
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because that's brave
to go against the...
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the expectation.
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I think he was
following an instinct,
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see where it would lead.
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In order to progress, one
has to overcome a lot of fears.
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And that's what I did.
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BRADFORD OELMAN:
About the same time
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Bob decided he would
go to Colombia,
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a terrible thing
happened, because one
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of our sister companies, one
of their executives in Colombia
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was kidnapped, and held
for over a year for ransom,
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and was eventually released.
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Naturally, we were
very fearful, scared,
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and I was kind of upset
that that was his choice.
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I did know that Colombia
was a dangerous place.
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It didn't bother me at all.
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If you get stopped
at a roadblock,
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you could be kidnapped,
taken up into the mountains.
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Somehow I just thought, that's
not going to happen to me.
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Somehow I knew, if
I go to Colombia,
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I have no idea what's
going to happen
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to me after that, no idea.
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I just saw it as a possibility
for a new way of life.
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Danger... there's danger, but
there's danger everywhere.
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To be bored in life and to go
through the motions, to me,
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is living a form of death.
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So if something new is
dangerous, so be it.
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I was robbed at several
times, taken advantage of.
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And then I learned quick.
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I learned quick to be
much more vigilant, not
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so friendly, not so trusting.
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There'd be terrible days that I
just felt terrible being there.
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And then the next day
would be a wonderful day.
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I started getting
to know people,
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started learning Spanish.
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It's like the old
person died, and it's
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time to create a new one.
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Eventually, I saw
a piece of land
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in the mountains
outside of Cali.
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And it was just like
a wasteland really,
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a lot of garbage, a
lot of dead trees,
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but it had a certain form to it.
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I saw the potential
for this place.
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And I said, oh, I could
live here and write a book.
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It cost, like, 40,000 bucks.
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And I bought the land.
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I mean, this is a big leap,
a leap of faith, really,
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that I could have a
good life in Colombia.
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Really, I didn't know.
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Maybe I would have a
terrible life in Colombia,
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but it seemed like
a good thing to do.
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And I think it did become
a project, special project.
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A "finca" is a
house in the country
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with some land attached to it.
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I became a custodian of
this piece of the earth.
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And this changed my psychology,
because now it was not just me.
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I was me and this land.
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Created some stability for me,
because I had a place to live.
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I had the earth.
It was part of me.
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I had these projects to do,
and then other projects began.
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00:14:06,888 --> 00:14:08,181
It was right about
that time when
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I began taking photos of
all these aspects of life
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in Colombia.
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[music playing]
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I began to take
photos of flowers
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that existed where I lived.
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00:14:47,679 --> 00:14:50,307
One day I saw a
hummingbird at the flowers,
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and I just thought, I wonder
what would happen if I
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put out hummingbird feeders.
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There was one
hummingbird that came.
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And then for three years,
new hummingbirds would come.
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00:15:04,613 --> 00:15:06,907
All these hummingbirds
just kept pouring in.
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And that really was the
start of serious photography.
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You could take a photo
of a hummingbird.
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And you look at the photo, it's
terrible... terrible photo...
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because you can't take a
normal photo of a hummingbird
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and have it be a good photo.
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So one has to think
of, how do I do this?
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So I studied this,
and I learned how
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to take a good photo of a
hummingbird, which means,
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00:15:36,978 --> 00:15:38,813
how do you stop a
movement of a wing that's
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going 50, 60 beats per second?
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Then I set up my own
hummingbird studio.
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And eventually, I could take
a good photo of a hummingbird.
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And this led to a
kind of a confidence
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00:16:04,631 --> 00:16:06,049
that if I could take a good
photo of a hummingbird,
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00:16:06,341 --> 00:16:07,342
I could take a good
photo of anything.
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00:16:15,517 --> 00:16:18,103
I was in the north
of Colombia one
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day, doing a travel
photography project.
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00:16:22,774 --> 00:16:23,984
And that's when it happened.
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00:16:24,275 --> 00:16:26,069
I saw a beetle on a bush.
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00:16:26,361 --> 00:16:29,948
With a normal lens, I took
the photo of this beetle.
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00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:31,866
Then afterwards, I'm
looking at the photo.
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00:16:32,158 --> 00:16:37,038
And I see that this beetle
has his hand like this,
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00:16:37,330 --> 00:16:39,082
and out of his hand is a...
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00:16:39,374 --> 00:16:44,421
like a chord that leads
to two prongs like this.
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00:16:44,713 --> 00:16:48,550
So in effect, he's
got two hands in one.
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00:16:48,842 --> 00:16:51,302
And I realized, I'd
never seen that before.
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00:16:51,594 --> 00:16:54,764
I'd never seen an
insect really up close.
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That just started
a kind of trigger.
248
00:16:57,017 --> 00:16:59,227
I mean, it just... that
was like a trigger...
249
00:16:59,519 --> 00:17:00,562
take photos of insects.
250
00:17:00,854 --> 00:17:04,065
[music playing]
251
00:17:12,741 --> 00:17:18,955
I got a macro lens and started
going out, looking for insects.
252
00:17:19,247 --> 00:17:20,665
Soon as I began
that, I discovered
253
00:17:20,957 --> 00:17:24,127
a lot of fantastic phenomenon.
254
00:17:32,218 --> 00:17:35,430
But I realized that I couldn't
do this work by myself.
255
00:17:35,722 --> 00:17:36,890
A
256
00:17:37,182 --> 00:17:39,768
Christian is my assistant
in the photography.
257
00:17:40,060 --> 00:17:42,145
He's also the
[Spanish] in my finca.
258
00:17:42,437 --> 00:17:45,106
A [Spanish] is a person
who administers the finca,
259
00:17:45,398 --> 00:17:47,484
does all the
physical work there.
260
00:17:47,776 --> 00:17:48,818
He lives there with his family.
261
00:17:55,408 --> 00:17:57,577
And through the
years, I've become
262
00:17:57,869 --> 00:17:59,079
very close to this family.
263
00:18:02,540 --> 00:18:04,751
He came to me by accident.
264
00:18:05,043 --> 00:18:06,961
I hired him, and then
I said, Christian,
265
00:18:07,253 --> 00:18:10,507
let's go and look for insects.
266
00:18:10,799 --> 00:18:15,011
And then after a very short
time, he became an expert.
267
00:19:23,413 --> 00:19:26,708
ROBERT OELMAN: We started,
like, eight years ago.
268
00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:30,795
And then through the years,
the eyesight of Christian
269
00:19:31,087 --> 00:19:34,632
has developed so
much that he can
270
00:19:34,924 --> 00:19:36,634
see a lot of things
that are basically
271
00:19:36,926 --> 00:19:40,221
invisible to other people.
272
00:19:40,513 --> 00:19:44,058
He learns to recognize
small movements,
273
00:19:44,350 --> 00:19:47,604
see small things at a
greater and greater distance.
274
00:19:52,567 --> 00:19:54,319
It's a training of the
eyes that takes place
275
00:19:54,611 --> 00:19:56,404
over the course of many years.
276
00:20:26,517 --> 00:20:29,646
[music playing]
277
00:20:34,359 --> 00:20:35,610
ROBERT OELMAN: To develop
the techniques has
278
00:20:35,902 --> 00:20:39,530
been a process over 10 years.
279
00:20:39,822 --> 00:20:43,910
So during that 10 years, it's
just improvising every year...
280
00:20:44,202 --> 00:20:46,120
improvising,
analyzing the photos.
281
00:20:46,412 --> 00:20:47,038
What works?
282
00:20:47,330 --> 00:20:47,956
What doesn't work?
283
00:20:48,248 --> 00:20:49,415
How can make it better?
284
00:21:12,230 --> 00:21:13,606
You do anything to reduce.
285
00:21:13,898 --> 00:21:15,858
Now it's too much light...
286
00:21:16,150 --> 00:21:16,776
too much, too little.
287
00:21:26,995 --> 00:21:29,289
OK.
288
00:21:29,580 --> 00:21:31,249
Ugh.
289
00:21:31,541 --> 00:21:34,877
See, this is too hard, so
we need a third person.
