How to Properly Photograph and Submit Images for Digital Diagnostics
SEE THE COLLECTING AND PRESERVING PAGE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
Introduction
For the purpose of this section photography is a form of documentation and can be considered a subset of “collection.” We are not concerned with photography for the purpose of aesthetics or recreation (although this does not mean you shouldn’t try to take photos that look nice).
Photographic Documentation Content
Any photographic documentation consists of two elements:
1) the subject in the photograph,
2) locality and other relevant information concerning the subject and the circumstances in which it was found.
If one of these elements is missing then the remaining element is worthless and the entire endeavor was a wasted effort. If you have the greatest photograph in the world of an insect, a photograph that shows everything needed to identify that insect to species, but don’t know when or where that photograph was taken, then the photograph, for the purpose of documentation, is worthless. Likewise, if you have a long and detailed account of specific circumstances surrounding an encounter with a specific insect, but the related photograph fails to provide any meaningful character by which to identify the beast, then you have wholly failed. See the Worthless Photo Documentation figure to the right.
This may seem harsh, but people tend not to record relevant information, like locality, at the time they take photographs, thinking instead, “I’ll remember it.” But they do not remember and the effort was wasted and photograph is worthless.
1. Subject in the Photograph
Insects and arthropods are generally identified in photographs based on their morphology, the outside appearance, structure, and coloration of the body. The presence of some arthropods can be ascertained based on characteristic structures they make such as dens, webs, and cases, or by the distinct evidence of their activities such as footprints, boreholes, or bite marks. Each of these pieces of evidence carries elements useful for identification called characters. Generally, the more characters that are available, the greater the accuracy of the identification.
Insects and arthropods tend to be small, about 1 cm (1/2 inch) or less, which can make photography difficult. Arthropods are also three dimensional so photographs from various angles may be needed to make an accurate identification. For any given piece of optical equipment, as magnification increases, the depth of field[1], the amount of the photograph that is in focus, decreases. If a picture is taken of a person with a mountain in the background, both can easily be in focus. However, at high magnification a picture of a 1 cm long fly may only show a portion of the subject in focus.
In the Depth of Field figure to the right, the depth of field is less than one centimeter, only the word Distenia undata, which is about 2 mm in depth, is fully in focus. Cameras that use an automatic focus may change the part of the picture that is in focus even when numerous photos are taken quickly and the camera and subject do not move. A common problem with autofocus is that the camera will focus the background when a small object in the foreground (e.g., a spider in its web) is what the photographer is trying to capture. In such cases the camera should be switched to manual focus.
Recommendations:
1. Get as much of the subject in focus as possible: Take many photographs if necessary and, if possible, preview the photos to check for focus.
2. Take photos from multiple angles: Think of the subject as a cube, try to get photographs of the front, back, top, bottom, and both sides. This increases the chances you’ll capture important characters and/or get them in focus.
3. Take photos at different levels of magnification: It may not be necessary for the subject to fill the screen in order to show details required for identification. Photos taken with less magnification increase the likelihood the subject will be in focus. A smaller photo of an in-focus subject may be more helpful than a large photo of a blurry subject.
4. Show scale: It is good to have some sense of the subject’s size. This can be easily accomplished by placing an object of known size next to the subject, such as a coin, pen, or pencil. Generally fingers or hands are not good (but they are better than nothing!) because fingers are different sizes, and if the finger is not at the same plane as the subject perspective can give a false sense of scale. See the Scale Markers figure to the right.
5. Place the subject in context: Take photos of the general area in which the subject was found, the plants it was found on, and/or any possible damage, structures, or evidence of activities that you think may be associated with the subject.
2. Locality and Important Information
The absolute minimum information that must be associated with photographs of a subject is an unambiguous location and the date. Feel free to record any other information that you think might be important or helpful to identify the subject or record its activities; such as time of day, plant the subject was on, observed behavior, etc.
The easiest way to maintain high quality locality information is to enter these data into a field notebook. This will save hours of fumbling around, trying to remember the difference between this field or that field, and will greatly reduce the chances of making a mistake. Incorrect information can be more costly than no information at all. You can even take a photograph of the information you recorded in your field notebook to keep with your photographs.
LOCALITY: Record the locality in an unambiguous way, “Field B”, “Plot 32”, “E3f2” or any other field numbers are, by themselves, unacceptable. Remember your photograph might get sent to an expert in New Zealand and/or it may be a useful record for years to come, long after the coded hieroglyphics have lost their meaning.
