Done it! The result is now in a new thread in Your Photos. I eventually did what Pentaxian450 suggested (flash a couple of metres away at 45 degrees + diffuser) and also added a white board on the floor to reflect white light upwards rather than brown light from the carpet. The moth, meanwhile, had moved down to about a inch above the bottom of the door, surrounded by dust, marks and imperfections in the paint surface, all of which contributed to a mammoth "clone 'em out" session yesterday evening.

The idea of an open ended lightbox is interesting. It's too late for this moth, which has now moved on, but a collapsible version (for easy storage) is now on the list of winter projects.

So thanks to all for your suggestions. It's been fun doing something outside my normal comfort zone.

Steve

A few days ago, this little thing set up home on the dining room door. My moth book says it is Ambliptilia Acanthadactyla which hangs around gardens and often comes in to hibernate. It stayed on the door for several days then moved on last night. Getting this picture took several attempts over a few days, thanks to the moth's preference for being close to the bottom of the door and the door itself being in a dim corner with wall on one side and cupboard on the other.

A stack of 14 shots taken with K3 + Irix 150mm macro and processed with Affinity Photo. Lighting was the big problem, this version was (dim) natural light, flash at top-of-door height angled down at 45 degrees, diffuser (thin polystyrene sheet) half way between flash and moth, white board on floor under moth. And the big surprise was the amount of marks and imperfections on what looks like a perfectly smooth, white door - it took ages to clone them out!

Thoughts, comments etc. welcome as usual.




Steve

+1 . The grandkids indoors is the only time I use the 35mm f/2.4 (on K3). Light weight, small enough, wide enough max aperture to use natural light in a well lit room, focuses quick enough - and cheap enough not to worry if it should somehow get damaged by a wayward child! It does the job.

Steve

Thanks. I've just been trying it out with an artificial moth (i.e. made from brown paper) on a door that's well out of the way of Mrs L. Diffuser is thin polystyrene - a random bit of packaging kept because it looked like it might be useful one day. The good news it that it definitely softens the shadows. The bad news is that for the real moth there isn't anything like a metre and a half at 45 degrees on either side before a wall or cupboard gets in the way.

But it's got a train of thought running... polystyrene reflector on floor by door to bounce light upwards, flash in middle of dining room at top of door height, polystyrene diffuser half-way between flash and moth, ad-hoc contraptions to hold flash and diffuser... probably best done when Mrs L. is otherwise occupied... .

Just got to hope that the moth is still there when it's time to do the photo shoot.

Steve

According to the British Plastics Federation, polypropylene has poor UV resistance. That's probably what caused your problem. Good chemical and fatigue resistance, though. I suppose 'archive' usually means 'kept in a dark cupboard', so perhaps UV was not a consideration for the manufacturer. And of course, what a business wants for archiving documents isn't in the same league as what a museum or art gallery needs for storing invaluable artifacts or delicate works of art.

Try archival polyester. Much more resistant to UV. I've not had problems with it. Like all plastics, though, there are many varieties of the basic type, so make sure it really is archival grade.

Steve

It took ages to clone out the dust and imperfections in the paint (having a dog doesn't help with the dust ). Life's too short do it to the shadows too!

Steve

Thanks folks, some interesting suggestions. The moth seems to have settled down for a long stay (although Mrs L. has other ideas) so I might have another go tomorrow. Too busy with a bonfire today !

Ambient light - possibly, but the room is never brightly lit even on a sunny day and the door is in a dim corner.

Reflected off walls and ceiling - doubtful, the door has a cream wall to the right and the side of a brown cupboard to the left, difficult to get enough reflected light to the moth.

Reflector - Definitely a possibility. Perhaps some experimenting first with a dummy moth on an easier bit of wall... (Mrs L. already thinks I'm a bit mad, so it will probably look like normal behaviour to her).

Long exposure - The moth actually does move. Not much, just a tiny twitch of a wing once in a while, can't see it from afar but definitely visible through a viewfinder at near 1:1. The picture is a stack of 6, each 1/3 sec @ f8, ISO 400. A wing was twitched in at least one of the 6.

Geared head - the thought did cross my mind, but it doesn't help with the shadows...

Here's the moth and door in its wider context, taken in daylight. A good place to hibernate, perhaps, but not for a portrait. Does it stimulate any more thoughts?




Steve

A plume moth has taken up residence about 6 inches from the bottom of the white dining room door. It would have been rude to ignore it, so the camera came out. The result is below. But the shadows.... I angled a couple of small LED lights to try to hide as much of the shadow as possible. It sort of worked for the wings, not quite for the body and not at all for the front legs.




So how would you have handled the lighting and shadows?

Available lights are some small LEDs, an LED panel light, the AF160 ring flash and a Godox TT350 that can be triggered off-camera. And nothing that might harm the moth, please, it's definitely alive and according to my moth book it will have come into the house to hibernate.

Steve

I suppose I should confess to having acquired a Manfrotto 410 geared head for macro purposes. Used, from Ffordes, who were very good at answering questions and checking proper functioning prior to purchase. I got fed up with trying to manipulate a ball head. So now it's gears for everything - the head for rotations, crossed Novoflex focusing racks for linear motion. Rock solid when clamped to a kitchen worktop .

Steve

Alternatively, expand the image so each square is fairly large, then take either A or B and progressively shield more and more of its surroundings (use your hands or any other convenient objects). You brain gradually adjusts the shade of grey as less and less of the surrundings can be seen. A gets lighter, B gets darker. When only the square can be seen, both A and B appear the same. Or at least that's what my brain does!

It does make you wonder why there is an obsession in some quarters with things like the ultimate in sharpness or perfect white balance, when the brain is going to reprocess what the eyes see.

Steve