This is a Ceanothus silkmoth. It is native to North America, and I think it’s one of the prettiest moths in existence. While butterflies usually rest with their wings folded above their bodies, moths rest with their wings outstretched and parallel to the leaf on which they’re perched. That makes photography much easier, especially when it comes to showing the beauty of the wings and maintaining focus throughout the insect. I used a 50mm macro lens for this shot, making the back of the camera -- i.e. the plane of the digital sensor -- parallel with the wings for maximum depth of field. My settings were 1/160, f/32, and 200 ISO. I hand held the camera and used a ring flash for even lighting. I actually photographed this in my kitchen because I had purchased the cocoon from an online supplier. In this way, when the moths emerge, they are perfect in every way. In nature, the wings become tattered in a short amount of time.
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