Beetle - Chloridolum laotium

*Pinned specimen

comments (8)

Ferdy Christant

Lion

Uhm, wow? One of the shiniest I've yet seen. Posted 2 years ago
1. Christine Young
  
  Lion
  
  I really struggled to photograph it. It's pure shininess. Posted 2 years ago

Mike Melton

Lion

Beautiful! Posted 2 years ago
1. Christine Young
  
  Lion
  
  Thanks, it sure is a gorgeous species. Posted 2 years ago

William Bodine

Lion

I must be like the crow that is attracted to shiny things because these are eye catching colors. For color display, beatles can't be beat. Posted 2 years ago
1. Christine Young
  
  Lion
  
  Lol, I agree. I keep picking them to photograph because of their colors, but their shine is tough for me to manage! Posted 2 years ago
2. 1. William Bodine
    
    Lion
    
    I know that I am not unique with my struggle to battle the light reflection that shiny iridescent beetles have. I usually employ a small DIY light diffuser box with several layers of tracing paper or a frosted tube to spread the light out and use additional lights to get to those darker areas. In the field I have tried flash diffusers and reflectors but will leave to others to share their technique with this challenging problem. Try this link to one of my favorite macro photographers Allen Walls. https://www.allanwallsphotography.com/blog/2019/6/6/macro-photography-lighting?rq=lighting Posted 2 years ago
  2. 1. Christine Young
      
      Lion
      
      I think I probably need some more lights (with diffuser boxes). I use 2 LitraTorch cubes with soft box diffusers and a reflector for indoor photography. Sometimes camera flash too. The cubes are good, but get really hot and don't last long before having to be recharged. I think having a 3rd cube would probably help.
      
      With shiny subjects especially, I struggle with giving enough light to show details in focus, but not have it be a reflective mess, lol. I am learning with each attempt and am lucky to get advice from people like you and Ferdy. <3 Posted 2 years ago