Name: Jan Rosenboom
Picture title: Jewel of the Air – Chrysis Ignita 
Category: Micro
Nationality: German
Occupation: Student

Jan says:
‘When I first saw a cuckoo wasp last year I just knew that this kind of wasp would be the perfect subject for an insect image. Their colours are so amazing, even with the naked eye, and yet so few people know they exist. This is always my goal, to share my fascination with the threatened insect world and hopefully convince people that they are not just important but beautiful too. 

After a long search I was able to get an individual of Chrysis ignita, one of the most beautiful species, from a collection. This caused a few problems. Firstly I had to clean the insect under the microscope as it was already several decades old. This meant removing dozens of millimetre sized grains of dust with very small tools – requiring a lot of patience and a very steady hand. Also, as the insect was old and dried out I had to "revitalise it" using a wet chamber overnight.

As always, it was difficult to position the insect under the microscope to find the perfect camera angle where all the interesting features (wings, head, colours) make for a perfect composition. This was achieved by mounting the wasp on a very small pin and spending several hours trying to find the right position and lighting. 

The last challenge with this image was the sheer size of the insect (1.5 cm), which is actually rather large for my kind of photography. In order to reach the desired magnification and be able to use my favourite objective I had to use panoramic stacking, which involved over 1,700 single images to create the final photo.’

Technical information:
Canon EOS 250D
Nikon M Plan 5 microscope objective
ISO 100
f/2.8
1/8sec
Technique: Focus stacking, reflected light.
Magnification: x50
Accessories: DIY lightening table.
Post processing:  Stitching in Photoshop, Topaz Adjust AI

Website: inspiring-nature.com
Instagram: nature.inspiring