Always record:
1) State
2) County or Parish
3) Distance and direction to the nearest city or place easily found on a map
4) Latitude and longitude
5) Your name: to get credit and so people can contact you if necessary
6) Add information specific to the time and place, such as: “edge of newly flooded rice field”, “near ditch in corn field”.
If you don’t have a GPS device immediately available you can still obtain latitude and longitude information very simply. Using www.google.maps.com [2] find the location where you took the photographs (or where the subject was collected). Make sure you have found the correct location! Place your mouse pointer over the location and click the right mouse button. On the menu that pops up, click “What’s here?” The latitude and longitude will be displayed on the search bar at the top of the page: e.g., “30.41085,-91.177362”. The first number is the latitude[3], which ranges from 0 at the Equator, to 90 degrees at the North Pole, and -90 degrees at the South Pole. The second number is the longitude[4] which is 0 at the Prime Meridian (a line passing from the North Pole through the town of Greenwich, England to the South Pole). Longitude moves from the Prime Meridian 180 degrees to the east, and -180 degrees to the west[5] (both meet in the middle of the Pacific Ocean). Most of the contiguous United States falls within 25 to 50 degrees (North) latitude, and -65 to -125 degrees (West) longitude. You must add West or “W” if you report longitude as a positive number.
DATE: Writing a date that can be correctly interpreted is important. This may seem simple but it isn’t. For example what is the following date: 3/7/04 ?
July 3rd 1804, 1904, 2004, 2104, etc.?
March 7th 1804, 1904, 2004, 2104, etc.?
The standard arrangement of the day and month differs among people and over time. This can be a real pain if you are doing genealogical research or looking at specimens of plants or insects (that could have been collected over the last 100+ years anywhere on Earth by people of many nationalities). Just because you and all your friends write Month/Day/Year doesn’t mean someone else will read it that way.
The most unambiguous way to write a date is to give the day in numeric form, followed by the month written in letters, abbreviated or in full, and finally the full four digits of the year. Placing the month in the middle has the added benefit of separating the two elements of the date that are made of numerals.
Correct Examples:
7 November 1913
3 Jan. 1941
2 July 2018
It is also permissible to use Roman numerals to represent the month. This may be more appropriate if someone other than an English speaker will be using the data.
Correct Examples:
7 XI 1913
3 I 1941
2 VII 2018
Photography in the Field
Photography of live subjects in the field offers its own unique set of challenges. Here are a few tips and tricks.
1. Make sure your camera is on the Macro, or even Super Macro setting, if available. Remember that a photograph with a small in-focus subject is better than a photograph with a large out of focus subject.
2. Moving subjects can be especially difficult to photograph. It may be best to capture the specimen and hold it in your hand (see Handheld Subject to the right). Make sure it won’t bite, sting, spray, or kill you. If you are not sure, find a safe way to find out. Confining a subject to a cup or container until it calms down also works. Additionally, chilling the subject in a cooler full of ice or other cold place for several minutes will calm it down so leisurely photographs can be taken.
3. If possible, position or place the subject so that the background is light or solid colored. Anything will work, even a container lid (see Solid Background to the right).
4. If the subject is especially small, use a hand lens, magnifying glass, or jeweler’s loop for additional magnification. If increased lighting is needed, use a flashlight, mirror, or white background (see Additional Magnification to the right)
5. Preview all your photos to check for quality and clarity!
Photography in the Lab
The laboratory offers numerous additional opportunities to photograph a subject. Sophisticated systems, such as Auto-montage which is used for focus stacking[6], or a light box may be available (Focus Stacking Photography, right). If time and resources allow try to get the best photographs of the subject you can. You may need to clean the subject to remove dirt, and even (gently) arrange the subject to show characters or make it more aesthetically pleasing. Add a scale bar or place a ruler in the photograph with the subject.
In the absence of a digital camera, or in instances when digital cameras don’t provide enough magnification, you can use a flatbed scanner instead (see Scanner Photography to the right). Scanning the subject at high resolution allows you to “magnify” the specimen. This technique is called Scanography [7], or scanner photography.[8] Be sure that you don’t accidentally crush the specimen when you lower the lid! Placing the specimen in a roll of tape is a good way to keep it safe during the scanning process.
If a microscope is available, you may be able to take a photograph through the microscope with your digital camera or cell phone camera. Some trial and error may be involved, but often you can get surprisingly good results.
