Steve Myall gave an intriguing talk to the Club on British moths, dispelling many misconceptions that they are drab in appearance and “second-class” citizens to their butterfly companions in the Lepidoptera class of insects. With almost 10 times more species than butterflies and over 2500 species in the UK, the opportunity to see and photograph moths are immense……..if only we look hard enough.

Moths are loosely classsed by size into macro and micro categories and also whether they are day or night flyers. Night time is the most productive period to collect specimens using a light source mounted above a containment box. Steve outlined the equipment he uses including a 100mm macro lens and tripod to record images both outdoors and indoors under more controlled conditions.  All images were shot using natural light with manual focus and the subject placed against a wide variety of colourful backgrounds. Depth of field is critical and a small aperature (f/14 typically) is used with a one second exposure time.

The end resut was a stunning collection of images showing the beauty and diversity of moths, supported by detailed narrative and some amusing anecdotes. Steve’s passion for the subject was evident as was his knowledge and experience gained over many years from his early schoolboy days as a avid caterpillar collector. His enthusiasm has tempted us to see moths in a totally different light.