Sargus bipunctatus (and controlling reflections, or not)

Images taken in a controlled environment or with a posed subject. All subject types.

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AndrewC
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Sargus bipunctatus (and controlling reflections, or not)

Post by AndrewC »

Image is a female Sargus bipunctaus, until someone corrects me. I think the pale lateral stripe on the mesonotum is indicative along with the metallic colouration ?

Taken with a reversed Ek-Nikkor 80mm at f8, about 200mm extension, black flock lens hood, lighting is two Nikon SB-800 flashes at about 45deg up and forward of the subject, diffused through a yoghurt pot.

The dorsal black markings are actually just reflections of the lens pupil and surround ? I don't see them under my stereo scope. So how can you control artefacts like these in a highly reflective somewhat flat surface ? Put a light coloured aperture in front of the lens ? Adjust angle of lighting ?

Image

:)Image

ps: I was getting envious about all the colourful bugs our antipodean friends have and then this beauty expired on my windowsill

rjlittlefield
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Post by rjlittlefield »

The only way I know to avoid black central reflections from mirrored surfaces is to use a beamsplitter in front of the lens. The idea is to start with a diffuse source that's pointed sideways and reflect it toward the subject along the optical path. In microscopy, this is typically done using a cover slip for the beamsplitter. Ordinary glass will reflect only something like 10% of the light that hits it at a 45 degree angle, so you'll probably have to worry about properly balancing direct versus reflected illumination.

That's a very pretty fly, by the way! And very clean too, for a windowsill specimen. Did you use your electrostatic duster?

--Rik

AndrewC
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Post by AndrewC »

rjlittlefield wrote:... And very clean too, for a windowsill specimen. Did you use your electrostatic duster?

--Rik
Chance had it that it expired on the cover of a magazine - nice clean surface at this magnification :)

Cyclops
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Post by Cyclops »

Great shot!
Canon 5D and 30D | Canon IXUS 265HS | Cosina 100mm f3.5 macro | EF 75-300 f4.5-5.6 USM III | EF 50 f1.8 II | Slik 88 tripod | Apex Practicioner monocular microscope

Graham46
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Post by Graham46 »

Amazing colors. Nice job.
Semper cogitatio
Graham

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