Stink bug - Up real close

[Stagecoach]

This is a further study of one of the Shield/Stink bugs types I shot the other night with the intention of seeing how cute they are up real close

I used 68mm of tubes on the 105mm at max magnification with the two SBR200s attached at the lens front. Getting in close with these is a balance between lighting power, underexposure and dealing with noise to try and keep highlights to a minimum on their shiny surface.

All shot at f22, ISO200.

No 1


No 2


No 3


Comments and suggestions are welcome as always.

Grahame

[Shadowman]

Very nice.

[deetheturk]

Well done Grahame,great detail and you managed the lighting well,not an easy task with bugs like these!

Cheers David

[Brownbear]

Well worth the wait!

My favourite is the 2nd image, just beautiful! It is not often that we get to see the underside of a bug.

I also love the first image for the incredible sharpness and depth of field and because you captured it feeding with its probiscus. (tack sharp) So the 2nd image is my favourite!

PS They are very cute!

[Marie Hass]

Really nice, Grahame.

I hesitate to call him "cute", but oh well. He is. Nice series.

Marie

[Stagecoach]

Very nice.

Thanks John,

[IzzieK]

I am with Marie...I think I have a problem with orientation...can you please turn them around so the heads of #2 and 3 are upright? Maybe it will make a difference...better.

[Stagecoach]

Well done Grahame,great detail and you managed the lighting well,not an easy task with bugs like these!

Cheers David

Hi David, I think I'll just start looking for matt bugs

Grahame

[Stagecoach]

Well worth the wait!

My favourite is the 2nd image, just beautiful! It is not often that we get to see the underside of a bug.

I also love the first image for the incredible sharpness and depth of field and because you captured it feeding with its probiscus. (tack sharp) So the 2nd image is my favourite!

PS They are very cute!

Hi Christina, Glad you told me what one of those 'tubes' is, I'm still trying to fathom what the second one's for. The patterns on the undersides of some of these critters are fascinating, here's an underside of No 1 in the last thread of these.



Grahame

[Stagecoach]

Really nice, Grahame.

I hesitate to call him "cute", but oh well. He is. Nice series.

Marie

Thanks Marie, I suppose there's different grades of cute in the bug world.

Grahame

[Stagecoach]

I am with Marie...I think I have a problem with orientation...can you please turn them around so the heads of #2 and 3 are upright? Maybe it will make a difference...better.

Hi Izzie, I tried that and it does not look right to me for some unknown reason

Grahame

[ClaudioG]

Great work again Graham! Only people who use a macro lens and all the tubes know what kinda control you need to hold all that,focus, stay in focus, get settings right and hope the bug doesn't decide to leave in a hurry. Number 1 is my favourite for orientation and how cool his " probiscus ?" Looks. Not your fault on 2nd two, i know what ya mean by when they seem wrong if you rotate them. They still great images.

[Stagecoach]

Hi Claudio,

These critters were fairly active and would only settle for a short time so you find you are continually moving the rig around chasing them. I was also using a right angle magnifier on the viewfinder that continually needed changing between 1x and 2x, 1x for framing, 2x for focussing on the eye.

So with the remote shutter release to operate, viewfinder to change, focus to adjust and handlight to move to provide light for focusing I have decided a foot operated remote release is what I want

Grahame

[bnnrcn]

Hi Grahame,details and colours are really nice in the photos but this is an ugly bug

[jcuknz]

Even though you have a pair of flash units either side of the camera they are quite small in the reflective angle of the bugs leg and to get rid of reflections you probably need to somehow, don't ask me how , organise a larger wrap-around light source. In photo #1 I can see two distinct reflections on the leg.
Again how you organise such lighting while maintaining your high quality is another question I cannot answer

edit ... perhaps a more powerful flash[s] in a large light box if the bug would stay there while you set it up.

[Stagecoach]

Hi Grahame,details and colours are really nice in the photos but this is an ugly bug

Thanks Binnur, I think it's 50/50 so far with the 'cute' description.

Grahame

[Stagecoach]

Even though you have a pair of flash units either side of the camera they are quite small in the reflective angle of the bugs leg and to get rid of reflections you probably need to somehow, don't ask me how , organise a larger wrap-around light source. In photo #1 I can see two distinct reflections on the leg.
Again how you organise such lighting while maintaining your high quality is another question I cannot answer

edit ... perhaps a more powerful flash[s] in a large light box if the bug would stay there while you set it up.

Jc,

The problem with a wrap around would be loss of the black backgrounds that I like to retain. I have had good success with a large diffuser fitted over a more powerful single flash shining light down at the subjects at 45 degrees but this is not so good when working with these where the lens to subject distance is only around 3 to 4 inches. At these short distances you need to get light above and under.

The two small Nikon SBR200s come with optional diffusers that I fitted for these shots and the resulting light area is quite small. I'm wondering about making a couple of kitchen towel balloons to fit to the fronts instead of the supplied diffusers, they would spread the light more. I'll give it a go tomorrow as the bugs are still where I left them.

Grahame

[Gigi71]

Awesome!

[AB26]

The colour, contrast, focus, lighting, it is all so beautifully done.

[Kaye Leggett]

Great shots and thanks for sharing the techniques used to achieve.