A scientist-photographer is using his unique access to wild bats to capture breathtaking portraits that challenge common misconceptions about these essential creatures. José Gabriel Martínez-Fonseca, whose biological research brings him into close contact with bats, has turned his scientific work into an opportunity to showcase the individual personalities and beauty of these often-feared animals.
Martínez-Fonseca explains that bats represent a fascinating and incredibly diverse group of animals, with each individual displaying distinct personality traits during his encounters with them. However, he notes that in many parts of the world, bats are portrayed negatively, causing people to fear them unnecessarily. This fear, combined with habitat loss and invasive species, threatens many bat populations despite their crucial role in ecosystems through pollinating crops, controlling insect populations, dispersing seeds, and enabling forest regeneration.
The photographer's journey began in Nicaragua, where he grew up surrounded by an unusually high number of bat species. Currently residing in Arizona, Martínez-Fonseca conducts postdoctoral research on biodiversity while continuing his photography work. He emphasizes that all the bats he works with are wild animals that he handles only briefly during data collection for scientific research, always with proper permits, before photographing and releasing them back into their natural habitat.
Martínez-Fonseca's stunning portraits may appear to be professional studio shots, but they're actually taken in the field under challenging conditions. Working with one hand holding the bat and the other operating his camera, he uses a setup consisting of camera flashes with diffusers and either a Nikon D500 or D850 equipped with a 60mm macro lens. Light stands allow him to adjust flash positions for optimal comfort, which becomes crucial when processing over a hundred bats in a single night. To minimize stress on the animals, he works under red light, which leads him to prefer DSLRs over mirrorless cameras since the older-style cameras focus more reliably under red light conditions.
Beyond portraits, Martínez-Fonseca also captures dynamic action shots that demand greater skill, patience, and more complex equipment setups. For these challenging shots, he employs two to four flash units connected to infrared triggers, using techniques similar to high-speed photography. Multiple cameras perform continuous long exposures in complete darkness, waiting for bats to cross infrared beams that trigger the flashes. He explains that using multiple cameras increases success rates by providing various angles of the same bat simultaneously, as wings often cover faces or bats may fly in undesirable directions. High-megapixel DSLRs like the Nikon D800 prove particularly valuable since photos often require significant cropping, and these cameras have become relatively affordable.
While quality equipment helps, Martínez-Fonseca's true advantage lies in his deep understanding of bat behavior and ecology. His knowledge of where different species roost, when they drink, and their seasonal activity patterns proves invaluable for both research and photography. He utilizes bat flyways – the routes bats use to travel between resting and feeding areas – to position his photography equipment strategically. Although wild animal behavior remains unpredictable, recognizing these patterns significantly increases success rates and adds excitement to the photography experience.
With bats inhabiting every continent except Antarctica, Martínez-Fonseca has already photographed 256 different bat species, representing just a fraction of the approximately 1,500 known species, with new discoveries occurring regularly. He acknowledges that photographing all bat species worldwide represents a constantly moving target that he'll likely never achieve. However, he has set a more manageable goal of photographing at least one species from each of the 21 currently recognized bat families, though he's still missing five due to endangered status or extremely restricted geographic ranges.
Martínez-Fonseca demonstrates his commitment to conservation by directing all proceeds from his photography work toward funding small research projects in Nicaragua. Those interested in supporting his conservation efforts can purchase prints or download photos through his website, while more of his remarkable work can be viewed on his Instagram account. Through his unique combination of scientific expertise and artistic vision, he continues working to transform public perception of these misunderstood but ecologically vital creatures.