If you really want to have fun, consider 3D photography, it requires little to no additional hardware and is easy to learn. See the following pages for tips and tricks: [9] and [10].
Cell Phone Camera
In the field or lab a cell phone camera may be the handiest way to photograph something and cell phone cameras can provide surprisingly good photographs. However, cell phone cameras do have limitations so do not pass up the opportunity to obtain or use better photographic equipment if available. Cell phone cameras are surprisingly robust and will allow for external magnification. Jeweler’s loops, magnifying glasses, and even microscopes can be used with cell phone cameras to magnify subjects (see Cell Phone Photography, right). There are even third party accessories you can buy to add zoom and magnification to your cell phone camera.
Submission of Photos to Bugguide.net and Bugwood.org
Modern photography is relatively cheap and simple and photographs can be stored and shared at virtually no cost. Photographs can be used to obtain information (what is this?) and dispense information (this is what X looks like). There are several excellent online insect and arthropod identification services where volunteers are happy to answer, “What is this?” There are also several online insect and arthropod image repositories where high quality images are available to show “this is what X looks like.” One of each of these sites will be highlighted.
Bugguide.net: Insect and Arthropod Identification
http://bugguide.net/ “Identification, Images, & Information For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin For the United States & Canada”
This site is hosted by Iowa State University Entomology.[11] The concept is simple, images of arthropods from Canada and the U.S. are submitted at ID Request and available on the site. All images start at “Arthropod” and volunteers offer suggestions concerning the identification of the subject. Editors move the photograph from the general “Arthropod” to more and more specific categories until the subject has been identified to species, or the lowest level it can go based on the quality of the photograph.
Think of it as sorting into piles. At any given time thousands of photos are in their final pile (species) while many more thousands are in piles along the way (family, genus, etc.). The guide works both ways as well. If you are interested in looking at photos of a particular group, you can click Guide which begins with Class and continues through Order, Family, Genus, and Species.
To use Bugguide:
1. Create an account (free)
2. Select ID Request: Add Image. Your image must be in .jpg format. If you can edit the image on your own computer try to crop it so the subject fills the photo and try to keep the longest side of the image less than 560 pixels. If you can’t do that, don’t panic, it’ll be OK, just submit what you have. Before submitting, read the guidelines under the “Help” tab and follow them. If you don’t, you’ll get chastised. If you do get yelled at by one of the moderators, don’t take it personally, just try to follow the guidelines so that things run smoothly. Fill out the online form. This will be easy because you recorded everything in your field notebook and you can just transcribe it. You DID write everything down in your field notebook… DIDN’T YOU? Hit “Submit.”
3. Wait. You’ll receive an email about your picture every time someone makes a comment or changes its taxonomic status. Sometimes they’ll ask questions and you can reply to them by clicking on “reply to this comment” on the right side of their comment field.
Bugguide is free and friendly, but is run by volunteers and amateurs. Don’t be upset if replies are not immediate and exercise basic caution when receiving an identification. Check your photo against others on the site, check other webpages, books, preserved specimens, etc.
Bugwood.org: Specialist Identified Image Repository
http://images.bugwood.org/: University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
The bugwood network is the site of the Center for Invasive Species & Ecosystem Health at the University of Georgia. “The mission of the Center for Invasive Species & Ecosystem Health is to serve a lead role in development, consolidation and dissemination of information and programs focused on invasive species, forest health, natural resource and agricultural management through technology development, program implementation, training, applied research and public awareness at the state, regional, national and international levels.”[12]
Bugwood provides Image Archives[13] which hold high quality images of subjects identified by specialists. This site is an important and useful identification tool.
You can also contribute your images. Create an account (it’s free) and select Adding Images from the left menu and follow the instructions. This process is a little more involved than submitting to bugguide, but isn’t beyond the ability of the average computer user. When submitting your photo you’ll be asked for required information (photographer name, common name, genus, species, variety, country, etc.) and recommended information (host information, state, location, latitude, longitude, etc.). Refer to your field notebook for most of that information.
Photograph Legacy
Barring unforeseen tragedies, your photographs, especially those submitted to the sites above, have the potential to exist for many decades, even centuries, into the future. Over that time those photographs, individually or in concert with other photos, may be used for their initial intent or repurposed in any number of ways. Visit the Lost Lady Bug Project[14] to see an interesting and important use of photographs to study ladybug conservation.
Your photographs are a contribution to the future that may outlast you. Always work to take high quality photos and be sure that accompanying information is unambiguous and accurate.
First Detector Entomology Training Project
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