Allotopus rosenbergii - closeup

Specimen. 40mm from abdomen to head, minus the mandibles. Originally from Java. The common name "Golden Stag Beetle" is ambiguous, as it may also refer to the Australian "Lamprima aurata".

comments (2)

William Bodine

Lion

I love the photograph. Technically and esthetically supreme. I would love to learn more about your workflow and equipment. Some technical questions.
Are you using flash or continuous lighting?
Are you shooting vertically or horizontally?
What was your nice green background?
How many slides did you take for stacking?
Did you actually use slabbing?
Are you cleaning the insect in a sonic bath or is most the cleanup done in post? Posted 4 years ago
1. Ferdy Christant
  
  Lion
  
  Thanks so much! I have a very hefty article that explains my setup:
  https://ferdychristant.com/my-journey-into-extreme-macro-8ddef548e9f3
  
  Answers to your questions that are not covered in the article...
  
  "How many slides did you take for stacking?"
  It is variable for each photo above, but likely most of the photos above are in the 80-150 photos range as the subject is fairly large, hence magnification is low-ish.
  
  "Did you actually use slabbing?"
  No, I haven't used slabbing at all, yet. It's definitely something I might try soon. I think for a subject like the above, it's not really needed, as there's little chance of parts overlapping. Slabbing likely makes the biggest difference with hairy subjects.
  
  "Are you cleaning the insect in a sonic bath or is most the cleanup done in post?"
  For quite a while, I didn't clean subjects at all, only in post. But since a few months, I now do it every time. I'm still learning but here's a few methods I use:
  
  1. A simple hand blower to blow away loose dust. Tiny brushes to brush away dust with a bit more force.
  
  2. A very effective method: rock the insect back and forth in warmish water with dish soap. You'll be surprised how much dirt you'll find at the bottom of your cup. I don't recommend this approach for very hairy subjects like bees, the hairs never seem to get back in their natural position.
  
  3. Contact lens fluid. It's a wonderful fluid as its a passive cleaner of almost anything (grease, dirt, spores), whilst in the case of an old specimen, it also makes it flexible again. When I use this, I soak the insect for 24 hours. There's no harm in doing it longer. When you take out the insect, do brush the insect again to remove the dirt that got separated yet may still be on the surface of the insect.
  
  4. Decon90. Consider this an escalation strategy. This is a powerful chemical which you need to dilute with water and you can't soak your insect in it for a long time. This is an option for when your insect is very old and dirty, and you have nothing to lose.
  
  5. Butylglycol. This is a highly dangerous chemical, it immediately vaporizes and you need to protect your skin, eyes and take care of ventilation. It is to solve a very specific situation. Some insect specimens were pre-cooked in an oven, to harden them. In this process, some of their body fluids come out which are then also cooked and attach to the surface in a way near impossible to remove. I've tried it twice, and honestly, it wasn't very successful.
  
  If the above is too much, just start with the dish soap option, it works well in many cases. Have some small brushes and applicators to rub of dirt. To see what you're doing, it helps to have one of those high magnification loupes with built-in light.
  
  Hope this helps? Posted 4 years ago