290
00:22:00,737 --> 00:22:01,446
Not bad.
291
00:22:05,241 --> 00:22:07,618
It's constantly evolving.
292
00:22:07,910 --> 00:22:10,204
The idea is always trying
to make the photos better.
293
00:22:10,496 --> 00:22:11,581
So I try different things.
294
00:22:14,667 --> 00:22:17,879
You just allow a
process to take place in
295
00:22:18,171 --> 00:22:19,172
and experiments to happen.
296
00:22:36,105 --> 00:22:39,484
A lot of people are very
afraid of handling insects.
297
00:22:39,776 --> 00:22:46,532
Some of them are actually
aggressive, can bite you.
298
00:22:46,824 --> 00:22:48,034
The majority are not.
299
00:22:48,326 --> 00:22:49,369
He's trying to eat my...
300
00:22:49,660 --> 00:22:51,079
my finger.
301
00:22:51,371 --> 00:22:54,499
Spiders... you got to figure
out, you know, which ones are
302
00:22:54,791 --> 00:22:57,710
aggressive, which one's not.
303
00:22:58,002 --> 00:22:59,212
So are we sure?
304
00:23:01,297 --> 00:23:02,548
CHRISTIAN: Mhm.
305
00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:03,716
ROBERT OELMAN: So
this spider, you
306
00:23:04,008 --> 00:23:04,884
get him to walk over your hand.
307
00:23:05,176 --> 00:23:05,802
He won't do anything.
308
00:23:13,017 --> 00:23:15,728
Not that I'm going to try that.
309
00:23:16,020 --> 00:23:16,646
Ooh, nice.
310
00:23:22,402 --> 00:23:23,361
Get real close now.
311
00:23:29,867 --> 00:23:33,121
I don't know what kind
of a spider it is, but...
312
00:23:33,413 --> 00:23:35,331
because there's so
many kind of spiders.
313
00:23:35,623 --> 00:23:38,376
It could be... oh...
314
00:23:38,668 --> 00:23:41,462
this one here is a
Brazilian wandering spider
315
00:23:41,754 --> 00:23:44,298
and has the ability to kill
a person rather quickly.
316
00:23:44,590 --> 00:23:46,801
It bites you, and you lose
the ability to breathe.
317
00:23:47,093 --> 00:23:49,929
It's the most toxic
of all the spiders.
318
00:23:50,221 --> 00:23:53,266
We don't want to
get bitten by it.
319
00:23:53,558 --> 00:23:56,686
Took a process of years of
learning what's dangerous
320
00:23:56,978 --> 00:23:57,562
and what's not.
321
00:24:01,524 --> 00:24:05,111
What I was learning about
the life force in insects
322
00:24:05,403 --> 00:24:07,864
was they're formidable.
323
00:24:08,156 --> 00:24:13,202
You know, they're spectacular
creations of evolution,
324
00:24:13,494 --> 00:24:15,413
of some kind of
very long process
325
00:24:15,705 --> 00:24:17,915
that's been going on millions
and millions of years.
326
00:24:25,882 --> 00:24:27,842
It's a stressful
situation for an insect,
327
00:24:28,134 --> 00:24:30,803
because an insect
assumes that anything
328
00:24:31,095 --> 00:24:34,140
big or bigger than it has
an aggressive intention
329
00:24:34,432 --> 00:24:36,851
toward them.
330
00:24:37,143 --> 00:24:41,105
So we try to offset that
by showing them that we're
331
00:24:41,397 --> 00:24:43,274
not trying to hurt them.
332
00:24:43,566 --> 00:24:46,068
We're just trying to do this
strange thing of flashing
333
00:24:46,360 --> 00:24:47,403
a light and taking a...
334
00:24:47,695 --> 00:24:48,321
taking a photo.
335
00:25:02,001 --> 00:25:02,710
Ooh.
336
00:25:05,922 --> 00:25:07,548
I'm trying to convince that
that's what we're doing.
337
00:25:07,840 --> 00:25:09,842
We're just taking a photo.
338
00:25:10,134 --> 00:25:13,971
And then after that, then they
can go about their business.
339
00:25:14,263 --> 00:25:16,015
What you doing?
340
00:25:16,307 --> 00:25:18,893
What you doing?
341
00:25:19,185 --> 00:25:20,144
Do you want to say here?
342
00:25:20,436 --> 00:25:21,687
Do you think this
is your new home?
343
00:25:21,979 --> 00:25:25,525
Sometimes you can see an
insect change his behavior,
344
00:25:25,816 --> 00:25:28,528
and after 10 minutes,
let's say, looks
345
00:25:28,819 --> 00:25:31,656
to be posing for a good photo.
346
00:25:40,164 --> 00:25:43,292
I started just where I
lived in Colombia, just
347
00:25:43,584 --> 00:25:46,420
around the house.
348
00:25:46,712 --> 00:25:48,714
Found everything we could find.
349
00:25:49,006 --> 00:25:51,759
After a while, we didn't
find anything new.
350
00:25:52,051 --> 00:25:54,428
Then I went further
and further afield
351
00:25:54,720 --> 00:25:56,514
and went into a
rain forest which is
352
00:25:56,806 --> 00:25:58,266
three hours from where I live.
353
00:26:12,822 --> 00:26:14,574
[chuckling]
354
00:26:21,205 --> 00:26:23,040
As you're driving
downhill, this is going
355
00:26:23,332 --> 00:26:26,377
west toward the Pacific coast.
356
00:26:26,669 --> 00:26:29,630
And it's like you're
entering into a place that
357
00:26:29,922 --> 00:26:31,465
looks like Jurassic
Park in the movie.
358
00:26:34,969 --> 00:26:36,053
It's a magical kind of place.
359
00:26:36,345 --> 00:26:39,348
[music playing]
360
00:27:05,541 --> 00:27:06,375
Found a lot of stuff there.
361
00:27:11,631 --> 00:27:12,548
[speaking Spanish]
362
00:27:17,511 --> 00:27:20,806
[music playing]
363
00:27:40,826 --> 00:27:44,288
We did that for a couple of
years, traveling close to home,
364
00:27:44,580 --> 00:27:45,665
finding cool things.
365
00:27:45,956 --> 00:27:47,750
But after a while, I
decided we needed to go
366
00:27:48,042 --> 00:27:49,669
further into the rain forest.
367
00:28:00,179 --> 00:28:03,057
We're exploring the
very little-known
368
00:28:03,349 --> 00:28:06,394
world of exotic insects.
369
00:28:06,686 --> 00:28:07,895
They're insects
that have developed
370
00:28:08,187 --> 00:28:11,732
within the Amazon forest.
371
00:28:12,024 --> 00:28:14,694
And some of these are
extremely strange.
372
00:28:18,322 --> 00:28:19,448
There was a recent
estimate that came
373
00:28:19,740 --> 00:28:22,785
out of 8.7 million animals.
374
00:28:23,077 --> 00:28:25,287
But if you look at the
proportion of those which
375
00:28:25,579 --> 00:28:27,039
are insects, all
of the estimates
376
00:28:27,331 --> 00:28:31,919
say there should be about 80%
of all animal life are insects.
377
00:28:32,211 --> 00:28:34,505
We know almost nothing
about these things.
378
00:28:34,797 --> 00:28:36,173
And yet you think
about what they do.
379
00:28:36,465 --> 00:28:39,385
They're a food source for
virtually the entire food web.
380
00:28:39,677 --> 00:28:41,554
So all those species of
insects are feeding everything.
381
00:28:41,846 --> 00:28:42,722
We wouldn't have birds.
382
00:28:43,013 --> 00:28:44,306
We wouldn't have
a lot of mammals.
383
00:28:44,598 --> 00:28:46,016
We wouldn't have bats, if
we didn't have the insects
384
00:28:46,308 --> 00:28:49,353
that they're feeding on.
385
00:28:49,645 --> 00:28:52,898
They are the foundation
for everything
386
00:28:53,190 --> 00:28:55,276
we see around us out there.
387
00:28:59,947 --> 00:29:01,866
If you want to
study biodiversity,
388
00:29:02,158 --> 00:29:03,617
you need to study insects.
