An odonate exuvia was photographed against a pure white background using the “Meet Your Neighbours” (MYN) technique.
This specimen is a member of Family Libellulidae (Skimmers), possibly a species in the Genus Celithemis (Pennants).
80mm (120mm, 35mm equivalent) | ISO 200 | f/16 | 1/180 s | 0 ev
A much closer crop of the preceding photo reveals some of the personality of this species. The aspect ratio was changed from 3:2 to 4:3 for better composition.
80mm (120mm, 35mm equivalent) | ISO 200 | f/16 | 1/180 s | 0 ev
The Backstory
This specimen was collected by Andy Davidson near Richmond, Virginia USA. Andy is a graduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University working on a research project entitled “Predator-Prey Interactions in a Changing World.”
Tech Tips
The following equipment was used to shoot the macro photographs featured in this post: Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera; Fujifilm MCEX-11 extension tube; and Fujinon XF80mm macro lens minus the lens hood. The camera was set for both manual exposure and manual focus. That’s right, a switch on the camera body is used to set the type of focus. It’s a Fujifilm thing.
A Godox X2TF radio flash trigger, mounted on the hotshoe of my X-T1, was used to control two off-camera external flash units set for radio slave mode.
- A Godox TT685C Thinklite Flash for Canon Cameras (manual mode), fitted with a “Vello Bounce Dome (Diffuser) for Canon 580EX II Flash,” was used to light the underside of the translucent white plastic background; the top of the flash unit was ~30 cm from the bottom of the white plastic.
- A Godox TT685F Thinklite Flash for Fujifilm Cameras (manual mode), fitted with a Lastolite Ezybox Speed-Lite 2 flash modifier, was used to light the subject from above.
Adobe Photoshop CC 2017 was used to sharpen the image.
Copyright © 2019 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
Tags: BoG Photo Studio, exuvia, Family Libellulidae (Skimmers), gear talk, Genus Celithemis (Pennants), Meet Your Neighbours, studio photography
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