Warren Krupsaw shares his technique and tips on how to photograph moths. Click on the link below to read more.

We all have our cross to bear; mine weighed 23 pounds. Camera on tripod, 4 other lenses, plus all the other stuff a well-prepared nature photographer (landscape & detail) should have on hand. And now, after more than four decades of serious photography, I wanted to ADD to it with the acquisition of a Canon G-9 as a back-up camera? I must be crazy (or so my wife thought).

That was three years ago. Now I’m using a G-11 for ALL my photography and find that it will accomplish approximately 90% of what my weightier, full-fledged system would do without making a bad back worse.

Fooling around with my new point & shoot (I prefer to think of it as “compose & shoot”), I held the camera in one hand and attempted to photograph the finger-tip of my other hand. Lo and Behold, it worked! The finger-tip was in focus so now it occurred to me it could be used to show scale as well as a setting for the proper subject.  Click here to read more.

http://www.thephotoargus.com/mothography-101/

I moved to Massachusetts from Texas in 2014, and I was amazed at the diversity of insects to be found in the woods and meadows here. My weekends have since been filled with long walks during which I have happily and somewhat obsessively photographed thousands of moths, butterflies, and caterpillars among other things.

A gallery of many of these photos can be found here: http://isobellefox.deviantart.com/gallery/

In 2015, I began raising and releasing both butterflies and moths, and it was during this time that I discovered the Caterpillar Lab (http://www.thecaterpillarlab.org/). During a visit to one of the Lab’s public outreach events, I overheard a conversation about “mothing,” and I had a bit of a eureka moment.
Why, after all of the years of photographing moths on various porches and on the walls of convenience stores and other obscure late night locations, had it never occurred to me to actively try to draw them to my own backyard?
It seemed so obvious!
I began my own mothing adventure in the early spring of 2016, with a modest set up: a single blacklight bulb and a bit of curtain cloth draped over a small greenhouse enclosure. I was immediately delighted with the results and spent many, many nights experimenting with different lights. As the nights grew warmer, I observed ever increasing diversity in the population of moths and other insects that would visit my light, and I became more and more interested. I eventually purchased a brighter, larger blacklight and moved my mothing station to the side of a storage shed. With a brighter light and a flatter, larger surface area, my success rate vastly increased. My mothing sessions usually lasted from sundown until around 12 or 1am.
During this time, I also began to make my first attempts at identifying the moths that I was photographing each evening. I gradually found several websites and a few facebook groups devoted to the moths of Massachusetts.
It was, in fact, through these groups that I became aware of National Moth Week and enthusiastically signed up to have my already nightly backyard mothing sessions included in the event for 2016.
For the mothing seaons of 2016, I have managed to tentatively identify 241 moths, though I still have many photographs that are in need of research – something I am enjoying during these long, grey Winter months.
During National Moth Week, I recorded 86 species. Among my favorites were Suzuki’s Promalactis Moth, a beautiful, brightly colored micromoth, and the Large Maple Spanworm, which was easily the biggest moth I saw all year.

I am definitely still an amateur in the often confusing field of moth identification. I do my best and attempt to verify my findings using various rescources in the form of books, websites, and social media groups, but even with the help of those who are vastly more knowledgable, I have no doubt that many of my identifications are erroneous. There are also plenty of moths which simply manage to defy even my best efforts. This is, however,
part of the draw of mothing for me: there is always something new to see and something new to learn!

***

The Hudson Highlands Nature Museum‘s new exhibit, “Marvelous Moths,” will open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 at the museum’s Wildlife Education Center, 25 Boulevard, Cornwall-on-Hudson (NY, USA).

 Visitors can view gorgeous moth photos from Jim des Rivieres and learn about the moth life cycle, anatomy and how moths differ from butterflies.

“Moths are as interesting as butterflies,” said Pam Golben, director of the Wildlife Education Center. “Some moths are masters of camouflage while others are decked out in dazzling patterns and colors.”

Opening weekend specials include crafts, refreshments for kids and “Meet the Animals” program at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.

This event is for all ages. Admission is $3; free for museum members. A ribbon cutting is scheduled for 12:15 p.m. Jan. 31.  For more information: go to hhnm.org or call 534-5506, ext. 204.    

 

Richard, a NMW supporter, published moth photos and stories during NMW. Here is the last NMW post from Richard’s  blog:

“Okay, this is it for the moth photo posts (for a while, anyway). I usually do a Single Image Sundays post right about now, but I’m supersizing it for you with a bonus slideshow of  select photos I’ve taken & shared in support of National Moth Week, which ends today.

