Insect Photography

by Ginny Santora

Dr. Betty Faber, resident entomologist at the Liberty Science Center, presented the second lecture of the current season with the topic of "Insect Photography." Many thanks to Anita Brandolini for using her considerable influence at the Center and gaining Dr. Faber's agreement to lecture. Dr. Faber studied entomology first and photography of insects second, as she was most interested in natural history and documenting insect, primarily roach, behavior. She has appeared on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" a total of five times. She has also appeared on "Good Morning America" as well as local promotions, including a commercial for the Liberty Science Center.

The equipment Dr. Faber uses is the manual Nikon FM2 with 90mm and 105mm macro lenses. She also uses extension tubes and bellows. Using one tube she goes for a 1:1 magnification, . She will use three extension tubes when shooting in New Jersey, but fewer in the tropics since the insects are bigger THERE (thank goodness!). It is important to develop good arm muscles and be in good physical shape as Dr. Faber strongly discourages using a tripod. She recommends that you hand-hold your camera, get in close, and adjust the focus by moving the camera back and forth as needed.

Depending on the reflectivity of the insect, your depth of field will be approximately 1 inch. Always use a small aperture in the neighborhood of f/32 or f/22, but no less than f/16. You can fashion a double flash setup, using Plexiglas and plenty of gaffer's tape or duct tape to hold your flashes. Dr. Faber showed an example of what she uses. Putting your flash on manual speed, you can get a 3D quality at 1/5000 second. If you use a ring light, depending on the reflectivity of the subject, the ring may be visible as a reflection. Dr. Faber uses Nikon grid-type focusing screens, which are used for landscape photography.

A set of screwdrivers with Phillips heads also comes in handy. Plastic garbage bags are very helpful when it comes to keeping your camera dry, and those Ziploc bags can be useful in holding film or "bagging" stray insects. Take good notes and never try out new equipment for the first time on a trip or you run the risk of getting to your destination and discovering your equipment does not work. For keeping quality, the film recommended by Dr. Faber is Kodachrome 25 or 64. Pictures taken by her father in 1938 have retained their quality through the years. She generally uses two rolls of 36 exposures when shooting a subject. She cautions against using Agfa, as the film fades over time. Sometimes she will use film from Seattle Film Works when they send her freebies, but only when she is desperate!

Roaches are Dr. Faber's specialty, especially Trinidad roaches. Roaches eat a variety of items, including greens, wood, soap, and fish. You can use a flashlight fitted with a red filter with a hole in the middle to help you focus when you take their picture. In the tropics, you can get some good pictures of roaches in caves. Caves can be tricky, however, as they are humid, claustrophobic, and the floor usually slants downward. When shooting in the mountains, remember to take lighter equipment. Be careful when shooting slides of dissections. With flash, you need to be careful of reflections. Floodlights are more useful since you can see the reflections, if any.

In the New York/New Jersey area, you can find a myriad of insects around goldenrod. Some of the visitors are the locust borer, cirpid fly (mimics a bee), the flower beetle, flies, moths, Darkling beetles, crab spiders, and assassin bugs. Butterflies also like this plant since they are heavy with pollen and full of protein. Photographers with allergies need not worry as people are allergic to the lighter varieties of goldenrod. Milkweed is another plant that is attractive to insects. As we are all too aware, you can always find ants, such as carpenter ants and Trinidad ants. For those who are picky about their ants, there actually are about 30,000 species of ants from which to choose, so there is an ant for you! Peonies are also popular with bugs, especially aphids. The aphids secrete almost pure sugar water from feeding on the peony, which in turn attracts the ants. Insects always seem to be in motion, but try to get them at the moment they pause.

To successfully shoot your tiny models takes plenty of practice, and it also is important to know your subject. We are grateful for Dr. Faber's vast knowledge and her great sense of humor, which together made for an intriguing topic and a memorable evening!