389
00:29:03,909 --> 00:29:05,411
They're dominant in the world.
390
00:29:05,703 --> 00:29:07,288
They've always been
dominant in the world.
391
00:29:07,580 --> 00:29:09,999
And there's estimates
that we know
392
00:29:10,291 --> 00:29:13,753
just a fraction of the number
of species that are out there.
393
00:29:19,759 --> 00:29:21,135
I think we can
increase that diversity
394
00:29:21,427 --> 00:29:22,928
quite a bit by just
investigating a lot
395
00:29:23,220 --> 00:29:23,888
of these different groups.
396
00:29:54,668 --> 00:29:56,545
ROBERT OELMAN: So we're going
to take a trip from Cali
397
00:29:56,837 --> 00:30:00,382
to Manu National Park in Peru.
398
00:30:00,674 --> 00:30:02,051
And this is a long trip.
399
00:30:02,343 --> 00:30:03,636
We get up early in the morning.
400
00:30:03,928 --> 00:30:07,431
We drive from the
finca to the airport.
401
00:30:07,723 --> 00:30:13,646
We fly from Cali to
Bogota, Bogota to Lima,
402
00:30:13,938 --> 00:30:17,608
and Lima to Cuzco,
Cuzco to Puerto
403
00:30:17,900 --> 00:30:21,070
Maldonado, which
is a frontier city
404
00:30:21,362 --> 00:30:23,906
that's on the edge of the...
405
00:30:24,198 --> 00:30:25,074
of the jungle.
406
00:30:35,543 --> 00:30:38,045
So now we have to
try to find a...
407
00:30:38,337 --> 00:30:39,672
a large taxi.
408
00:30:39,964 --> 00:30:41,340
But look at the size... look
at the size of the taxis.
409
00:30:41,632 --> 00:30:43,551
[interposing voices]
410
00:30:43,843 --> 00:30:45,594
[speaking Spanish]
411
00:30:45,886 --> 00:30:47,680
[interposing voices]
412
00:30:51,892 --> 00:30:55,145
[music playing]
413
00:31:13,247 --> 00:31:14,415
I think that one
of the most important
414
00:31:14,707 --> 00:31:16,667
things that Robert's
work does is
415
00:31:16,959 --> 00:31:19,086
gives these animals a dignity.
416
00:31:19,378 --> 00:31:20,838
And even if it's
just having people
417
00:31:21,130 --> 00:31:22,298
appreciate their beauty more...
418
00:31:22,590 --> 00:31:24,425
I mean, when I look
at some of his photos,
419
00:31:24,717 --> 00:31:26,260
I can't believe that they even...
420
00:31:26,552 --> 00:31:27,511
a creature like
this even exists.
421
00:31:30,806 --> 00:31:32,766
They're insects that
are really have developed
422
00:31:33,058 --> 00:31:36,061
within the Amazon forest.
423
00:31:36,353 --> 00:31:36,979
Ooh.
424
00:31:43,444 --> 00:31:46,697
There you find the
most elaborate things.
425
00:31:58,542 --> 00:32:00,127
GAVIN SVENSON: Photographers
that are out in the field
426
00:32:00,419 --> 00:32:03,130
capturing a lot of
diversity do a great service
427
00:32:03,422 --> 00:32:06,258
getting information out in terms
of what's really out there, all
428
00:32:06,550 --> 00:32:08,260
the cool different things
and the different forms
429
00:32:08,552 --> 00:32:09,762
that people aren't
usually exposed to.
430
00:32:20,731 --> 00:32:26,487
Having images of life on Earth
of that nature inspires people.
431
00:32:26,779 --> 00:32:29,865
It really raises the
awareness of what's at stake.
432
00:32:34,411 --> 00:32:36,288
ROBERT OELMAN: What
I'm doing is using
433
00:32:36,580 --> 00:32:39,249
macrophotography to
magnify something
434
00:32:39,541 --> 00:32:43,128
that's basically small.
435
00:32:43,420 --> 00:32:45,756
And if something is
small, human beings can...
436
00:32:46,048 --> 00:32:48,258
can ignore it, and
that's a big problem.
437
00:33:00,187 --> 00:33:02,523
DOUGLAS INKLEY: How many
insects have you walked past
438
00:33:02,815 --> 00:33:05,401
because you never saw them?
439
00:33:05,693 --> 00:33:07,069
When people see these
creatures that they'd
440
00:33:07,361 --> 00:33:10,739
never possibly believed
existed, it's amazing to them.
441
00:33:11,031 --> 00:33:12,282
And they become
interested in nature.
442
00:33:12,574 --> 00:33:14,159
They become interested
in wildlife.
443
00:33:14,451 --> 00:33:16,787
And they become interested
in conservation.
444
00:33:17,079 --> 00:33:18,831
That is so important
that they do that.
445
00:33:32,761 --> 00:33:35,014
SUZANNE PELLETIER: I started
looking through Robert's work.
446
00:33:35,305 --> 00:33:37,349
And I remember feeling
a little embarrassed.
447
00:33:37,641 --> 00:33:39,560
I had spent my
time in the forest
448
00:33:39,852 --> 00:33:42,229
looking just at these
big things and not
449
00:33:42,521 --> 00:33:44,732
realizing the majority
of life around
450
00:33:45,024 --> 00:33:46,650
me was something that
I'd never seen before.
451
00:33:56,118 --> 00:33:57,745
ROBERT OELMAN: We are
looking for the weird ones,
452
00:33:58,037 --> 00:34:02,207
the strange ones, the beautiful
ones, the ugliest ones...
453
00:34:02,499 --> 00:34:04,877
really, the most interesting
and photogenic ones.
454
00:34:09,256 --> 00:34:11,133
There are so many
incredible insects out here,
455
00:34:11,425 --> 00:34:14,011
but some of my favorite ones
to find are the katydids.
456
00:34:20,601 --> 00:34:24,104
So you have these two
different branches of katydids.
457
00:34:24,396 --> 00:34:28,400
One wants to be undetected,
wants to be invisible,
458
00:34:28,692 --> 00:34:32,738
and the other, who
wants to be visible.
459
00:34:33,030 --> 00:34:34,907
The visible one, he
wants to advertise
460
00:34:35,199 --> 00:34:40,079
that he is not good to eat
or that he's a fighter.
461
00:34:40,370 --> 00:34:41,789
He's going to possibly hurt you.
462
00:34:45,292 --> 00:34:47,211
The hard part about that
is, some of these guys
463
00:34:47,503 --> 00:34:49,129
are so quick and agile.
464
00:34:49,421 --> 00:34:51,048
Ooh.
465
00:34:51,340 --> 00:34:53,509
He's aggressive.
466
00:34:53,801 --> 00:34:54,968
Whoa!
467
00:34:55,260 --> 00:34:58,180
You can hold it like
this, and it will escape.
468
00:34:58,472 --> 00:35:00,724
It will fall down or
escape in some way,
469
00:35:01,016 --> 00:35:03,435
turn over, and bite your
finger at the same time.
470
00:35:07,606 --> 00:35:09,483
CHRISTIAN: [speaking Spanish]
471
00:35:11,985 --> 00:35:14,154
So as I was saying...
472
00:35:14,446 --> 00:35:15,572
CHRISTIAN: [speaking Spanish]
473
00:35:17,074 --> 00:35:19,743
As I was saying,
he bites very hard.
474
00:35:24,414 --> 00:35:27,000
The bright colors
are an indication of,
475
00:35:27,292 --> 00:35:28,418
you don't want to fool with me.
476
00:35:28,710 --> 00:35:31,964
I taste bad, or I'm
going to bite you bad.
477
00:35:32,256 --> 00:35:34,174
So I get the shot
that's like this open,
478
00:35:34,466 --> 00:35:35,884
and but she can go like this.
479
00:35:36,176 --> 00:35:37,636
She can do it so
wide that she can
480
00:35:37,928 --> 00:35:40,597
get to your end of your finger.
481
00:35:40,889 --> 00:35:41,557
This has a name.
482
00:35:41,849 --> 00:35:42,891
You know what the name is?
