Photographing moths (1 Viewer)

Surreybirder · Jul 10, 2010

I thought it would be a good to have a thread on this subject as many of us probably have things to learn and some even have expertise to pass on.
To start with, I'm just posting a couple of URLs that provide other people's tips and techniques:
http://www.staffs-ecology.org.uk/staffsmoths/articles/Photographing Moths.pdf
Brilliant but a bit too 'perfectionist' for me.

http://www.rpsnaturegroup.com/page79.htm
Just a few tips - but not particularly my style.
Ken

Tri-Counties Birder · Jul 10, 2010

Surreybirder said:
To start with, I'm just posting a couple of URLs that provide other people's tips and techniques:
http://www.staffs-ecology.org.uk/staffsmoths/articles/Photographing Moths.pdf
Brilliant but a bit too 'perfectionist' for me.

Bloomin' heck, 43 pages!! I'm not wading through that!

Thanks for bringing this subject up Ken, I know I need some tips.

Surreybirder · Jul 10, 2010

A few UPDATED suggestions from me (not that I'm a great photographer but I have been doing it for several years).

Use a camera with a good super-macro facility. I use the Nikon Coolpix 4500, but I guess that is obsolete now.
Take enough photos so that you can reject several
I suggest taking a 'record' photo of the moth on the egg tray or in a pot before you start doing anything 'fancy'
Best results are usually obtained in daylight but not direct sunlight.
If you photograph moths indoors you have more chance of recapturing the ones that escape - and they will! (pic of my 'studio' below - trying to recapture a micro from within a cactus can be quite tricky!!)
Try and work before the day warms up too much - in summer at least.
If you have to use flash, use some sort of diffuser or the colours will burn out.
My method is to put some leaves or a piece of bark in a small tray and then invert the pot over the tray and hope that the moth will settle on the leaves. (see pic) If not, you may have to tap the pot a few times until it settles in a good position. If it's a moth I am particularly interested in, I sometimes carry the tray outdoors (with the moth covered by the pot) and take some additional shots in the tray (better light). I can then also try and get the moth to pose on a twig. Sometimes the moth flies away and lands in a pleasing position of its own accord.
Look at other people's photos for inspiration on different angles and backgrounds. If the photo is for ID purposes it can be a good idea to take shots from several angles. If you want something "artistic" or unusual, try front-on views, side-on views, head only shots, etc. Even larvae can produce excellent subjects - especially the more colourful or 'misshapen' ones.
If you need to photo the hindwing, make sure the moth is cool and well-settled and then try gently teasing back one of the upper wings with a find artist's brush. Often the moth just jumps but occasionally it works brilliantly (see examples below).
With unidentified micros, that can be very hard to recapture, it is a toss-up as to whether to risk taking a photo or save them for dissection.
Personally, I never put them in the fridge - I don't find it to be necessary.
If moths escape indoors, you can often recapture them after dark on a window as they try to make a get-away.
It's worth thinking about how you want to organise your photos. I've taken about 10,000 with my present camera and it's important to be able to access the ones you want without a huge search. I keep the original no. set by the camera even when I rename them. Then, if I do an edit, I keep the no and add a suffix (usually denoting the size of the photo). I copy the pix into folders according to date for submission to my county recorder. I also copy into a separate folder any that are for my website. It sounds a bit complicated but it works for me.

Ken

Oleander · Jul 11, 2010

Thanks a lot for this thread Ken! Very useful information:t:

Oleander · Jul 14, 2010

Very nice to see some pictures of your ways Ken. Thanks a lot!

Surreybirder · Jul 14, 2010

One additional tip: I find that in this warm weather some of the noctuids start vibrating their wings as soon as I put them on the tray. Sometimes, if you cover the pot with a black cloth they calm down again and then you have a minute or two to take a photo.
Ken

antshrike69 · Jul 14, 2010

Surreybirder said:
One additional tip: I find that in this warm weather some of the noctuids start vibrating their wings as soon as I put them on the tray. Sometimes, if you cover the pot with a black cloth they calm down again and then you have a minute or two to take a photo.
Ken

It's very irritating when they do that and you're trying to photograph some of the catch before work.

Surreybirder · Jul 16, 2010

This moth was photographed by artificial light at 1/60 second at night, with dispersed flash (ISO 100, everything on auto). It doesn't really matter that much of it is out-of-focus. It can even by IDed by the leg pattern. The computer is helpful for compensating for the unnatural colours caused by our kitchen strip-light!
Ken

Andy1979 · Jul 16, 2010

Vey helpful Ken. I struggle sometimes, but this is partly because I use a pretty cheap digital camera on the macro setting, which doesn't let me get close enough to get a really tight picture. Cropping just ruins it, so I do what I can.
It seems that some species are happier to be moved around and positioned than others. Elephant Hawks near enough fly off every time I try and move them...

