Name: Katie Waddington
Picture title: Bee Wing Assembly
Category: Micro
Nationality: British/French
Occupation: Student

Katie says:
‘This photograph represents an intricate bee wing. It was taken in Cornwall in a studio at Falmouth University at the end of my first year of studying Marine and Natural History Photography in 2019. I have always been curious to see what different subjects look like under the microscope. One day I spotted a dead bee whilst on my way to a photoshoot and I picked it up and put it in one of my test tubes that I carry around with me for just such an occasion.

Once I placed it under the microscope I quickly realised that the wing would be too big to fit in a singular image. I came up with the solution of taking a photograph of different sections of the wing in the hope that in post production I could reassemble it. Each section is therefore made up of at least 30 images, focus stacked together. So when you think of it, this one photograph is made up of at least 150 images.’

Technical information:
Nikon D750
ISO 400
1/80sec
Technique: Darkfield and focus stacked with Zerene Stacker
Accessories: Remote shutter release 
Post processing: Zerene Stacker to focus stack the images together, then Photoshop to assemble the images onto one image. 

Website: katiewaddingtonphotography.com
Instagram: katie_waddington_photography