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Post by trehopr1 on Oct 2, 2021 10:27:24 GMT -8
Dang, you must have a pretty incredible boss to put together something that exquisite for him.
I have to say your mounting skills with beetles are exceptional. I think I too have similar skills with beetles but, they just aren't a priority so much as Lepidoptera are. Beetles can take time if you want to make them look aesthetically pleasing.
On the other hand, I also like scientifically prepared beetle collections too where the legs are neatly tucked in at the sides.
My Coleoptera holdings are half aesthetically spread and half scientifically pinned as I have gotten specimens from 3 different beetle ccollections.
Anything that I personally catch is spread aesthetically. I've never had the time to attempt spreading any of my scientifically pinned beetles so, I will likely leave them the way they are since they are all perfectly intact and with full data.
Little of both worlds !
Outstanding frame, symmetry, and presentation !!
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Post by panacanthus on Oct 2, 2021 13:25:17 GMT -8
Dang, you must have a pretty incredible boss to put together something that exquisite for him. I have to say your mounting skills with beetles are exceptional. I think I too have similar skills with beetles but, they just aren't a priority so much as Lepidoptera are. Beetles can take time if you want to make them look aesthetically pleasing. On the other hand, I also like scientifically prepared beetle collections too where the legs are neatly tucked in at the sides. My Coleoptera holdings are half aesthetically spread and half scientifically pinned as I have gotten specimens from 3 different beetle ccollections. Anything that I personally catch is spread aesthetically. I've never had the time to attempt spreading any of my scientifically pinned beetles so, I will likely leave them the way they are since they are all perfectly intact and with full data. Little of both worlds ! Outstanding frame, symmetry, and presentation !! Thank You!! I should probably explain a little better though! For one thing I should have said boss(es). For the past 22 years I've worked at a large family owned machine shop run by a wonderful husband and wife led team. After working there for a year or two I gave them a rather simple sunset moth(pair) display for Christmas. The next year it was a couple Morphos. After a few of these gifts they became very interested and wished to have larger and more elaborate displays. At that point they offered to pay for these requests. As much as I love to give displays to friends and family, there is only so much most of us can afford to "give" away! The custom shadow box frames are very expensive, not to mention the specimens add up and there is a lot of time involved. So, the display I posted was a commissioned piece. I've now made approx. 15 displays for them. I'll post photos of a few of their other displays. Again sorry for the poor quality images. I don't have good photos of these. This is an even larger mixed beetle display. Only photo I have. You may notice some duplicates to the other mixed beetle display I posted earlier. That's because when I made that other one for them they were planning on giving it as a gift, so I wasn't concerned about duplicating species. However once they received it, they decided to keep it instead of giving it away!  A couple smaller, more specific beetle displays...   Walking sticks...  Tailed Silkmoths (frame is hand painted antique bronze on this one)...  One of their many butterfly displays...  |
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Post by panacanthus on Oct 2, 2021 13:31:16 GMT -8
In this instance they asked me to just "cram" as many different butterflies into one large display as possible! So that's basically what I did! Not my preferred style but it's what they wanted... Borders are hand painted "antique bronze" (actually cut out of thin foam board). Data for all specimens was recorded separately as labels did not work well in this case!  |
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Post by nomihoudai on Oct 2, 2021 13:34:50 GMT -8
This is beyond belief. They are of incredible quality. Thank you for sharing.
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Post by trehopr1 on Oct 2, 2021 13:53:33 GMT -8
I agree with nomihoudai !
What more can I say...
Just stunning.
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Post by trehopr1 on Oct 2, 2021 14:26:08 GMT -8
Here is one of my Lepidoptera drawers which I pulled together this past spring. I show this one along with 5 others to guests for that "shock and awe" value. I remember it took me about 6 months just to gather enough specimens together. All the while I was thinking "symmetry" and/or balance was paramount. Then I laid out the blueprint in my head (while at work); and over a week I gradually and methodically seated the specimens in the arrangement you now see. VERY time consuming but, a labor of love... So, I have a pretty good feel for how much of oneself can get invested in elaborate displays !  |
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Post by bandrow on Oct 3, 2021 9:41:00 GMT -8
Those are some spectacular photos ! The lighting, colors, and details are astounding to me... I'm actually feeling embarrassed by the Android phone photos that I post. Also, your preparation style on these megasomas is enviable and I almost want to go back and rework my own megasomas after looking at your pictures !! Really great stuff. Keep the great pictures coming whenever you feel the urge to show us something else from your spectacular beetle collection. Thank you!! That means a great deal. I really appreciate the comments. I must admit, however, that I’m not using any special equipment. I know very little about photography. I set the insect drawer on my kitchen counter because the lights are pretty bright there and I’m just using my iPhone 11pro to take the photos! Regarding the Dynastes request, I’ll see what I can do! WOW!! I was searching to see what camera setup you are using to get these beautiful images - and it's a cell phone?! I knew the cameras on those were getting really good, but this is amazing. I have an Android that takes images just a bit better than I could draw them myself!! Great photos, great preparation and wonderful displays - all top notch!! Cheers! Bandrow |
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Post by Adam Cotton on Oct 4, 2021 4:05:55 GMT -8
I take photos with my old mobile phone camera. The phone is too old to use to make calls as the signal technology has progressed in the past 10 years but the camera is good, and much easier and faster to use than an SLR on a tripod.
I believe the most important factor is actually the lighting.
Adam.
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Post by alandmor on Oct 20, 2021 7:40:10 GMT -8
Yes, they are nice photos with even lighting. Just curious with overhead kitchen lighting as you describe, how do you avoid shadows of yourself, the camera or shadows beneath the specimens, which are minimal, for example in your Megasoma photos? I've tried similar set ups for photographing whole drawers without much success.
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Post by panacanthus on Oct 20, 2021 8:44:28 GMT -8
Yes, they are nice photos with even lighting. Just curious with overhead kitchen lighting as you describe, how do you avoid shadows of yourself, the camera or shadows beneath the specimens, which are minimal, for example in your Megasoma photos? I've tried similar set ups for photographing whole drawers without much success. I’ll try to describe the lighting situation better! The lights consist of 6 ceiling mounted led flood/spot lights, perhaps 4 feet apart. I can’t remember what the beam angle was. They are on a 12 foot high ceiling which helps the light to disperse and blend together from the multiple bulbs. Then I simply set an insect drawer on the kitchen counter but I do tilt it up at an angle to help avoid shadows from the camera or my hands. I don’t do anything special to prevent shadows under the specimens but I do have the fine foam from Bioquip in my drawers and that helps greatly to disperse the light and soften and blend the shadows. I do also sometimes use the zoom of the camera so I can be a bit farther back if necessary to further prevent shadows from myself or the camera. |
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