sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

This is a moth that I staged for a magnified view of its unique marbled eyes. I placed the moth inside a ping-pong ball that has a hole in it for the camera to view into.

There is a slit in the ping-pong ball and a dab of modeling clay inside to hold the specimen mounting pin in position. A piece of black velvet is adhered to the inside back of the ping-pong ball to create a black background and the ping-pong ball is illuminated from multiple directions to create a soft glow inside to light the subject.

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BassmanBruce Loc: Middle of the Mitten

Absolutely amazing image. Download is spectacular.
This is excellent as usuall.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

Very ingenious set up although I had a hard time determining what I was looking at. I would have preferred more of the moth showing.

HOT Texas Loc: From the Heart of Texas

Very cool!!!! Just a thought would a tennis ball work?

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Thanks for viewing and for the feedback.

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Thanks, I often shoot at high magnification setups to showcase the smallest of details not often seen with the unaided eye. I do enjoy the full views of my insects when I can get out into the field capturing them in their natural habitats such as these examples including the Glass Wing Humming Bird Moth.

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sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Thanks for viewing and for the idea. I think of light in ways that I see it around me. I think about a white globe light, like on a ceiling fan, with its light bulb inside of it and how bright yet softly it glows.

Then I wonder what would happen if I placed my subject inside of it and placed the bulb on the outside. Would the globe glow on the inside as it had earlier on the outside? With light coming softly from all directions there would be not hard cast shadows.

I went to Lowe's and bought a plastic globe shade and set it in front of the camera looking into the "hole" end. I put some Plasticine Modeling Clay in it to hold the pin mounted specimen and then I shined several LED lights on the outer surface of the white plastic globe shade. I could see that the idea had potential yet needed some tweaking.

Knowing that the intensity of light diminishes with the square of the distance, I either needed more light power or I needed to get the light closer. A solution was to use a much smaller "globe"....like a ping-pong ball..! The ping-pong ball is made of a white kind-of translucent plastic and by putting a flashlight against the ball I could see it glow in my hand.

So with a little "arts and craft day" I made what you see in these photos. I made various sizes to fit different size specimens out of different plastic caps and bottles and glued white paper towels to the outer surface to get the amount of diffusion desired including using upside down translucent plastic drink cups to make a "teepee" to put the specimen inside of.

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kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

Outstanding work as always, sippy.

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Thanks, Kpmac. It's nice to get feedback for it spurs me on to do more.

Dixiegirl Loc: Alabama gulf coast

Amazing setup and a magnificent shot, Sippy! So many textures and colors on one little creature...

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Thanks, Donna. What I find to be quite interesting about moths is their scales. Of course they have to be viewed under a high magnifications to appreciate them. Their scales have scallop edges where a butterfly's scales look like folds of colored ribbon. In addition to the scales, the antenna are quite fascinating also with their different styles.

Dixiegirl Loc: Alabama gulf coast

Fascinating indeed!!

nimbushopper Loc: Tampa, FL

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

Mesmerizing eyes!

I added this thread to Tutorials by UHH Users:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-645057-1.html

Let me know if you want the title changed from what I came up with

timm27 Loc: Earth

Well done per usual!
👍👍👍👍