483
00:35:43,183 --> 00:35:43,767
Spiny devil.
484
00:35:48,814 --> 00:35:51,984
This is all deep
rain forest creations
485
00:35:52,276 --> 00:35:54,736
that are more elaborate
so they can escape
486
00:35:55,028 --> 00:35:57,447
detection by the predators.
487
00:35:57,739 --> 00:36:01,493
This is dun, dun, dun, dun.
488
00:36:01,785 --> 00:36:04,955
It's a female baby katydid.
489
00:36:05,247 --> 00:36:09,501
So it has these appendages
around the joints of the legs
490
00:36:09,793 --> 00:36:12,713
to make it look like
just kind of a mess.
491
00:36:13,005 --> 00:36:16,884
But when you look at it closely,
you know, you can... ooh,
492
00:36:17,176 --> 00:36:18,510
that's a good one.
493
00:36:18,802 --> 00:36:19,553
I'll get the head right there.
494
00:36:35,277 --> 00:36:37,613
The other katydids that
want to be invisible,
495
00:36:37,905 --> 00:36:40,449
they're probably
pretty good to eat.
496
00:36:40,741 --> 00:36:43,702
And they developed
extreme camouflage.
497
00:36:43,994 --> 00:36:45,704
The camouflage
technique is something
498
00:36:45,996 --> 00:36:48,957
that becomes incorporated
into its physical structure.
499
00:36:53,420 --> 00:36:54,922
One of the tricks of
the leaf-mimicking
500
00:36:55,214 --> 00:36:56,548
katydid is there's...
501
00:36:56,840 --> 00:36:58,175
there can be a line
that runs right up
502
00:36:58,467 --> 00:37:00,385
through the center of the eye.
503
00:37:00,677 --> 00:37:03,180
And that sort of
changes the perception
504
00:37:03,472 --> 00:37:04,932
that there is an eye.
505
00:37:05,224 --> 00:37:08,018
There's a central
vein in the leaf.
506
00:37:08,310 --> 00:37:10,354
There are all these different
details in the leaf,
507
00:37:10,646 --> 00:37:14,399
including rotten out
spots, mold spots.
508
00:37:17,569 --> 00:37:20,572
Whatever a leaf can be, these
guys are imitating them.
509
00:37:20,864 --> 00:37:23,116
And since there's an
infinite number of leaves,
510
00:37:23,408 --> 00:37:25,911
and different shades and colors,
there are a infinite number
511
00:37:26,203 --> 00:37:28,538
of leaf-mimicking katydids.
512
00:37:28,830 --> 00:37:31,041
It's a process of
evolution over millions
513
00:37:31,333 --> 00:37:34,294
of years, a perfect disguise.
514
00:37:34,586 --> 00:37:41,468
This has so many different just
subtle tones, different colors.
515
00:37:41,760 --> 00:37:44,471
The highly disguised
insect is hard to find
516
00:37:44,763 --> 00:37:47,808
but is easier to photograph,
because it's programmed not
517
00:37:48,100 --> 00:37:49,518
to move very much,
because movement
518
00:37:49,810 --> 00:37:50,560
means that it can be detected.
519
00:37:56,233 --> 00:38:00,612
This is really the most extreme
leaf katydid in terms of,
520
00:38:00,904 --> 00:38:03,657
the part that looks
like it's been eaten
521
00:38:03,949 --> 00:38:06,034
goes very deep into the wing.
522
00:38:06,326 --> 00:38:10,122
And it crosses the vein
in the middle of the leaf.
523
00:38:10,414 --> 00:38:13,333
We've never seen anything
like that before.
524
00:38:13,625 --> 00:38:15,294
BRUCE STEIN: It's
just remarkable
525
00:38:15,585 --> 00:38:19,298
when you see the way in which
so many of these insects
526
00:38:19,589 --> 00:38:24,052
have been able to develop body
forms that absolutely mimic
527
00:38:24,344 --> 00:38:25,929
their backgrounds,
whether they're looking
528
00:38:26,221 --> 00:38:30,142
like dead leaves, or the
tree bark on which they
529
00:38:30,434 --> 00:38:32,561
perch, or like little twigs.
530
00:38:32,853 --> 00:38:36,565
ROBERT OELMAN: They've hardly
been studied, very few photos,
531
00:38:36,857 --> 00:38:38,483
because somebody not
familiar with these insects
532
00:38:38,775 --> 00:38:40,277
will never see them.
533
00:38:40,569 --> 00:38:43,238
And yet they're dependent
on their unique environments
534
00:38:43,530 --> 00:38:45,782
in order to live and survive.
535
00:38:46,074 --> 00:38:48,452
BRUCE STEIN: And as we
see decreases in habitat,
536
00:38:48,744 --> 00:38:51,955
either complete loss through
conversion to other land
537
00:38:52,247 --> 00:38:54,499
uses or degradation
of the habitat,
538
00:38:54,791 --> 00:38:57,336
then essentially it
undermines their ability
539
00:38:57,627 --> 00:38:59,296
for a long-term survival
in those places.
540
00:39:48,303 --> 00:39:49,221
It's economics.
541
00:39:49,513 --> 00:39:50,972
It's money.
542
00:39:51,264 --> 00:39:54,059
I mean, whether it's on a very
small scale or a larger scale...
543
00:39:54,351 --> 00:39:55,811
I mean, government
creates policies
544
00:39:56,103 --> 00:39:59,648
for economic growth, which often
affects their environments.
545
00:40:08,949 --> 00:40:11,326
Most people do not resist.
546
00:40:11,618 --> 00:40:13,912
You have a chance to
make a lot of money,
547
00:40:14,204 --> 00:40:15,580
gonna make a lot of money.
548
00:40:15,872 --> 00:40:18,875
What happens to the forest,
the natives that live there,
549
00:40:19,167 --> 00:40:20,168
the animals?
550
00:40:20,460 --> 00:40:21,336
You're gonna forget about that.
551
00:40:29,511 --> 00:40:32,597
If the price of oil goes
up, oil extraction increases.
552
00:40:32,889 --> 00:40:34,599
There's an incredible
amount of oil extraction
553
00:40:34,891 --> 00:40:36,351
right now in the Amazon.
554
00:40:36,643 --> 00:40:40,856
Over 70% of the Peruvian Amazon
is leased out to oil companies.
555
00:40:41,148 --> 00:40:42,441
STUART MCKAMEY:
With deforestation,
556
00:40:42,732 --> 00:40:48,071
we're losing species before
they're being discovered.
557
00:40:48,363 --> 00:40:51,158
There have been times when
I've been collecting in an area
558
00:40:51,450 --> 00:40:53,577
where ashes are
literally falling on me.
559
00:41:07,007 --> 00:41:09,426
ROBERT OELMAN: In the jungles
on the eastern part of Ecuador,
560
00:41:09,718 --> 00:41:14,514
below the Earth is just
vast sources of oil.
561
00:41:14,806 --> 00:41:17,100
The president of Ecuador
has decided, you know,
562
00:41:17,392 --> 00:41:21,271
sell these lots off to
the big oil companies.
563
00:41:21,563 --> 00:41:22,939
SUZANNE PELLETIER: We
know that these animals
564
00:41:23,231 --> 00:41:24,858
need their habitat to survive.
565
00:41:25,150 --> 00:41:26,443
You know, we're losing
tens of thousands
566
00:41:26,735 --> 00:41:29,821
of species every year, most
of them in the tropics,
567
00:41:30,113 --> 00:41:31,656
because of deforestation.
568
00:41:35,535 --> 00:41:37,412
ROBERT OELMAN: The
cutting down of the trees
569
00:41:37,704 --> 00:41:42,209
for illegal logging is
really out of control.
570
00:41:42,501 --> 00:41:45,795
I just try to go to places
that are farther away
571
00:41:46,087 --> 00:41:48,006
from this kind of activity.
572
00:42:15,367 --> 00:42:16,868
ROBERT OELMAN: You
know, there's a lot
573
00:42:17,160 --> 00:42:23,500
of things that are already here,
but we just don't see them.
574
00:42:23,792 --> 00:42:24,793
They're hidden from us.
