I'm still obsessed with macro photography

[mike_c]

I'm taking a road trip next month so maybe I'll get back to landscapes and other stuff. Lately I've been working on improving my lighting for macro subjects, especially with insects that often have reflective body parts that GLARE in harsh light.

Here's lookin' at you, kid. This is Monobia quadridens, the four toothed mason wasp. It's a specimen in my collection. If you're interested in the technical stuff, it's beneath the pic. Otherwise, just enjoy!

The actual wasp's head is about the size of a BB. Those are some wicked mandibles of doom!



Tech stuff: this was shot with a Nikon D7200, with a Nikon PB-4 bellows at full extension (about 200mm), using a reverse mounted 1960s El Nikkor 50mm f/1.28N enlarger lens at f/5.6, 1/250s, ISO 320. There were two off camera flashes with diffusers and mini-softboxes, and a couple of white card reflectors. It's a three image vertical panorama; each image is a stack of 200 exposures using a WeMacro focus rail with 15 micron steps, stacked with Helicon Focus, stitched together and post-processed with Photoshop. I've made an Allen Walls type macro lighting cage of PVC pipes. The long bellows extension makes lighting tough as the light attenuates fast at 200+ mm and chromatic aberration can be bad even with such a flat-field lens. I'm still not entirely happy with the lighting, but it's getting better.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. What an interesting photo! Love the details and your equipment. Well done! n/t

[mike_c]

2. thanks!

Glad you like it. This is literally the only photo I've taken this month that's worth sharing. Macro lighting is hard!

[Ziggysmom]

3. So cool! I love their five eyes. You can just see the three simple eyes above the large

compound eyes. It's a beautiful photo.

[mike_c]

5. yep, you can

Good eyes! I really like the emarginate compound eyes. Why have vision where all you'll see is the back side of the second antenna segment? Evolution is wonderful.

[StarryNite]

4. That is an amazing photo.

[mike_c]

6. thanks!

I'm so glad you like it! Of course, I can see every flaw. D'oh!

[George McGovern]

7. Remarkable photograph mike_c!

Thanks for including the tech stuff, my mother-in-law would say you are a "detail man."

You wrote that this specimen is in your collection — please explain about your collection. Relatively speaking this is the biggest "BB" I've ever seen!!

[mike_c]

9. Im' glad you like it!

I'm a retired entomologist and university prof-- well, retiring because I never quite seem to let go, lol. I have curated an entomology collection at Humboldt State University (now Cal Poly Humboldt) for 25 years as a teaching aid in my general entomology course, and I usually have some extra specimens that I keep in a personal collection because the university collection is somewhat space limited. This specimen was collected and given to me by one of my students in that class several years ago.

[AndyS]

8. As with everything else you've posted this is simply spectacular.

Thanks for all the tech info. It's good to see someone using old school equipment to such amazing results.

[mike_c]

10. thank you!

Not to mention, you can usually acquire that old-school equipment inexpensively. Who else would want a 60 year old enlarger lens these days except macro photographers and other throw-backs, lol?

[AndyS]

13. And who even knows what a bellows is? nt

[HAB911]

11. Magnificent!

[mike_c]

12. thank you! NT

[StarryNite]

14. I had to come back and look at this again. It's really amazing.

We all too often take our tiny neighbors for granted. A photo like this shows just what complicated creatures they are. It takes a talented photographer to bring out the details like this. Great job!