Focus Stacked Image of a Black Ant
Jan 9, 2023 17:35:20 #
This is one of my preserved black carpenter ants that I staged for a focused stacking session using the 5X magnification microscope objective mounted on a bellow as the optic for the camera.
I like black backgrounds because they are easy to produce by keeping the light close to the subject while being sure that there is nothing behind it to reflect light back to the lens. I shoot my sessions with the room lights off and I have a piece of black felt fabric hanging on the wall about ten feet past the specimen. Because the intensity of light diminishes to the square of the distance, by the time any light does hit the fabric it appears black. All that is left to do is to adjust the contrast, do a bit of cleanup, and the black background is created such as in this session.
I like black backgrounds because they are easy to produce by keeping the light close to the subject while being sure that there is nothing behind it to reflect light back to the lens. I shoot my sessions with the room lights off and I have a piece of black felt fabric hanging on the wall about ten feet past the specimen. Because the intensity of light diminishes to the square of the distance, by the time any light does hit the fabric it appears black. All that is left to do is to adjust the contrast, do a bit of cleanup, and the black background is created such as in this session.
Jan 9, 2023 17:48:55 #
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Jan 9, 2023 18:46:54 #
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Jan 9, 2023 19:47:43 #
ecobin wrote:
That is one scary dude!
Absolutely superb stack, Gary.
Absolutely superb stack, Gary.
Thanks for viewing and for the reply, Elliott.
Jan 9, 2023 19:50:09 #
kpmac wrote:
Excellent.
Thanks, Kpmac. Ants have been around for close to 170 million years and I suspect that they will be around for hundreds of millions of years after we are all gone.
Jan 9, 2023 19:52:16 #
Curmudgeon wrote:
Beautiful shot Sippy, that a sight that belongs in a horror movie
Thanks, Curmudgeon. They are much smaller than the harvester ants out your way and have evolved to nest in woods, which is why their mandibles are designed the way they are.
Jan 10, 2023 05:58:43 #
sippyjug104 wrote:
This is one of my preserved black carpenter ants t... (show quote)
Fantastic image!!!
Jan 10, 2023 06:42:11 #
Jan 10, 2023 06:44:54 #
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Jan 10, 2023 07:04:03 #
Great looking creature, and good information on the background, thanks.
Jan 10, 2023 07:42:58 #
Another outstanding image. I really like the way you have filled the frame with your subject as well as the intense black background.
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