I have tried for years to photograph the inside of a tortoise egg during various incubation and development stages with very poor results. Any advise or direction?
I have used a Fiber optic light for back lighting in a darkened room. The Fiber optic illumination can be very very bright without bring heat to the egg. I have not tried, but understand some diode light accomplish the same thing. I stopped fooling with it, as I satisfied my curiosity, and it doesn't make infertile eggs any better. It's not like I need the incubator space for a bazillion giant tortoise eggs, hahahahahah. I'll see if I can find what I got and put an image in this thread.
I've seen pictures here on the Forum of the egg still sitting in the medium, in the incubator, and a small flashlight pressed up against the opposite side of the egg. Made it very easy to see the veins. But I've never done it.
Back lighting is going to be your friend. You may want to set your camera on a tripod and/or use the timer setting to avoid camera movement and get the best results. I don't know what camera you use, but if it has lens stabilization make sure you shut it off before setting a camera on a tripod or it goes nuts. This way your hands are free to adjust whatever light source you are using. Even better if you can use live view on an LCD screen to ensure proper exposure.
I use a fiber optics flashlight used in the medical field. You can buy on line. It doesn't heat up very quickly. I also attached a picture of a Russian hatchling at 40 days. Was a catastrophe egg break and I tried to salvage the hatchling. It didn't make it.
- I am trying to capture this particular egg, I can see two distinctive babies. This would be a first for us and would like to get pictures at this stage for documentation, etc.
Try this: lights completely off in the room. Place the fiber optic flash light on the back of the egg. Take your iPhone, with flash turned off. Let it auto focus, then snap picture. When I have used my "real" camera, I've been unsuccessful. I take all egg pictures with my iPhone. Might be worth a shot.
Hi! I turn most of my lighting out and use this $3 LED flashlight and my iphone. I don't have the perfect picture but I've been able to see enough so far using these two things. These are probably the best photos I've been able to get. I've noticed if it's too dark in the room, my photo is grainy. I then try turning on a lamp or opening the blinds a little. I've not had good luck with my nice Cannon camera. It's too bulky and I'm doing this by myself and don't want to crack and egg. The flashlight and phone are small enough to fit into a cracked incubator. Would love to see what you take!