Name: Dr Tony Cooper
Picture title: Common Shieldbug Egg Cases
Category: Insects
Nationality: British
Occupation: Geologist

Tony says:
‘I found a fallen leaf with shieldbug eggs by a flowerbed in my garden. I watched and photographed the eggs as they hatched and the Common Shieldbugs (Palomena prasine) emerged.

Once they’d hatched, I took the leaf with the egg cases inside and photographed them using focus stacking and flash. With the macro lens on bellows I was able to obtain a high magnification, but it meant that the depth of field was very shallow. As a result, it took 28 images to get a satisfactory stack. I processed the files in Combine ZP and then cropped and tweeked the contrast and sharpness in DXO Photolab3.

The main challenges with this sort of photography are focusing and vibration. Using a geared tripod head helps with the framing and the bellows have a built-in focus rail. Using flash in a darkened environment also helps prevent blurring.’

Technical information:
Nikon D7100
Canon 35mm f/2.8 RMS thread bellows macro lens
ISO 100
f/4
1/60sec
Accessories: Tripod, Olympus OM bellows with Nikon adapter and RMS adapter, 2 flashguns.
Post processing: Processed from a stack of 28 jpgs using Combine ZP spotted and balanced in DXO Photolab3.

Website: TonyAlabaster