This project motivated me to expand on the moth photography I was already doing, and I’m happy to report the results have been totally worthwhile. I’ve also enjoyed viewing a ton of interesting moth photos from around the country and have discovered the world of nature photography over at Project Noah (find me there as rsmithing).”

Read more and see Richard’s photos here.

Attracting Moths

In the last few years I’ve been trying to learn more about the moths we have at the farm.  Since moths fly mostly at night, I’ve been using both bait and lights to attract them so I can get a look at them.  Here are explanations of the techniques I use.  Read more

Donna Brunet has combined an educational background in environmental history and entomology into a full-time career as a free-lance photographer specializing in insect photographs. Her images are of wild, free-flying insects with the exception of a few moths collected at lights.

She is currently completing work as the author and primary photographer for a new butterfly and moth field guide which will be published by the Missouri Department of Conservation in 2013.

Her work has been exhibited in nature centers, public gardens, and businesses throughout Missouri. Fine art prints and greeting cards are regularly sold at her art gallery in Orr Street Studios in downtown Columbia, Missouri, and from her website at http://donnabrunet.com. Her recently designed growth charts decorated with butterflies and dragonflies have been extremely popular with parents and grandparents.

Orr Street Studios will host Donna’s slide presentation for National Moth Week on Tuesday, July 24th. Donna is the volunteer leader for the “Attracting Moths with Bait and Light” program at Rock Bridge Memorial State Park on Saturday, July 28th.

Donna licenses her images herself and through a stock agency. Images have been used in various publications and on interpretive displays in city and state parks throughout Missouri as well as in larger venues such as Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.

Participants will photograph moths and other creatures that come to lights at night. They will upload their photographs, tag them with date and location, and then help identify species. For how to participate in the study please see the  Simple protocol for monitoring moths.

The purpose of the moth survey is two fold:
1) To study lichen moth abundance relative to other species of moths, looking for pollution effect.
2) To collect preliminary data on what species of moths are located where, so that we can choose relevant species for phenological comparison. For phenology we are hoping to find moths that are easy to identify, fairly common, and widespread throughout Eastern N. America.

This event is open to everyone. If you would like to help organize study sites, refine research protocols, train participants, or collect data at a site, please contact us. We will post details here as they become available. Organizers include Discover Life, Encyclopedia of Life, Nature Research Center and other partners.

In addition, you can submit nightly or semi-nightly data such as Discover Life has been collecting in Clarke County for nearly 2 years. If you or anyone you know is crazy enough to do that, please please contact Nancy at Discover Life [contact information below].

Outreach, education, albums, and general information
Nancy Lowe — email: nancy@discoverlife.org — telephone: USA-404-272-4526

  Now the biggest piece of information I can give you is, read the Manual that came with your camera. There is a lot of info in there for the novice photographer. If that isn’t enough for you, I’ve complied a few links to help you out. Just take your time and try new things out, don’t worry we have all made mistakes & have taken crappy pictures.

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Macro Instruction

Simple:

http://www.beautifulbugs.com/beautifulbugs/howto.htm

This site has some very easy to understand information for the budding macro photographer.

http://macrophotographyforbeginners.blogspot.com/

http://www.macrophotographyforbeginners.com/

Same guy different sites

Advanced:

http://www.bmpt1.com/

Not a bad site, for some it might be a little too much. The Table of Contents is very helpful.

You Never Take Your Camera Off M:

http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html

First one finds their camera (or nearest neighbor), select the lens you are using, then the selected f-stop and finally the distance from subject. This bit of Java Script (or so I think its Java) will then tell you how deep the focus is.

For People With P& S Cameras

http://thehowzone.com/how/PS-Macros

Soften That Flash!

Homemade Diffusers can be made out of such things as milk jugs, Styrofoam cups, taping a piece of tracing paper over the flash and even bouncing the light off a piece of foam core or white poster board can help improve your moth photography. Search http://www.diyphotography.net for more ideas!

Here is a fun tip for those that use the on-board flash

http://content.photojojo.com/diy/diy-film-container-flash-diffuser/

For those that have a macro lens & an attachable flash here is a link

http://www.diyphotography.net/homestudio/blz/flash-mini-bouncer

Knowing Your Strobe:

http://photonotes.org/articles/eos-flash/ (Canon Users)

http://www.moosepeterson.com/techtips/flash.html (Nikon Users)

http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/ (Other Lighting Solutions)

Don’t forget to practice, practice & then even practice some more. You’re not going to be the Ansel Adams of insect photography overnight but one day you might have the skills as these people:

http://myrmecos.net/

http://www.insectphotography.com/

http://toddjdreyer.com/ (shameless plug)