Back to photostream

Hover fly with terminal fungus

Laowa RF 100mm f2.8 2x macro, Godox V860iiC, DIY diffuser

 

F8.0, Flash at 1/4 power. 34 frames focus stacked, magnification at 2:1

 

The fly died of an entomopathogenic fungus, visible as a creamy velvet layer over the abdomen. It died stuck to a flower bud which I picked and held in a fly tying vice. I then used a piece of white paper over the top and a little make up mirror underneath. I pointed my flash directly down on the fly using the paper as a diffuser/soft box and using the mirror to light the underneath of the fly. The flash was triggered using a wireless trigger on the camera. The background was left empty and since the light was coming from above and below rather than in front, it cause the background to be almost perfectly black. This was very much a DIY macro studio. Photos were stacked in photoshop.

2,637 views
18 faves
21 comments
Uploaded on May 25, 2020
Taken on May 24, 2020