Photography

From Bugwoodwiki

Maier, C.T., C.R. Lemmon, J.M. Fengler, D.F. Schweitzer, and R.C. Reardon. 2004. Caterpillars on the Foliage of Conifers in the Northeastern United States. FHTET-2004-1. Morgantown, WV: USDA Forest Service, Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team; 151 p.

We photographed caterpillars and foliar damage in the laboratory where lighting and background could be controlled. For most of the images of large caterpillars, we used Nikon® camera bodies (N70, N6000, N6006) with Nikon® (105 mm) or Sigma® (90 mm) macro lenses. Magnification was sometimes further increased with dual-element diopters (Nikon® 3T, 4T; Sigma® Life-size [+5]). Subjects were illuminated with a ringlight (SunPak® DX-8R) or with built-in flashes on the camera bodies. Cameras were hand-held when they were used with a flash.

To photograph small (<10 mm in length) and sometimes medium-sized (10 to 15 mm in length) caterpillars, we used Nikon® camera bodies with a 60 mm Nikon® macro lens in combination with three Kenko® extension tubes (total length, 68 mm) and a Raynox® 24X dual-element diopter. Subjects were illuminated with a dual-head fiber optic system (Fiber-Lite®, Series 180) with color correction for daylight film. The camera assembly was mounted on a heavy-duty tripod head (Bogen® 3126) equipped with a focusing rail (Velbon® Macro-slider) for stability and fine adjustment. Vibration was dampened with a cable/electronic release.

We used Fujichrome® 100 or occasionally Kodachrome® 64 film. All but a few photographs were made from the color slides developed from these films.

The principal photographer was Jeff M. Fengler, who developed many of the photographic techniques.

The images in this publication are available through Forestry Images (www.forestryimages.org) and Invasive and Exotic Species of North America (www.invasive.org) websites via the numbers in the lower right-hand corner of the images.