575
00:42:25,085 --> 00:42:27,212
They're on the other
side of that leaf.
576
00:42:36,096 --> 00:42:37,013
ROBERT OELMAN: Woo.
577
00:42:50,277 --> 00:42:51,444
ROBERT OELMAN: We
can see just how
578
00:42:51,736 --> 00:42:55,365
remarkable this young
man, Christian, is,
579
00:42:55,657 --> 00:42:56,950
because he sees everything.
580
00:43:00,495 --> 00:43:01,955
Christian, he goes out at night.
581
00:43:02,247 --> 00:43:04,207
He comes in maybe at 2:00 AM.
582
00:43:04,499 --> 00:43:05,875
He goes to sleep.
583
00:43:06,167 --> 00:43:09,004
I don't know what he's found
until the following morning.
584
00:43:09,296 --> 00:43:12,007
And then he gets up, and
he notices I'm awake,
585
00:43:12,299 --> 00:43:15,302
and he says they found
a super champion.
586
00:43:15,594 --> 00:43:16,344
Wow, wow, wow.
587
00:43:16,636 --> 00:43:17,554
- [speaking Spanish]
- OK.
588
00:43:17,846 --> 00:43:19,139
Oh, wow.
589
00:43:19,431 --> 00:43:22,726
When he says, super champion,
we know he's ecstatic.
590
00:43:23,018 --> 00:43:23,643
And we go to work.
591
00:43:28,481 --> 00:43:31,359
Turns out what he's found
is a new type of treehopper.
592
00:43:31,651 --> 00:43:33,069
We've never seen
anything like this.
593
00:43:37,365 --> 00:43:38,199
It's a special feeling.
594
00:43:41,745 --> 00:43:43,747
The fossil record
for treehoppers
595
00:43:44,039 --> 00:43:45,957
is, like, 40 million years.
596
00:43:46,249 --> 00:43:52,005
A treehopper was found in
Amber and dated back that old.
597
00:43:52,297 --> 00:43:53,381
So they've been
around a long time.
598
00:43:56,885 --> 00:43:59,846
Taking a photo of a small
thing with a macro lens,
599
00:44:00,138 --> 00:44:03,224
the lens is maybe this
close to the insect.
600
00:44:03,516 --> 00:44:06,603
Treehoppers are from
one millimeter in length
601
00:44:06,895 --> 00:44:10,649
to 10 millimeters,
which is a centimeter.
602
00:44:10,940 --> 00:44:12,817
So I get nervous.
603
00:44:13,109 --> 00:44:16,154
The nerves are, will I be able
to take a good photo of this,
604
00:44:16,446 --> 00:44:18,031
or will it escape?
605
00:44:18,323 --> 00:44:19,366
You don't have any
depth of field,
606
00:44:19,658 --> 00:44:21,951
so you can't get a
clear focus unless all
607
00:44:22,243 --> 00:44:26,456
the parts of the insect are
equal distant to the lens.
608
00:44:26,748 --> 00:44:30,126
Over time, you know, the
steadiness in holding this kind
609
00:44:30,418 --> 00:44:32,545
of apparatus is pretty good.
610
00:44:32,837 --> 00:44:36,424
[deep breathing]
611
00:44:42,972 --> 00:44:45,225
Ooh, look at that.
612
00:44:45,517 --> 00:44:47,852
This is the ant,
that's the treehopper.
613
00:44:51,106 --> 00:44:54,150
This is a big ant, this
is a little treehopper.
614
00:44:54,442 --> 00:44:58,071
The treehopper eats
the phloem, the liquid,
615
00:44:58,363 --> 00:45:01,408
that's inside the stems here.
616
00:45:01,700 --> 00:45:05,495
And then it excretes
drops of liquid,
617
00:45:05,787 --> 00:45:08,039
and the liquid is sweet.
618
00:45:08,331 --> 00:45:11,000
So the ants like
the liquid, so they
619
00:45:11,292 --> 00:45:13,878
take care of the treehoppers.
620
00:45:14,170 --> 00:45:14,838
They protect the treehoppers.
621
00:45:15,130 --> 00:45:20,051
Hoppers
622
00:45:20,343 --> 00:45:23,513
His eye is black so we got to
get more light from Christian's
623
00:45:23,805 --> 00:45:24,973
flashlight through there.
624
00:45:31,938 --> 00:45:33,440
They can be tough to work with.
625
00:45:33,732 --> 00:45:34,941
Treehoppers are
difficult, because they're
626
00:45:35,233 --> 00:45:38,153
very sensitive to
vibrations in the air.
627
00:45:40,989 --> 00:45:42,699
We're working with a
special treehopper.
628
00:45:42,991 --> 00:45:46,202
And it jumps, and flies,
and then you lose it.
629
00:45:46,494 --> 00:45:48,663
And you lose it
inside the studio.
630
00:45:48,955 --> 00:45:49,664
And you look.
631
00:45:49,956 --> 00:45:50,623
30 minutes you look for it.
632
00:45:50,915 --> 00:45:51,499
You can't find it.
633
00:45:59,007 --> 00:46:02,051
The adventure really is
finding things that are new,
634
00:46:02,343 --> 00:46:05,722
that we've never seen before.
635
00:46:06,014 --> 00:46:07,640
No, I don't have
anything like this one.
636
00:46:12,562 --> 00:46:14,814
One of the tools for
discovering new species
637
00:46:15,106 --> 00:46:17,066
is actually looking
at photographs
638
00:46:17,358 --> 00:46:19,068
that people have
taken, because the more
639
00:46:19,360 --> 00:46:21,488
eyes that are on the
ground, the more things
640
00:46:21,780 --> 00:46:24,157
are going to be discovered.
641
00:46:24,449 --> 00:46:26,201
It's great to see
photographs of things
642
00:46:26,493 --> 00:46:30,747
that have been photographed
live for the first time.
643
00:46:31,039 --> 00:46:33,124
This could very well
be a new species.
644
00:46:33,416 --> 00:46:34,125
And here's a slide.
645
00:46:37,295 --> 00:46:40,298
OK, we got the weirdest
treehopper in the world here.
646
00:46:43,885 --> 00:46:49,516
The variety of treehoppers
is really infinite.
647
00:46:49,808 --> 00:46:53,228
Those that have been classified,
maybe there are 3,000.
648
00:46:53,520 --> 00:46:57,148
But actually in reality,
how many are there?
649
00:46:57,440 --> 00:46:58,775
Maybe there are 10,000,
maybe there are 20,000.
650
00:46:59,067 --> 00:47:00,401
Nobody knows.
651
00:47:00,693 --> 00:47:02,862
And that's partly why
rapid habitat loss
652
00:47:03,154 --> 00:47:05,114
and mass extinction
events are so
653
00:47:05,406 --> 00:47:07,283
alarming, because
we don't even know
654
00:47:07,575 --> 00:47:08,618
how many species we're losing.
655
00:47:08,910 --> 00:47:12,121
[music playing]
656
00:47:35,270 --> 00:47:38,565
Christian and I have traveled
throughout the Amazon basin,
657
00:47:38,857 --> 00:47:40,525
and we've found some
incredible things.
658
00:47:55,582 --> 00:47:59,836
ROBERT OELMAN: How did I find
Christian in the first place?
659
00:48:00,128 --> 00:48:01,546
By chance?
660
00:48:01,838 --> 00:48:02,463
I don't think so.
661
00:48:05,675 --> 00:48:07,010
He has an understanding of this.
662
00:48:07,302 --> 00:48:09,596
It's a kind of a
spiritual kind of thing
663
00:48:09,888 --> 00:48:13,391
that we're guided to
find these things.
664
00:48:13,683 --> 00:48:16,352
That's probably true.
665
00:48:16,644 --> 00:48:18,021
We spend a lot of
time and effort
666
00:48:18,313 --> 00:48:20,523
looking for things that very
few people are looking for.
