Creative project Darkfield lighting

Adrian Davies shows us how he uses microscope techniques in photography

DARKFIELD lighting – a technique used by microscopists as well as close-up and macro photographers – is where light is shone through a semi-transparent or translucent subject, which is seen against a jet-black background. In darkfield images, the only light you see is light that has been transmitted through the subject. Subjects such as plants and leaves, small pond life, mineral sections and plastic objects work fantastically well for this technique, producing striking images.

The basic principle is to direct light at an angle from behind the subject, so that light shines through the translucent material without shining directly into the camera lens. I use black velvet behind the subject to provide a solid black.

Step 1

I have constructed a small table specifically for the purpose of darkfield photography of small pond life; it’s about 40cm x 30cm. For small pond life, I place the subject into a shallow glass or plastic dish or saucer. The dish is held in a piece of black card, with a hole slightly smaller than the dish, on top of the frame. Black velvet underneath the dish provides a solid black background.

There are two Nikon SR200 flashguns underneath the subject, angled in a cross pattern with the subject at the centre so that no direct light enters the lens.

Step 2

To prevent light spillage into the lens or the background, I make small snoots for the flashes from black paper. Before shooting, I turn off any lights in the room to prevent reflections in the glass. To help focus, I use a bendable lamp with a small but powerful LED on the end of a long goose neck, which can easily be positioned underneath or behind the specimen to emulate the light from the flash guns.

You will need to get the camera parallel to the dish. I generally use a 105mm macro lens to ensure a reasonable working distance to the subject, and try to work at an aperture of f/11 or f/16.

Step 3

One problem with the darkfield technique is that any speck of dust on the glass or in the water will glow bright white. Even with thorough cleaning of the glass, or filtering of the water with blotting paper or a sieve, there always seems to be some residual dust. This small dragonfly larva, collected from my pond, was placed carefully in the Petri dish, which was filled with filtered pond water. Despite the filtration, there are numerous particles in the water.

These visible particles can usually easily be removed using the Spot Healing Brush in Photoshop or Lightroom. With pond life, having some specks alongside the subject may make the image more attractive.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT A small damselfly larva. The debris in the water has been retouched using the Spot Healing Brush in Photoshop – a rather tedious process. A slice of the mineral agate looks beautiful when backlit. An immature newt.