Greasewood Silkmoth - Agapema anona

Native to North America

*This is another insect from my collection. I have to relax it so I can get a dorsal shot of the wings.

comments (10)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

Hah, amazingly clean for such a hairy beast! Posted 4 years ago
1. Christine Young
  
  Lion
  
  Thanks...the eyes are pretty bad though (especially the one on the opposite side). Oh, and note the f-stop. Posted 4 years ago
2. 1. Ferdy Christant
    
    Lion
    
    Good choice on the f-stop! Now lock down the ISO to 100 if you're using flash. No need for ISO1600 or 6400 (other image) when using flash. Or is this using continuous light? Even then no need for a high ISO. Posted 4 years ago
  2. 1. Christine Young
      
      Lion
      
      Thanks...I am not sure if I used flash in this photo...Maybe. I used 2 Litra Cubes with softboxes for lighting continuous light. I also used my camera flash (with that big, lens-mounted diffuser) for some photos too. The camera chose the ISO and I set the f-stop. But, I will try lowering the ISO next time :). Thanks for the tips! I am learning so much from you. Posted 4 years ago
    2. 1. Ferdy Christant
        
        Lion
        
        Welcome! As a simple rule, when the subject is stationary, regardless of which light you use, ISO should be the lowest value, and locked. There's no reason to raise it as you can just expose longer.
        
        And since I know you use flash in the field most of the time, this means you should pretty much *always* have it at 100.
        
        Case in point your other butterfly image. Incredible composition, but the high ISO destroys contrast, color definition, etc. It's still awesome but you're needlessly sacrificing image quality.
        
        Got 2 Litra cubes now huh, told you they're awesome :) Posted 4 years ago
      2. Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        I love the Litra cubes. I think they will make a huge difference with aquarium photography. They are so much better than my other lights. I'm so impressed by them.
        
        How can I lock the ISO at 100 AND use f/16 consistently? Just by increasing my lighting to compensate? Or letting the camera choose the shutter speed alone? I don't know how to set ISO and f-stop at the same time (manually), but I'm sure it's in the handbook that came with the camera.
        
        What other butterfly image? This one?
        
        Posted 4 years ago
        
        Ferdy Christant
        
        Lion
        
        No, I mean this one:
        
        Note how ISO 6400 makes it a bit muddy, lack of definition, micro contrast and even some loss of color. That we will solve!
        
        I'm not a Canon user, but some ways to lock both ISO and aperture:
        
        In my case (Nikon), I simply set ISO to 100 and use aperture priority mode. Next, I set the aperture and the camera figures out how long to expose given this ISO and aperture. I don't need to do anything special for this other than setting the ISO. I suspect you may have some auto ISO setting enabled. Disable that, you should almost never use this.
        
        I'm thinking this should be possible with Canon too. If not, there Manual mode (M) where you can lock all 3 exposure values. Downside is that you need to trial and error the shutter speed.
        
        Hope you manage to find the settings, this may be an exciting improvement. To be very clear, your photography is excellent, it's just that your technical image quality can be even better by keeping ISO at 100. Posted 4 years ago, modified 4 years ago
        
        Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        Ohhhh, okay. Honestly, I don't notice any of those issues, but believe you.
        
        I do have auto ISO settings enabled. I need to find my manual and set aside time to read it. I really don't want to use the completely manual mode because it become more of a headache when dealing with shutter speed too. But, setting the ISO makes sense and would undoubtedly be a good idea. Thanks! Posted 4 years ago
        
        Ferdy Christant
        
        Lion
        
        I do want you to see this difference, otherwise we're discussing a non-issue :)
        
        Compare the butterfly to this other image of yours:
        https://www.jungledragon.com/image/93539/bears_head_tooth_fungus_-_hericium_americanum.html/zoom
        
        Note the fine details in the fungus. Sharp, micro contrast, very clear "definition". Comparatively, you can't "count the hairs" on the butterfly, it's a bit muddy. Could in part be because it's a dark subject, of course. Posted 4 years ago
        
        Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        Ah, yes. I can see the difference now.
        
        I glanced quickly at my camera manual and it doesn't look like I can choose both manual ISO and f-stop without using the manual mode. But, I'm going to read a bit more about it because I might be missing something as I only had 5 minutes to read it during our morning school break. Posted 4 years ago

The Condalia Silk Moth

''Agapema anona'', known generally as the greasewood silkmoth or Mexican agapema, is a species of silkmoth in the family Saturniidae. It is found in North America.

Info 3 0

Similar species: Moths And Butterflies

Species identified by Christine Young