Student: Hailey Hughes, Undergraduate Student in Biology, University of Northern Iowa
Research Mentor: Dr. Ai Wen
Macrophotography: A Closer Look at Our World
My research plans for this project includes the use of stacked macrophotography to survey the insects that are present in the local prairies around the University of Northern Iowa under the supervision of Dr. Ai Wen. Within this survey I will be documenting various insects and their unique morphological traits. Macrophotography is an important technology for all sciences to have a better understanding of what is being studied through observation. I will be using a DSLR camera, Zerene software to stack the photos, and a Stackshot Macro-rail. As a final product I plan to create a technical manual giving instructions on how to run the equipment.
This will ensure that many students after me will be able to continue the project and assist other UNI faculty if they need to utilize the macrophotography equipment. A technical manual produced will be vital to creating clean images that can be used for observation as the settings for various sizes and textures change with each insect. This project is enhancing many areas of importance such as my technological skills, scientific reasoning, and providing me with an ecological perspective.