Stick insect egg

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morgan
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Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2008 3:59 pm
Location: UK

Stick insect egg

Post by morgan »

Please excuse the crude way of mounting this egg (superglue to hand!....egg that wont stand up!....job done!....badly LOL)

This egg reminds me of an Egyptian urn.
I was surprised to see the metalic blue hue on the top section.

Sungaya inexpectata
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Charles Krebs
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Post by Charles Krebs »

Very nicely done!
How about a few details on how it was photographed?

acerola
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Post by acerola »

I thought at first the glue is part of the eggs. It's a very interesting picture. Good details.
Péter

morgan
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Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2008 3:59 pm
Location: UK

Post by morgan »

Info on the above photo.....

Nikon D200, Mirror up and rear flash @1 second
EL Nikkor 50mm 2.8 @ 5.6 reversed onto bellows
22 images using milling table and stacked with Helicon Focus
Slight crop

Next time I will glue a support onto the rear of egg so as not to be seen.

Thanks all.

rjlittlefield
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Post by rjlittlefield »

Beautiful image and excellent technique -- really a lovely photo! :D

Acerola's comment brings up an interesting point, that viewers may read more into an image than the photographer intended.

Most insect eggs do get glued down, crammed in a hole, or otherwise fastened in one place.

But stick insects are special because they just drop their eggs and let them fall to the ground, bouncing off leaves and twigs on their way down. (My rearing containers used to sound like a gentle rain, when the gals were really getting into it.)

So, if you could make it work, a good way to photograph one of these eggs might be to find some photogenic dirt or ground litter, just drop the egg into it, and shoot the whole mess as it sits, no glue.

It's hard to do that with a horizontal camera.

But maybe you can fasten your milling table to a piece of plywood or something and tip it up to shoot down? (Just be sure it doesn't fall!)

--Rik

Harold Gough
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Location: Reading, Berkshire, England

Making Insect Eggs Stand Up

Post by Harold Gough »

Evolution was not on the side of the photographer with that species!

However, I have found that a very fine paint brush, moistened with water, can be used to moisten the 'base' an insect egg (of a species which normally attaches them to a substrate: leaf, etc.), such that, when the egg is manouevered so that it 'stands up', it will remain so after the water rapidy evapourates/is absorbed by the substrate.

Harold
My images are a medium for sharing some of my experiences: they are not me.

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