Another photo experiment

This morning I tried a little bit different setup with the butterflies instead of my camera and it turned out quite nice, I think I'm getting closer to the effect I wanted (limited to no shadow, plus a fuzzy background).  A few years ago I read something about using a pane of glass a few inches above a sheet of paper to obtain the neutral background and to allow more room for the shadows to disappear, and to use a bit of clay to stick the pin into on the glass.  I used white paper but you can see it turned out a very nice soft gray which is perfect.  Here is the result, using the same camera and flash settings as last night:

Introducing my new macro photo setup

Drum roll please.....
(click on the photos for full impact!)

I need to learn how to better use all the settings the external flash provides, along with fine-tuning my camera settings to take the clearest photos, but I have to say that taking photos like these straight out of the box is making me quite giddy with excitement!  Eventually I'll have to get a second flash unit so I can have one on either side of the camera to cut down on shadows when taking photos of specimens.  For now, the single flash unit is working great and will be all I need for outdoor photos of live insects and flowers, as I'll just need it to provide a little extra lighting, and two flashes from different angles wouldn't look very natural in that setting.
My camera equipment is now as follows:
Nikon D80 camera
Nikon AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm lens (macro lens)
Nikon SC-28 TTL remote cord (for connecting to the flash from the camera when the flash isn't directly on the camera)
Nikon SB-700 Speedlight Flash
Manfrotto 293 tripod

First post of the new year

In my last post I talked a bit about some of the moths going into hibernation; I guess I followed their example!  Although I've been quiet with the blog, I have kept very busy these past months, and lately things are picking up even more.  I'm on pins and needles today because a package of camera equipment is due to arrive today, which will allow me to take better photos of all my butterfly specimens as well as insects and flowers in the wild.  Guess what I'll be doing this weekend?  Keep tuned in for photos!

Going into hibernation...

Yes it's been a while since my last post, this is what I've been up to...

Map of Okanogan County, Washington, showing the location of the Sinlahekin Wildlife Area and surrounding public lands, cities, and water features.  Map copyright Caitlin C. LaBar.

I have been spending nearly all my spare time lately working on a butterfly mapping project for the Sinlahekin Wildlife Area, with occasional breaks to work on two other butterfly-related projects.  It's a lot of work, but I greatly enjoy it, and have been very pleased with how my recent maps have been turning out.

In other news, I've had some questions from different people lately (well, if the last three or four weeks is considered "lately"... sorry about that!) regarding woolly bears and similar-looking caterpillars that have been crossing their paths.  I posted in late August about these caterpillars seemingly popping out of the woodwork this time of year and what you can do if you wish to keep them over the winter to see the adults emerge in the spring.  I failed to mention that there are several different species of tiger moths (family Erebidae, subfamily Arctiinae) that have similar-looking caterpillars, often confused with another type of tiger moth: the woolly bear, or Isabella moth.  To see the caterpillars of these moths for Washington, go to the image gallery on the Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA) website.   The most common caterpillars I have seen in this area other than woolly bears belong to the spotted tussock moth, (Lophocampa maculata) and Ranchman's tiger moth (Platyprepia virginalis).  I can't find my photos of these caterpillars at the moment, so you'll have to rely on these links for examples, along with what the adults will look like.

Late-season butterflies

On Sunday, September 4th, I explored the mountains northeast of Ellensburg with my parents. We primarily traveled along Naneum Ridge Road, between Schnebly and Colockum canyons. I expected to see a few butterflies, but not as many as we did. I counted 12-13 species, including at least a hundred female coronis fritillaries, and a couple dozen pine whites.
Nectaring on thistle in many areas:
Ochlodes sylvanoides (woodland skipper) ~20
Hesperia juba (juba skipper) ~15-20
Colias sp. 1
Neophasia menapia (pine white) ~20 males searching pine trees, 1 female
nectaring on thistle
Aglais milberti (Milbert's tortoiseshell) 2
Speyeria coronis (Coronis fritillary) couple dozen females on thistle, at least
a hundred flying along the roads and over meadows, generally heading downhill.
Near the headwaters of Coleman Creek:
Lycaena helloides (purplish copper) 1 male
Plebejus idas (northern blue) 1 female
Polygonia faunus (green anglewing) 2
Aglais milberti 1
All going nuts on what I believe was Ericameria bloomeri, "rabbitbrush goldenweed":
Plebejus anna (Anna's blue) 5-8 males, 3 females
Plebejus icarioides (Boisduval's blue) 1 male
Satyrium semiluna (halfmoon hairstreak) 1
Cercyonis sthenele (great basin woodnymph) 5-10
Ochlodes sylvanoides (woodland skipper) 5

I plan to write more detailed blog posts in the coming days about some of these species. For now, here is a sample of my photos from the day.

Ochre ringlet

Coronis fritillary

Coronis fritillary

Pine white

Pine white

Juba skipper

Juba skipper

Green anglewing

Green anglewing

Hillslope along Naneum Ridge Road

Woodland skipper & Anna's blue

Halfmoon hairstreak

Anna's blue