Oleander · Jul 16, 2010

I have a new camera, Canon PowerShot G11. You can take pictures of the moths from a distance of 1cm. One thing that annoys med is that the camera changes colour sometimes. For example, my conservatory is very bright and gives a natural tone to everything, but when I put a moth on a leaf and then take a photo the camera changes the colour, often to purple. In the display, before I click the button to take the photo, the colour looks just fine, but when the camera auto focus it changes the colour too.

I don't know much about cameras, and could need some help with this if anyone know what the problem might be. I think it's really hard to get a photo with a natural tone to it.

Surreybirder · Jul 16, 2010

Kalle,
I wonder if it is something to do with the white-balance settings. Perhaps you need to preset it rather than run it on auto. You really need the advice of someone who knows that model. I think it is known as Sureshot in the UK?
Cheers
Ken

davidg · Jul 16, 2010

For anyone using a Nikon 4500/995/990 there's an excellent thing called the Cool-light SL-1, a ring-flash type thingy that screws onto the front of the camera. 99% of my moth photos are taken with it and it is one of the main reasons that I have never upgraded from the 995. Not produced anymore, I think, but worth looking out for 2nd hand.

David

Oleander · Jul 16, 2010

Oops, I wrote the wrong camera name! It should be 'PowerShot'. I'll have to explore it a little more, and maybe I'll find a way to take good pictures.

rob lee · Jul 16, 2010

Hi Kalle i have the G10 (previous model) & its well worth learning the many settings/menus. Like Ken said its probably a white balance issue, this is one of the many things on your camera that can be set manually if you wish. I found that with the 1cm close focus at times I was cutting out the light from the subject. To get around this i bought a Raynox close up lens that just clips onto the front of the existing lens & gives me a slightly larger image size than when the camera was at minimum focus distance but it achieves this at 10cm, thus allowing more light on the subject & less chance of "spooking" it. Its great for micros & i`ve also made a little snoot that throws the light from the cameras flash down on to the subject. Attached are a few recent examples.
Caloptilia syringella, Plutella xylostella, Chrysoteuchia culmella & a Coleophora sp. (any suggestions ?)

bkrownd · Jul 16, 2010

Since this thread continues to get attention...does anybody know of a detailed investigation of the macro capabilities of various current pocketABLE cameras? (I am still combing the macro forum...) We know how the telephoto end has been discussed to death. I would like to get a pocketABLE to take insect photos which are a bit frustrating with my D300 and zooooom lens, and hopefully it would also be wide-angle enough for habitat/forestscape photos. I am expecting that cameras with a smaller zoom range will produce better results at macro and wide ends due to less optical compromise, but that may not be the case.

Surreybirder · Jul 17, 2010

Hi, BK,
I don't know much about it, and it may be out-of-stock* but the Canon Powershot A620 might be worth a look. My daughter has a compact Canon digital which seems to be excellent but doesn't have super-macro, only macro. The A620 has a minimum focus distance of 10cms which sounds good. Others will have a better knowledge of this than I.
Ken

*I see that there are quite a few on eBay.

Surreybirder · Jul 17, 2010

davidg said:
For anyone using a Nikon 4500/995/990 there's an excellent thing called the Cool-light SL-1, a ring-flash type thingy that screws onto the front of the camera. 99% of my moth photos are taken with it and it is one of the main reasons that I have never upgraded from the 995. Not produced anymore, I think, but worth looking out for 2nd hand.

David

Have you mastered all the setting son yours, David? I find the instruction manual more than a little confusing! It tends to assume more technical knowledge (and patience!) than I have. I tend to leave mine on 'auto' mode because I get few 'failures' but I have a feeling that I could do better.
Ken

Surreybirder · Jul 17, 2010

davidg said:
For anyone using a Nikon 4500/995/990 there's an excellent thing called the Cool-light SL-1, a ring-flash type thingy that screws onto the front of the camera. 99% of my moth photos are taken with it and it is one of the main reasons that I have never upgraded from the 995. Not produced anymore, I think, but worth looking out for 2nd hand.

David

David, does the Cool-light need some sort of adaptor or does it just screw straight on to the front of the 4500?
Ken

Cristian Mihai · Jul 17, 2010

davidg · Jul 17, 2010

Surreybirder said:
Have you mastered all the setting son yours, David? I find the instruction manual more than a little confusing! It tends to assume more technical knowledge (and patience!) than I have. I tend to leave mine on 'auto' mode because I get few 'failures' but I have a feeling that I could do better.
Ken

Hi Ken,

I put mine on manual and into macro mode and then zoom in and out on the moth. I haven't got a clue what else the camera can do as I only ever use it for macro stuff!

David

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