Ugly Hedgehog - Photography Forum
Home Active Topics Newest Pictures Search Login Register
True Macro-Photography Forum
June Bug with DIY Flash Diffuser
Feb 10, 2023 21:40:32   #
sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri
 
This is an image of my preserved green June bug that I set on a piece of broken tree limb for a single macro shot as a test of the flash diffuser that I made from a large cottage cheese container that I posted a few days ago which has now been painted black so it does not look "cheesy".

The container is lined with aluminum foil and a piece of China White polyester fabric is used to diffuse the flash.

This macro image was taken with a Nikon Z6 and the Nikon S mount 105mm macro lens. Camera settings were manual mode, f/11 aperture, 1/160 sec., ISO-200, and auto white balance. The flash is a Nikon SB-800 set on manual mode and 1/8 duration power.


(Download)


(Download)


(Download)

Reply
Feb 10, 2023 22:56:31   #
lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA
 
sippyjug104 wrote:
This is an image of my preserved green June bug that I set on a piece of broken tree limb for a single macro shot as a test of the flash diffuser that I made from a large cottage cheese container that I posted a few days ago which has now been painted black so it does not look "cheesy".

The container is lined with aluminum foil and a piece of China White polyester fabric is used to diffuse the flash.

This macro image was taken with a Nikon Z6 and the Nikon S mount 105mm macro lens. Camera settings were manual mode, f/11 aperture, 1/160 sec., ISO-200, and auto white balance. The flash is a Nikon SB-800 set on manual mode and 1/8 duration power.
This is an image of my preserved green June bug th... (show quote)


Interesting set up. But how do you preserve a "bug" and keep it fresh looking? I find dead June Bugs and Green Scarab Beetles but they look grungy and as they age get moldy as well.

Reply
Feb 10, 2023 23:25:48   #
sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri
 
lamiaceae wrote:
Interesting set up. But how do you preserve a "bug" and keep it fresh looking? I find dead June Bugs and Green Scarab Beetles but they look grungy and as they age get moldy as well.


Mike, I collect them and I dispatch them in a jar with cotton balls saturated with Klean Strip MEK Substitute. I blow them off with a puffer and brush them with a natural hair artist brush. Beetle and other "durable" insects get a bath in the ultrasonic jewelry cleaner with distilled water and a few drops of dish soap. I store them in denatured alcohol and they last for many years.

Fuzzy insects and spiders get dispatched and stored in the freezer in a pill bottle with a mothball. Grubs, larvae, and caterpillars get a bath in scalding water to kill the bacteria in their gut to prevent them from turning black and they too get stored for long term in denatured alcohol.

Reply
 
 
Feb 11, 2023 06:54:19   #
Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis
 
sippyjug104 wrote:
Mike, I collect them and I dispatch them in a jar with cotton balls saturated with Klean Strip MEK Substitute. I blow them off with a puffer and brush them with a natural hair artist brush. Beetle and other "durable" insects get a bath in the ultrasonic jewelry cleaner with distilled water and a few drops of dish soap. I store them in denatured alcohol and they last for many years.

Fuzzy insects and spiders get dispatched and stored in the freezer in a pill bottle with a mothball. Grubs, larvae, and caterpillars get a bath in scalding water to kill the bacteria in their gut to prevent them from turning black and they too get stored for long term in denatured alcohol.
Mike, I collect them and I dispatch them in a jar ... (show quote)



Reply
Feb 11, 2023 09:27:07   #
sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri
 
Manglesphoto wrote:


Thanks, Manglesphoto.

Reply
Feb 11, 2023 12:10:42   #
Curmudgeon Loc: SE Arizona
 
Beautiful Sippy, I don't know which I like the better, the bug shot or the rig shots.

Reply
Feb 11, 2023 12:18:08   #
kpmac Loc: Ragley, La
 
Beautiful, sippy.

Reply
 
 
Feb 11, 2023 13:10:05   #
sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri
 
Curmudgeon wrote:
Beautiful Sippy, I don't know which I like the better, the bug shot or the rig shots.


Thanks, Curmudgeon. I'm playing around to pass the time and I have yet to settle on what method of diffusion I want to take out with me and the experimentation will continue.

Reply
Feb 11, 2023 13:11:06   #
sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri
 
kpmac wrote:
Beautiful, sippy.


Thanks, Kpmac. Where would the world be today if no one experimented..?

Reply
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.
True Macro-Photography Forum
UglyHedgehog.com - Forum
Copyright 2011-2024 Ugly Hedgehog, Inc.