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Will Milne

Bug images experiment

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Managed to get out yesterday and collect some nymphs to test out a "new for me" approach.

 

I built some mini aquariums , here is the first tester image. Not sure what I think yet, so could use some input. Though I know I need to work on focus, these guys wont sit still:)

 

Lighting is cross-polarized flash.

 

IPB Image

 

Will

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Very, very nice Will. Lighting is great.

 

Focusing on Mayflys and Nymphs is a biatch as I well know. For me Im constantly torn between maxing magnification at 1:1 and backing off a bit to get a bit more DoF. The problem is their size and skittishness.

Not so small as to warrant tubes, which would increase magnification but reduces DoF further. Yet not quite big enough use tubes +300 prime like people use for dragon and butterflies but too large to make getting them within the effective DoF a major PIA!!!!!.

 

They seem to fall between all the cracks.

 

Lighting Im considering getting a Wimberly macro flashbracket. ATleast that way Im not always relying on natural light and atleast can keep SSs at 1/200th to avoid shake and movement blur.

 

re "aquarium"

 

I assume your collecting and bringing home?

Well done.

 

Have similiar thoughts but I question their survival given my driving time, as Im normally on the stream for a few hours and then almost a 2hr drive home. Atleast with my favorite stream.

 

Portable.

Ive considered bring a small clear one with me but wonder about glass/weight/size and depth.

 

Such a bloody problem but I can say yours is close.

A lazy susan to spin the aquarium might help. Save moving the rig or aquarium leaving only distance from lens to subject to contend with and subject movement.

 

the lighting imo youve got perfect

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Agreed- this is not as easy as I had planned:)))) lol- get bugs/put in mini auariums/fire away he thought:)). Glad you like the lighting it seem to work ok and is easy to setup- so thats a plus:) Ty for the lazy susan idea i'll try that.

This damsel was done with two flashes cross polarized so I was able to get f16 which seems a little better, plus I but a flash light on the bug to focus so its a bit more tight I think.

 

for collecting I am 1 1/2 hr drive from my little collecting river- two ice cream pails and a an ice fishing box half full of ice to get them home then into an aquarium that sits in a box with ice in it to avoid temp shock. The aquarium has a filter and three "bubblers" to keep the oxygen levels up. So far no fatalities.-

 

the Damsel-

 

IPB Image

 

Will

 

 

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Nice Will! I love the photos. Are you planning to keep the aquarium for sometime and rotate bugs in and out? I would love to see cycle shots. You planning on taking photos at different aquatic stages?

 

Great work.

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Wow! Will,

 

That stonefly nymph is awesome! Good job! Take care & ...

 

Tight Lines - Al Beatty

www.btsflyfishing.com

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Will, that stonely is best nymph photo I've ever seen. You are definitely on to something. There's something wrong if that isn't published somewhere.

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Nice job Will ! I'm looking forward to seeing more of these. Shooting them with cross polarized flash is a brilliant idea. I've never seen this done before. What are you using for flashes ? I would think it would be hard to keep them alive without recreating the temperatures, current and oxygen levels of nature. Different types of nymphs also prefer different sections of stream for various reasons. Stoneflies usually prefer a pretty strong current. Putting ice in the bucket is a great idea. I took Stoneflies home once and they were dead by the time I got them home. I think what you have so far looks great. I'd love to see some of the mayfly nymphs in their natural environment (underwater). Keep up the good work and keep us posted on developments.

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Those are great photos Will. The stone fly is just awesome - amazing clarity of detail. I really like this idea, keeping the nymphs and being able to track their progression. I was thinking about using a similar thing in the school where I teach - trying to get kids involved in entomology and fly fishing / tying. Could be a great way to start.

 

Look forward to seeing more ;)

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Ty for all the kind words:)

 

Jay -

 

Yep - I will be collecting and working through what I find- I,m hoping to get some "act of hatching " images along the way. Plus some other "lifecyle" type stuff.

 

Flytying-

 

I,m using a pair of nikon sb26's through a diffuser and then cross polarized. Mayflies are on the list:)

 

Dwiltshire-

 

I think thats a great classroom idea- especially if you can work in a field trip- I imagine many of the bugs, especialy pond ones are quite tolerant.

 

Will

 

 

 

 

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Wow ! The second stonefly shot is much better than the first. Better detail and brighter exposure. I think what you're doing here is ground breaking work. Both in photography and entomology. I searched the Internet last night to see if anyone else had done this before. There were nymphs in clear Petri dishes underwater and I found some great photos that were taken of an Isonychia nymph that had crawled out at streamside and went through the changes to an adult mayfly. There were no photos of nymphs shot in an aquarium in their natural environment. I did see something interesting that someone was doing with digital cameras to take photos underwater. They were using a small clear plastic aquarium with the camera inside the aquarium. They would partially submerge the aquarium to take underwater photos. The camera stayed dry. That might be OK with a small point and shoot. I don't think that I would want to do it with a high dollar DSLR. Anyway, I'll check back here to see what develops. Good Luck !

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