Captive? moth......

Hi all,

This Poplar Hawk-moth image was taken after a moth trapping session earlier in the week. Obviously moth trapping is a great way to survey species that are present at a location. I was wondering what people think of taking photos of the trapped species.....is it captive? I guess it is , Or is controlled a "better" word? Also does such an image look too contrived?? Difficult subject I know, and I am not wanting to start an argument over the subject (I know these discussions can escalate rapidly! ).

Cheers,

Lewis.


Canon 50D
Sigma 150mm
Tripod + cable release
Small reflector
ISO 100
f14
1/13
DPP & CS3

Hi Lewis. Obviously done the following day in daylight. I woudn't worry about it too much most of them are done like that anyway. I do mine with ring flash on logs in the vicinity of the light and at the time of their arrival. - daylight gives a more pleasing effect I agree.
I think "controlled" is apt.
Nice shot anyway.
Cheers
John

Hi Lewis

Certainly cotrolled. I know very little about moth traps but to the best of my knowledge it does no harm and as moths often don't fly away you can move them by letting them crawl onto your finger or twig and replace them without touching those delicate wings!

Very nice image.

David

It's a good shot of the moth, but would it land on a foxglove out of choice in daylight? That is the question, I suppose. I think it should be M for manipulated.

Poplar would have been good to think of it !! JohnR

Thanks chaps for the quick reply!

I know what you mean David T about the perch, just tried to get something different from the moth on a tree trunk shots. Guess that is the main problem with the image in all honesty, looks unnatural...

Cheers,

Lewis.


John: Funny thing, I can't even think where the nearest Poplar tree is!! I hear they also like Willow

Forget the debate it is a superb capture with good comp & good details.
I would call it controlled.

Lee

it's a lovely shot. I agree that the issue is whether it would have ever landed on a foxglove naturally, so yes I suppose controlled is the right description. Nice work though.

Matt

Hi Lewis

Good grief aren't we getting a little precious here. If you hadn't said anything about the circumstances, nobody would have cared a jot what it had 'landed' on and in any case, why not Foxglove?

I can't see a Poplar Hawkmoth flying with his mates and just going in to land and one of them says, "hang on mate, it's a Foxglove, if you land on anything other than Poplar, Willow or Sallow those guys at NPN will blow a gasket"

It's a great photograph of an interesting species. A little 'battered' (lost a lot of scales which is common with trapped species) but still well composed and executed

Barrie

It's a lovely photo, and a label of "controlled" is certainly the way to go!

As Barrie says why wouldn't the Moth land on a Foxglove? Its a nice image and the fact that it is controlled is not a problem for me that is how a lot of these images are obtained...

Nice one

Great comment. Barrie. The point is though that the moth had been captured and then placed on a foxglove to be photographed, that is manipulation in my book.
The resulting image is excellent, but would the depicted scene have happened if the moth hadn't been caught? That is the question. Whether it should be taken seriously though is another matter entirely.

Ditto many of the above.. Moths DO occur in many places and not necessarily on there food plants etc.. Controlled, manipulated or otherwise it's a fine example of the moth and a well captured image. Nice detail and certainly worth having in the library..

Brett