667
00:48:24,444 --> 00:48:27,488
GAVIN SVENSON: In the early
days of natural history,
668
00:48:27,780 --> 00:48:31,075
the people that were
doing insect taxonomy
669
00:48:31,367 --> 00:48:33,953
were people that could
go, and get on a ship,
670
00:48:34,245 --> 00:48:36,414
and spend three or four
weeks getting to a location
671
00:48:36,706 --> 00:48:38,833
to see an environment
and be able to sample
672
00:48:39,125 --> 00:48:40,710
that environment.
673
00:48:41,002 --> 00:48:43,338
We can be there in a few
hours now on an airplane,
674
00:48:43,630 --> 00:48:45,798
so field photography
has become more
675
00:48:46,090 --> 00:48:48,885
and more paramount and goes
hand-in-hand to systematic
676
00:48:49,177 --> 00:48:50,428
biology.
677
00:48:50,720 --> 00:48:52,096
Maybe somebody takes a
picture of something that's
678
00:48:52,388 --> 00:48:55,224
never been photographed before.
679
00:48:55,516 --> 00:48:58,394
And then 10 years later
somebody else takes a picture,
680
00:48:58,686 --> 00:49:00,647
but in a different context.
681
00:49:00,939 --> 00:49:04,317
Over time you start to accrue
pictures of the same species
682
00:49:04,609 --> 00:49:06,611
in different contexts, and
different environments,
683
00:49:06,903 --> 00:49:08,237
and doing different things.
684
00:49:08,529 --> 00:49:09,864
And really, you
can imagine a time
685
00:49:10,156 --> 00:49:12,492
when you can look back
over 200 or 300 years
686
00:49:12,784 --> 00:49:14,702
of photographic documentation.
687
00:49:14,994 --> 00:49:16,955
Seeing the real
specimen is great.
688
00:49:17,246 --> 00:49:18,790
But seeing a photo
of the specimen,
689
00:49:19,082 --> 00:49:21,125
you can reach
millions of people.
690
00:49:26,839 --> 00:49:27,757
ROBERT OELMAN: I
think that there
691
00:49:28,049 --> 00:49:29,550
is a path that's given to us.
692
00:49:29,842 --> 00:49:32,595
I believe our purpose is to
find and document as many
693
00:49:32,887 --> 00:49:35,056
of these strange and
beautiful insects as possible.
694
00:49:35,348 --> 00:49:35,974
You see that?
695
00:49:39,978 --> 00:49:42,730
We find so many different
types and species of insects,
696
00:49:43,022 --> 00:49:47,193
but one of the most
captivating are the mantids.
697
00:49:47,485 --> 00:49:49,904
One thing they do that
no other insect does
698
00:49:50,196 --> 00:49:52,740
is that they can rotate
their head from side to side.
699
00:49:53,032 --> 00:49:55,618
And one gets the feeling that
they can be looking at you
700
00:49:55,910 --> 00:49:57,745
and studying you as you
are looking at them.
701
00:50:03,668 --> 00:50:07,755
When you hold them in your
hand, they look back at you.
702
00:50:08,047 --> 00:50:08,965
Why they're doing that...
703
00:50:09,257 --> 00:50:10,591
they're predators.
704
00:50:10,883 --> 00:50:13,469
When you look at a spider
creeping along a tree trunk,
705
00:50:13,761 --> 00:50:16,556
it is not doing
anything that we do
706
00:50:16,848 --> 00:50:20,893
or we think of as human
behaviors, types of movement.
707
00:50:21,185 --> 00:50:25,231
But mantids seemed to have
captured or embodied that sort
708
00:50:25,523 --> 00:50:28,609
of predatory aspect of
perceiving the environment just
709
00:50:28,901 --> 00:50:31,654
a little bit more.
710
00:50:31,946 --> 00:50:35,074
They feel comfortable hanging
upside down under leaves
711
00:50:35,366 --> 00:50:38,327
when they're all bunched up.
712
00:50:38,619 --> 00:50:41,330
When I take a photo of a
mantis in that position,
713
00:50:41,622 --> 00:50:42,790
it's hard to make them out.
714
00:50:43,082 --> 00:50:45,251
The texture and the
color merges with all
715
00:50:45,543 --> 00:50:47,086
the leaves around them.
716
00:50:47,378 --> 00:50:48,671
GAVIN SVENSON: Survival
for many of these groups
717
00:50:48,963 --> 00:50:51,799
depends on their
ability to blend in.
718
00:50:52,091 --> 00:50:54,969
It's not so much them
crafting themselves.
719
00:50:55,261 --> 00:50:59,515
It's they are crafted
by the environment.
720
00:50:59,807 --> 00:51:03,227
You have, for example,
green leaf mantids.
721
00:51:03,519 --> 00:51:07,231
They look just like
leaves with veins.
722
00:51:07,523 --> 00:51:10,443
You have bark mantids
living in tree trunks.
723
00:51:10,735 --> 00:51:13,321
These characters evolve
through natural selection.
724
00:51:13,613 --> 00:51:14,655
And they are hard to
find, because they
725
00:51:14,947 --> 00:51:17,158
are really difficult to see.
726
00:51:17,450 --> 00:51:18,159
GAVIN SVENSON: You have birds.
727
00:51:18,451 --> 00:51:19,035
You have lizards.
728
00:51:19,327 --> 00:51:20,369
You have monkeys.
729
00:51:20,661 --> 00:51:22,080
You have lots of other
different animals.
730
00:51:22,371 --> 00:51:23,456
They're all gunning for you.
731
00:51:23,748 --> 00:51:24,916
They all want to eat you.
732
00:51:25,208 --> 00:51:28,086
It's this whole
environmental shaping
733
00:51:28,377 --> 00:51:30,505
that seems to have
driven a lot of diversity
734
00:51:30,797 --> 00:51:31,464
within praying mantids.
735
00:51:31,756 --> 00:51:33,216
His
736
00:51:33,508 --> 00:51:36,928
ROBERT OELMAN: The gray, dark
brown... that's mostly gray.
737
00:51:37,220 --> 00:51:39,931
It's really hard
to see, so he's...
738
00:51:40,223 --> 00:51:42,016
he knows his best
defense is not to move.
739
00:51:58,116 --> 00:51:58,991
GAVIN SVENSON:
Photography really
740
00:51:59,283 --> 00:52:00,827
has a focusing capability.
741
00:52:01,119 --> 00:52:04,288
And if you want to diagnose
this species from that species,
742
00:52:04,580 --> 00:52:07,750
photography allows you to focus
in to the particular thing
743
00:52:08,042 --> 00:52:09,752
that you're trying
to communicate
744
00:52:10,044 --> 00:52:11,462
about the uniqueness
of that species.
745
00:52:11,754 --> 00:52:13,589
ROBERT OELMAN: Get the face.
746
00:52:13,881 --> 00:52:14,799
Can you get the face?
747
00:52:17,969 --> 00:52:18,761
OK.
748
00:52:19,053 --> 00:52:19,762
I got the face!
749
00:52:23,432 --> 00:52:24,892
All of these
photographs and images
750
00:52:25,184 --> 00:52:28,521
can really help us to understand
so much more about what
751
00:52:28,813 --> 00:52:30,273
these things are doing.
752
00:52:30,565 --> 00:52:33,234
No, but look at the color, you
know, the color on the abdomen.
753
00:52:38,656 --> 00:52:39,949
Well, that's what I'm
trying to do, you know,
754
00:52:40,241 --> 00:52:43,202
just show the
spectacular creation
755
00:52:43,494 --> 00:52:46,455
that happens in the insect
world so people understand it's
756
00:52:46,747 --> 00:52:48,207
not just elephants and lions.
757
00:52:48,499 --> 00:52:50,418
I mean, there are all kinds of
creatures that are equally as
758
00:52:50,710 --> 00:52:52,712
special that have
been here a long time
759
00:52:53,004 --> 00:52:56,924
and have undergone
amazing evolution.
760
00:52:57,216 --> 00:52:59,594
And they deserve our
respect and protection.
761
00:53:04,056 --> 00:53:06,726
A few years ago, I realized
finding the insects
762
00:53:07,018 --> 00:53:09,604
and taking the photos
was just half the job.
