Weevil Beetle

Took this late last night in the kitchen .

[IMG]http://i43.tinypic.com/eg5pc4.jpg[/IMG]

Is there anyway I can stop the flash from being so harsh on shiny beetles like this one? Any light just seems to bounce off them

Thanks John, It was actually found on the window outside - so it could have been from the neighbours house or off the huge pile of firewood we brought home.

Oops I forgot to mention that I used the built in flash - I think I might have a look at flashguns very soon .

Lovely little critter.

There are a few ways of diffusing the light with the inbuilt flash. They are a bit fiddly, but can work.

Putting something over the flash is easiest, but what you place over it depends on how much light you want. I've stuck everything from paper to a piece of tea towel (!) to diffuse the light and it does work, when it doesn't fall off.....

Alternatively, try something along the lines of Charlotte's DIY Pringles diffuser (search for 'Pringles' on the forum). That works well, but is a little unwieldy when trying to get into those small spaces the bugs love.

I've just ordered one of the battery powered ring lights which might have worked well for your weevil photo. I'm not 100% certain how effective it will be, but they are so cheap on Amazon at the moment they are worth a try. The purists might scoff, but they seem an effective way of getting additional soft light into small spaces. I'll let you know when I've tried it out.

I'm considering an external flash, but whilst that will allow you position it more accurately you will probably still need some sort of diffuser for macro work. Unless, of course, you can get one that allows varying flash output, but I know very little about flashes so will leave that to someone more experienced.

I have plenty of pictures that require sunglasses to view as well!

One of the big advantages of external flash for macro work is that you can have it at a different distance from the subject than the camera.
I generally find holding mine at arms length on a P-TTL cable is quick & easy, whilst giving a good light.

For diffusing your in-built flash Cigarette papers work quite well as they have a weak adhesive that will hold them in place, and multiple layers can be applied to attenuate the light.

It does look very much like a Vine Weevil, in which case "lovely little critter" doesn't apply, believe me. "Horrible little pest which will destroy all your pot-plants" is more like it

The adult beetles don't do much harm - just munch on the leaves. The problem is the grubs which, as John points out, eat the roots and kill plants. Half of my pot plants died mysteriously last year and these were the problem.

Back onto the flash question though:
I built a DIY diffuser for my flashgun. It's essentially a four-sided pyramid with a tissue paper bottom (about 2/3 the size of an A4 sheet). The inside is coated with tin foil to bounce the light to the front. It works well for difussing the light and avoiding the worst of the shine on insects. My wife laughs at me when I put it on the flash but it does help...

You could try and build a similar one for a built in flash if you're feeling creative.

Even more rough and ready is a folded hankerchief (fold as many times as necessary) draped across the inbuilt flash.

regards
Bernard

Cheers for all the suggestions guys - definitely some creative ones! I'll have to try and make something later on tonight and give it a go .

and JAK adds:
the Weevil and squash it. You might never forgive yourself if you don't!
By all means get your photo first, priorities after all!

John

Haha !