A stunning macro photograph showcasing the rarely seen phenomenon of moth eyeshine has earned recognition in the prestigious GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. German photographer Ivo Niermann's captivating image of a noctuid moth, with its compound eyes blazing in otherworldly golden light against a deep blue background, demonstrates both technical mastery and scientific fascination with nocturnal insect biology.
The photograph captures the tapetum lucidum effect, a reflective layer behind the retina that causes eyeshine in various animals when light hits their eyes. While this phenomenon is well-known in mammals like cats and deer, it's less commonly recognized that insects and spiders also exhibit this striking optical effect. Niermann's image took runner-up honors in the Other Animals category, highlighting the extraordinary visual possibilities that exist in common nocturnal creatures when viewed through the right lens.
The technical challenges of capturing insect eyeshine required innovative solutions and precise execution. The difficulty lies in positioning the light source nearly coaxial with the camera lens, essentially in line with the optical axis, which standard macro flash setups cannot achieve effectively. To overcome this limitation, Niermann constructed a custom LED light source specifically designed for this shot, allowing him to position the illumination exactly where needed to bounce light back from the moth's reflective eye structures.
For his equipment setup, Niermann chose the Canon EOS R5, a mirrorless powerhouse that combines 45-megapixel resolution with sophisticated autofocus capabilities and robust performance. The camera's high resolution proved critical for extreme close-up work, where even the tiniest features need sharp rendering. The R5's 5,940 Dual Pixel CMOS AF II points provided exceptional focus accuracy, essential when working at magnifications where depth of field can be measured in millimeters.
Niermann paired the EOS R5 with a Canon 180mm f/3.5 macro lens, a specialist optic designed specifically for high-magnification work. He enhanced the setup further by adding a Raynox DCR-250 close-up lens attachment, transforming the already capable macro lens into an even more powerful magnification tool. The DCR-250 is particularly well-regarded among macro photographers for its exceptional sharpness and minimal chromatic aberration.
The camera settings reveal the delicate balance required for this type of specialized photography. Niermann shot at ISO 1000 and f/5.0, settings that demonstrate the careful compromises needed for nocturnal macro work. The relatively high ISO suggests he was working with limited light despite his custom LED setup, likely to avoid disturbing the moth's natural behavior or overwhelming the delicate eyeshine effect with excessive illumination.
The f/5.0 aperture choice is particularly noteworthy, as it's relatively wide for macro photography where photographers typically stop down to f/11 or smaller apertures to gain depth of field. Niermann's aperture selection suggests he was either prioritizing faster shutter speeds to freeze any movement or deliberately choosing a shallower depth of field to isolate the moth's glowing eyes and antennae against the smooth, dark background. The Canon EOS R5's 8-stop in-body image stabilization would have been invaluable at these extreme magnifications, where even slight camera movement from breathing can cause blur.
The resulting image succeeds both as a scientific documentation and as compelling visual art. The moth's eyes dominate the frame with an almost supernatural quality, while the soft focus on the body and the deep blue tonality create an atmospheric, otherworldly feeling. The careful exposure preserves detail in both the bright eyeshine and the darker surrounding features, showcasing the photographer's technical skill in managing extreme contrast.
This photograph serves as an educational tool, revealing biological adaptations that most people never witness. The eyeshine effect in insects requires nearly perfect lighting alignment – your flashlight or headlamp beam needs to be almost exactly in line with your eyes to see it. Niermann's custom lighting rig solved this technical challenge, effectively reproducing a phenomenon that occurs naturally but is rarely observed by casual observers.
For macro photography enthusiasts, this image demonstrates that the most compelling subjects aren't always exotic species in distant locations, but common creatures viewed in uncommon ways. The work showcases how innovative lighting techniques and careful technical execution can reveal hidden aspects of the natural world that exist all around us, waiting to be discovered through the photographer's lens.