763
00:53:20,698 --> 00:53:24,327
I started seeing that this
is something that would be
764
00:53:24,619 --> 00:53:27,163
good to show many
people, so many people
765
00:53:27,455 --> 00:53:29,582
can see this and learn about
what's really out there.
766
00:53:35,338 --> 00:53:36,797
For that reason,
you know, I started
767
00:53:37,089 --> 00:53:40,843
creating the website so that
people can really see this.
768
00:53:41,135 --> 00:53:43,387
And it started.
769
00:53:43,679 --> 00:53:45,264
More and more people,
they're seeing the photos.
770
00:53:45,556 --> 00:53:46,140
They're making comments.
771
00:53:49,852 --> 00:53:53,147
But still, it's a
small amount of people.
772
00:53:53,439 --> 00:53:55,650
And I started looking for
ways to get the word out
773
00:53:55,942 --> 00:53:56,567
to a bigger audience.
774
00:53:59,904 --> 00:54:02,073
BRUCE STEIN: The
power of those images
775
00:54:02,365 --> 00:54:04,617
to display these
amazing creatures
776
00:54:04,909 --> 00:54:06,911
and their evolutionary
adaptations
777
00:54:07,203 --> 00:54:10,248
are really going to be critical,
because until you value
778
00:54:10,539 --> 00:54:14,335
something, you're not going to
really see meaningful action
779
00:54:14,627 --> 00:54:15,878
to protect it.
780
00:54:16,170 --> 00:54:18,172
DOUGLAS INKLEY: Every
habitat has a wide diversity
781
00:54:18,464 --> 00:54:19,924
of species in it.
782
00:54:20,216 --> 00:54:22,093
And what's really interesting is
that every one of those species
783
00:54:22,385 --> 00:54:24,178
is important for that habitat.
784
00:54:24,470 --> 00:54:26,347
If you were to think
about all of those species
785
00:54:26,639 --> 00:54:30,977
as individual bricks in a home,
and let's say that you take
786
00:54:31,269 --> 00:54:34,355
one brick out of the home, oh,
OK, the home still functions,
787
00:54:34,647 --> 00:54:35,898
but probably not as well.
788
00:54:36,190 --> 00:54:37,316
A little bit of
cold air gets in.
789
00:54:37,608 --> 00:54:39,318
You take another break,
gets a little bit worse.
790
00:54:39,610 --> 00:54:41,070
You keep on going.
791
00:54:41,362 --> 00:54:42,488
What eventually happens?
792
00:54:42,780 --> 00:54:43,489
The house falls down.
793
00:54:47,827 --> 00:54:49,412
ROBERT OELMAN: We have to
assume that many insects are
794
00:54:49,704 --> 00:54:52,707
being lost, because the
habitat is being lost.
795
00:54:57,378 --> 00:54:59,588
Human beings are
actually destroying
796
00:54:59,880 --> 00:55:03,676
animals at a very fast rate.
797
00:55:03,968 --> 00:55:06,887
All these other animals
feed primarily on insects.
798
00:55:10,308 --> 00:55:13,269
Many species will be
lost before people
799
00:55:13,561 --> 00:55:14,478
ever know that they've existed.
800
00:55:21,652 --> 00:55:23,112
Got you now.
801
00:55:23,404 --> 00:55:25,448
That's a good one.
802
00:55:25,740 --> 00:55:27,992
The photos really,
they have a message.
803
00:55:28,284 --> 00:55:31,370
To me, the message is,
we're special creatures.
804
00:55:31,662 --> 00:55:32,872
We're special
creatures, and we've
805
00:55:33,164 --> 00:55:34,165
been around for a long time.
806
00:55:38,961 --> 00:55:40,129
They're much more
advanced, much more
807
00:55:40,421 --> 00:55:42,089
intelligent than people know.
808
00:55:47,720 --> 00:55:50,598
To me, it's important to show
that, because they represent,
809
00:55:50,890 --> 00:55:54,018
as human beings do, the
creations of the life force
810
00:55:54,310 --> 00:55:55,686
that's in everything.
811
00:55:55,978 --> 00:55:57,146
It's something we
should respect.
812
00:56:00,191 --> 00:56:02,276
What I try to do now
is to not only show
813
00:56:02,568 --> 00:56:05,696
that the insects exist but
to put it in a context,
814
00:56:05,988 --> 00:56:10,159
in a field of light, that really
is an artistic composition.
815
00:56:14,789 --> 00:56:17,625
How does one get
an artistic eye?
816
00:56:17,917 --> 00:56:19,335
When I think about
it, this has been
817
00:56:19,627 --> 00:56:25,383
developing over years and years,
seeing, just seeing things.
818
00:56:25,674 --> 00:56:28,052
Try to make this insect
photography into an art form,
819
00:56:28,344 --> 00:56:30,846
so I thought of ways
to combine photos.
820
00:56:31,138 --> 00:56:32,348
You can see the insect.
821
00:56:32,640 --> 00:56:35,810
You can see how it blends
into the background.
822
00:56:36,102 --> 00:56:37,561
Then I look at the
best images that I
823
00:56:37,853 --> 00:56:40,731
have for a certain insect, and
I try to think of a concept
824
00:56:41,023 --> 00:56:41,607
how to present that.
825
00:56:41,899 --> 00:56:45,111
[music playing]
826
00:56:54,787 --> 00:56:57,790
I like the idea of composites,
because you can see,
827
00:56:58,082 --> 00:57:01,794
for example, there is
one of a certain katydid
828
00:57:02,086 --> 00:57:06,132
that opens its wings
and looks like a moth.
829
00:57:06,424 --> 00:57:07,591
Right?
830
00:57:07,883 --> 00:57:10,928
So then there's one
composite where you see it
831
00:57:11,220 --> 00:57:13,681
from the front, when its
wings are open from the back;
832
00:57:13,973 --> 00:57:17,852
and from the side; and then
when its wings are closed.
833
00:57:18,144 --> 00:57:19,603
What Robert's
work does is it's
834
00:57:19,895 --> 00:57:23,232
an entryway for many people
that maybe don't know very
835
00:57:23,524 --> 00:57:24,817
much about tropical
forests or don't
836
00:57:25,109 --> 00:57:26,861
know very much about insects.
837
00:57:27,153 --> 00:57:29,738
It's so fascinating and
captures your fascination
838
00:57:30,030 --> 00:57:33,242
and your imagination that
you want to learn more.
839
00:57:33,534 --> 00:57:36,287
ROBERT OELMAN: But first I was
just happy to take the photos
840
00:57:36,579 --> 00:57:37,538
and enjoy doing that.
841
00:57:40,291 --> 00:57:41,876
But after a while, I
realized, you know, this
842
00:57:42,168 --> 00:57:43,627
is something really
that should be...
843
00:57:43,919 --> 00:57:46,464
should be seen by other people.
844
00:57:46,755 --> 00:57:50,676
About that the same time, I
received a invitation to have
845
00:57:50,968 --> 00:57:52,011
a gallery show in New York.
846
00:58:05,691 --> 00:58:07,067
SUZANNE PELLETIER: Hi,
I'm Suzanne Pelletier,
847
00:58:07,359 --> 00:58:09,778
I'm executive director of
the Rainforest Foundation.
848
00:58:10,070 --> 00:58:11,614
Thank you so much
for coming tonight.
849
00:58:11,906 --> 00:58:15,367
Gonna be a great way to
showcase Robert's work to people
850
00:58:15,659 --> 00:58:18,120
that not only are supporters,
that are not only art lovers,
851
00:58:18,412 --> 00:58:21,790
but also really care about
the subject of Robert's work...
852
00:58:22,082 --> 00:58:24,043
these beautiful,
beautiful insects
853
00:58:24,335 --> 00:58:26,045
and the forest where they live.
854
00:58:26,337 --> 00:58:28,839
When you see this,
these are the most
855
00:58:29,131 --> 00:58:34,345
fantastic, strangest, most
beautiful things you can find.
856
00:58:34,637 --> 00:58:36,096
It's extremely
difficult to find these,
857
00:58:36,388 --> 00:58:38,057
because they don't
want to be found.
858
00:58:38,349 --> 00:58:39,892
You know, at this
show, I'm nervous,
859
00:58:40,184 --> 00:58:44,855
because I'm not used to talking
about, really, the work.
