Lantern bug / lantern fly

Lantern bug / lantern fly is among my most favorite macro subjects. Whenever I find one, I  spend hours and hours photographing it, or just admire its spectacular beauty!


New catches from Maliau Basin. Managed to find only 2 new species to add to my collection.

Pyrops sultana


Pyrops sultana


Pyrops shiinaorum shiinaorum(?) Mating! Lucky me. More Bugs Porn here.


Pyrops shiinaorum shiinaorum(?)



Pyrops pyrorhyncha


Pyrops pyrorhyncha


Also Pyrops pyrorhyncha but covered in white powdery wax. From Endau Rompin


Pyrops pyrorhyncha


Pyrops spinolae  Natural light.


Pyrops spinolae


Pyrops whiteheadi from Danum Valley. Reflector used.


Pyrops whiteheadi


Pyrops oculata 



This one has many parasitic files on it!

Pyrops oculata

Pyrops oculata. A 100% crop from another picture:


Pyrops siderea. from Danum Valley.


Zanna nobilis nymph.  Full flash.


Zanna nobilis nymph


Adult of Zanna nobilis, Perak, Malaysia. Finally found one after slightly more than 3 years after I found a nymph!


Zanna nobilis


Zanna nobilis and a Polyrhachis sp. ant.


Zanna terminalis nymph, Selangor, Malaysia


A Zanna terminalis nymph molting. Selangor, Malaysia


A newly emerged Zanna terminalis adult, and three nymphs. Selangor, Malaysia.


Zanna terminalis adult. Selangor, Malaysia.


Pyrops intricata


Pyrops intricata


Pyrops intricata


A nymph of Samsama chersonesia Distant 1906 (ID credit: Jerome Constant)


The adult of Samsama chersonesia Distant 1906


Other Fulgoridae I have come across:

Fulgoridae - Dichoptera sp.


Dichoptera sp.


Fulgoridae: Penthicodes variegata


Fulgoridae: Polydictya sp,


Fulgoridae - Scamandra hecuba, Stal, 1863. ID credit: Jerome Constant


Scamandra hecuba, Stal, 1863.

Plamp

What is a plamp? Well, a plamp is a flexible wire with clamps attached to both ends. Like this.


This one was given to me by Sunny from the Butterfly Circle forum :). If you want to check out great butterfly images or to know more about these beautiful insects, click here.

It is an extremely useful contraption that will come in handy in close-up and macro photography. Clip or tie one end to your tripod and the other to the stem of the flower you want to shoot. This will not only hold the flower/subject in place but will also greatly reduce the subject movement due to breeze. You get the idea? I am sure you can think of many other ways to put this cool gadget to use.



Thanks to the plamp, photographing this black and yellow cicada was a breeze even when it was quite windy!


The captured image:


You can buy a ready made plamp on-line, or you can DIY one. What you see above is about 2 feet long (the 6 mm diameter blue coated wire), with 2 inch clamps at both ends.



You will have to strip off about 2 cm of the polyethylene coating/insulation on both ends of the wire before you can hot glue the bare ends to the clamps. You can use cable tie too if you want to, or a combination of both. Finish it off by heat-shrink wrapping the joint areas and voila, you have got yourself a professional looking DIY Plamp.

Diffusers and reflectors

When shooting macro / closeup with  natural light, sometimes you need not just a reflector, but a diffuser as well.

First, a little bit about diffuser and reflector.

Diffuser and reflector set. White translucent fabric (left) is great for diffusing harsh direct light. The cover (right) has 4 colors: silver and black (underside) and gold and white inside. Of course, you can turn it inside out easily.


When to use which side? Here's an excerpt from Amazon site:

Ardinbir Studio 22" 60cm 5 in 1 Round Collapsible Disc Photo Reflector/Diffuser Kit: Gold Silver Black White Translucent Set
Technical Details
- Silver increases the specular highlights and yields a high-contrast image. Its perfect for video, product shots     and B&W photography
- Gold produces a natural, golden fill that is great for sunsets or indoor portraits
- White produces an even, neutral-colored bounce light that works beautifully as a fill light source
- Black is used as a flag to block light or can be used to subtract light
- Translucent fabric is used to diffuse light, producing a broad light source and a soft, wraparound effect

It was mid day and under partial shade, and a little bit of direct sunlight made it through the canopy. I didn't have a commercial diffuser with me but I used a 3mm thick foam sheet as my DIY Diffuser (right hand).


 From a different angle. Diffuser on right hand and reflector on left.


Let's see what kind of difference a diffuser make.

No diffuser used. Note the hotspot on the top side of  eyes and also abdomen


With a diffuser, no hotspot (Pygmy dragonfly photos courtesy of Derrick)


Comparison: