Insect on top of glass stage

[wbodine]

I have a bunch of smaller beetles from a collection. I don’t want to pin them all, but want a varied background. Has anyone ever placed the specimen on a horizontal glass sheet and shot the specimen vertically as it sits on top of the horizontal glass so you have a background underneath the glass without any glass reflection.

[Olympusman]

Yes, I do this all the time. I shoot on a sheet of glass raised above colored background paper onn a copy stand, with light on both sides angled to provide even shadowless lighting. I also have a black card mounted on the front of the lens to prevent reflections of the camera showing up in a reflection.

Mike

[Olympusman]

Here's my setup -

I have two different heights of glass. The pill bottles and film canisters are glued onto the glass with an adhesive called GOOP (which I strongly recommend just on general principles - nice stuff to have around). I had been using incandescent lamps, but switched to LED lamps because they ran cooler. I color balance the camera using a white sheet of paper and the One-Touch White Balance feature in the camera.

Mike

[wbodine]

Mike, thanks for the glass set up. Tell me why you have the dark square around your lens and do you place the specimen directly on the glass or above it on a pin?

[Ramos Kenneth D]

Pill bottles are something that I have an overabundance of these days, I need to try this. I have a similar set up to this that I now use, seeing as how age and diabetes keep me from getting around as good as I once did toting heavy photo gear. I use a Spot Imaging stainless steel boom stand which could suffice as a good boat anchor and a Meiji FD mount focusing block, 20mm pole mount, for a dSLR. To that I have an EOS 7D with a Sigma f/2.8 EX DG 105mm macro lens, which is now out of production having been replaced by one of the same but with internal focusing. Mine is the older model, I've had it for years. Every so often I will screw a Canon 250D close-up lens to the front for a much closer take of things.

[Olympusman]

Sorry for the delay. I had a major computer crash and am just now back on my feet. The black card on the lens is to address reflections of the camera on the glass.

Mike

[Olympusman]

Oh, and I place the specimen directly on the glass.

Mike

[Lou Jost]

Cross polarization can reduce the reflections of the insect on the glass.

[dolmadis]

Here's my setup -

The pill bottles and film canisters are glued onto the glass with an adhesive called GOOP (which I strongly recommend just on general principles - nice stuff to have around). I

Mike

Hi Mike

I took a look for GOOP on my local Amazon and found that there is a big range. Which do you use? Thanks, John

[Olympusman]

I like the Plumbers GOOP. I used to use GE Silicon, but I haven't seen it around for a long time.

Mike