860
00:58:45,147 --> 00:58:46,774
I'm just a person
that's in action.
861
00:58:47,066 --> 00:58:48,484
OK.
I'm in action.
862
00:58:48,776 --> 00:58:49,985
I'm taking photos.
863
00:58:50,277 --> 00:58:53,072
I'm working on the photos,
and so on, and so forth.
864
00:58:53,364 --> 00:58:54,114
I'm not talking.
865
00:58:54,406 --> 00:58:55,866
Uh, my name is Robert Oelman.
866
00:58:56,158 --> 00:58:58,202
I'm a photographer,
insect hunter.
867
00:58:58,494 --> 00:59:01,288
As I get more into
the... into the flow,
868
00:59:01,580 --> 00:59:05,709
I'm happy, because I'm
sharing with other people.
869
00:59:06,001 --> 00:59:09,004
And some of these people
are genuinely interested.
870
00:59:09,296 --> 00:59:10,673
Many of the people are.
871
00:59:10,965 --> 00:59:12,925
So the thing about these,
this is all very rare insects.
872
00:59:16,136 --> 00:59:17,805
Depends.
873
00:59:18,097 --> 00:59:19,348
This is 1 millimeter.
874
00:59:19,640 --> 00:59:20,933
Oh my gosh.
875
00:59:21,225 --> 00:59:24,603
ROBERT OELMAN: It's a katydid
that looks like a leaf.
876
00:59:24,895 --> 00:59:26,522
And this is one of
the more perfect ones.
877
00:59:26,814 --> 00:59:28,399
When you put yourself
in a certain state
878
00:59:28,691 --> 00:59:30,734
of mind and then this...
879
00:59:31,026 --> 00:59:34,154
then the ideas just...
they just come out.
880
00:59:34,446 --> 00:59:35,906
He thinks these
pictures are wonderful
881
00:59:36,198 --> 00:59:38,492
and that people will like to see
them, not because he took them
882
00:59:38,784 --> 00:59:40,411
and these are wonderful
things that he did.
883
00:59:40,703 --> 00:59:42,746
But look at these wonderful
things that there are.
884
00:59:43,038 --> 00:59:44,456
And I want to share
them with you.
885
00:59:44,748 --> 00:59:46,542
ROBERT OELMAN: So
this starts here.
886
00:59:46,834 --> 00:59:47,626
It's all bunched up here.
887
00:59:47,918 --> 00:59:49,128
Yeah.
888
00:59:49,420 --> 00:59:52,131
ROBERT OELMAN: So nobody
knows that it's a insect.
889
00:59:52,423 --> 00:59:57,303
So the telltale sign of what
it is is the shape of the head.
890
00:59:57,595 --> 00:59:58,178
So that's a mantis.
891
00:59:58,470 --> 00:59:59,305
How could this be?
892
00:59:59,597 --> 01:00:01,056
I mean, this is some kind of...
893
01:00:01,348 --> 01:00:03,809
what you learn is
something about evolution.
894
01:00:04,101 --> 01:00:05,561
You learn about the
nature of life itself.
895
01:00:08,856 --> 01:00:11,567
This is Colombia and
jungles in Colombia.
896
01:00:11,859 --> 01:00:13,611
And others are from
Peru and Ecuador.
897
01:00:13,902 --> 01:00:15,738
ELIZABETH OELMAN:
He's very open,
898
01:00:16,030 --> 01:00:22,411
and that openness is, I
think, a very rare thing.
899
01:00:22,703 --> 01:00:26,707
So... and I do this, and I
just feel like a young person.
900
01:00:26,999 --> 01:00:28,500
So does everybody know
what a treehopper is?
901
01:00:28,792 --> 01:00:29,710
GROUP: No.
902
01:00:30,002 --> 01:00:30,919
WOMAN 3: No idea.
903
01:00:31,211 --> 01:00:33,547
ROBERT OELMAN: These
are treehoppers.
904
01:00:33,839 --> 01:00:35,966
These have been around
for 40 million years...
905
01:00:36,258 --> 01:00:37,468
WOMAN 4: Wow.
906
01:00:37,760 --> 01:00:40,596
ROBERT OELMAN:... much
longer than human beings.
907
01:00:40,888 --> 01:00:43,182
My brother has
become centered.
908
01:00:43,474 --> 01:00:46,560
That is, he has discovered
something that he loves.
909
01:00:46,852 --> 01:00:47,603
He likes doing it.
910
01:00:47,895 --> 01:00:48,896
He feels fulfilled.
911
01:00:49,188 --> 01:00:51,148
And he's getting recognition.
912
01:00:51,440 --> 01:00:55,361
And that is really a
913
01:00:55,653 --> 01:00:57,696
ROBERT OELMAN: I get a lot
of satisfaction from it.
914
01:00:57,988 --> 01:00:59,740
I'm working on
this day and night
915
01:01:00,032 --> 01:01:01,909
and trying to communicate
with a lot of people.
916
01:01:02,201 --> 01:01:03,619
It's a great job.
917
01:01:03,911 --> 01:01:05,329
Thanks for coming.
I mean, there's a lot of people.
918
01:01:05,621 --> 01:01:06,246
That's great.
919
01:01:06,538 --> 01:01:09,291
[applause]
920
01:01:23,931 --> 01:01:25,474
What I'm looking at
now and what I see are,
921
01:01:25,766 --> 01:01:30,396
in the insects or the animals,
they're all like little people.
922
01:01:30,688 --> 01:01:32,690
They're not so
different from us.
923
01:01:32,981 --> 01:01:34,900
As I see that, I feel
more empathy for them.
924
01:01:35,192 --> 01:01:38,320
[music playing]
925
01:01:45,160 --> 01:01:52,167
[speaking Spanish]
926
01:02:12,646 --> 01:02:13,397
Yeah, I know.
927
01:02:13,689 --> 01:02:16,316
You see everything, right?
928
01:02:16,608 --> 01:02:17,776
You see everything, OK.
929
01:02:21,864 --> 01:02:25,534
When you know what's
here, you want to kill it?
930
01:02:25,826 --> 01:02:27,202
Or do you want to preserve it?
931
01:02:27,494 --> 01:02:29,371
You got to make a choice.
932
01:02:29,663 --> 01:02:31,081
If you don't make
a choice, you're
933
01:02:31,373 --> 01:02:34,543
going in the direction of, OK,
let's kill all these things
934
01:02:34,835 --> 01:02:37,838
and not be conscious
that we're doing that.
935
01:02:38,130 --> 01:02:39,339
I'm just doing my part.
936
01:02:39,631 --> 01:02:42,092
Whatever that
force is is saying,
937
01:02:42,384 --> 01:02:44,303
well, you get a job to do.
938
01:02:44,595 --> 01:02:45,596
And do it.
939
01:02:45,888 --> 01:02:47,973
And do it well, so
people will notice.
940
01:02:51,727 --> 01:02:53,729
Let's be conscious
of what exists here
941
01:02:54,021 --> 01:02:58,484
and then not kill them,
not kill the insects,
942
01:02:58,776 --> 01:03:03,197
not kill all the animals,
not kill the forests.
943
01:03:03,489 --> 01:03:06,617
[music playing]
944
01:03:16,210 --> 01:03:17,503
I'm a part of nature.
945
01:03:17,795 --> 01:03:20,798
I'm just part of
the life force and
946
01:03:21,089 --> 01:03:22,257
trying to do something
that will create
947
01:03:22,549 --> 01:03:24,092
more harmony in the world.
948
01:03:29,473 --> 01:03:33,227
Hopefully, working together
with more and more people,
949
01:03:33,519 --> 01:03:37,064
we can preserve nature
for future generations...
950
01:03:37,356 --> 01:03:42,569
for our children, for our
grandchildren, and all
951
01:03:42,861 --> 01:03:43,695
those yet to come.
952
01:03:43,987 --> 01:03:47,157
[music playing]
953
01:04:19,189 --> 01:04:22,442
[MUSIC PLAYING - ALIXCIA, "ALL
OF IT"]
70230
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