 | 
Format
For most people, I strongly recommend photographing insects with a good 35mm camera. The resulting high quality negatives/transparencies ensure the results of your hard work and travel will be well preserved. I am a strong supporter of digital cameras, and currently use a Monolta RD 3000 with it's interchangeable 50mm macro lens. For immediacy and especially if you only plan on using the imagery for on-screen applications, a good digital camera is a great way to practice. The amount of information captured on good film is still my choice if I want to use an image for wider applications including print media. Of the various film-based formats, 35mm provides the best combination of affordable and relatively compact camera bodies, lenses and accessories suitable for close-up photography.
Body
I originally started my adventure into insect macrophotography using a light Minolta X-700 body. I later switched my setup to the heavy Nikon F4 body for added durability helpful in often adverse field conditions. Nikon also provided first rate lens options and supported a 1/250th second synch speed for flash photography.
Lenses
The Nikon 105mm macro lens provides me great optics with the added options of auto-focus and through-the-lens (ttl) exposure calculation for flash photography. When I need a little extra magnification, I'll add a 1.4x teleconverter between the body and the 105mm lens. Nikon offers a 50mm and 200mm macro lens although I do not own these. I find the 105mm a great all-purpose lens for most "decent sized" insects. In Hawaii, many insects fall below this standard size range. Lately, I've been experimenting with reverse mounting a 50mm lens on the end of my 105mm. This technique works wonders for photographing tiny insects although requires a tripod/studio setup and plenty of light to focus on a cooperative specimen.
Flash
Based on some technical considerations, which I'll discuss later, I nearly always opt to shoot with a side-held Nikon SB-24 flash unit using a ttl determined exposure. I used to use a ring flash mounted at the end of my lens although you often end up with shadowless exposures if you can't control the angle at which light hits your subject. Knowing this, it still took equipment failure in the jungles of Ecuador to force me to abandon the convenience of my ring flash. Using Nikon's SC-17 cord allows you to move your flash off the top mounted hot shoe and creatively position your flash without sacrificing any technical functionality such as ttl exposures. Through-the-lens exposures are a heaven-sent feature for insect macrophotography allowing for calculation-free setup.
Film
Film selection is really a personal decision once you understand a few distinguishing characteristics. I always shoot with slide transparency film because of the ability to evaluate colors directly on the source film. One of the biggest considerations in film selection will be the ASA/ISO rating. The lower the ASA value, the high the quality of the image recorded to the film media. This is due to a more densely packed layer of light sensitive material requiring more light to correctly expose the film. Various film types will carry their characteristic color and tonality biases. I used to shoot with Kodachrome 64 or 25 before switching to Fujichrome Velvia 50.
Shooting Techniques
Photographing insects is an excellent way to study their behavior. In order to find good subjects, one technique is to plonk yourself down and start to look around you. Usually, you will be amazed at how many insects and spiders start to move as they feel comfortable with your presence. I prefer the experience of shooting in the field rather than bringing specimen into a studio setup. There is no substitute for knowing where and when to look for insects, but the "plonking" technique usually pays off. Developing a repertoire of what attracts various insects such as water, flowers, light, minerals and decaying matter can also be a quick way to get yourself close to potential subjects. Once you've located your specimen, spend some time observing its behavior and aim to capture the act. Having your camera ready to shoot will help avoid losing the shot as you fumble around with settings. Composing and focussing are the two main tasks. As you compose the frame, be aware of the lighting and color characteristics of the background. Probably the best method of focussing is manually. Rough focus your camera on a subject at similar distance to your specimen then swing over to your subject and quickly compose the frame. Holding the flash at a desireable lighting angle, rock the camera back and forth to achieve good focus before shooting the frame. Good technique requires plenty of practice and experience. Bracing yourself and holding your breath might help the process.
Technical Discussion
Your insect macrophotography will benefit from a rudimentary understanding of the definitions and relationships between depth of field, aperture and magnification. The amount of the photograph that appears in focus is known as the depth of field. The greater the magnification, the shallower the depth of field. As you view your insect subject through the viewfinder of your camera, you have to realize that you will usually end up with more in focus in your final photograph. You should also be aware that this increase in focus will appear 1/3 in front and 2/3 behind what you are currently focussing on. The aperture or f-stop setting of the camera determines how much this increase will be. If your aperture is wide open (small number-more light) you will have no increase; however if you shoot stopped down (large number-less light) you will get a considerable increase in focus.
The problem with using small apertures (f32) especially in conjunction with desirably slow speed films, is the tremendous amount of light required to correctly expose the frame. Because most insect subjects benefit from magnification and a good portion in focus, you will often want to shoot with a flash to provide adequate illumination to correctly expose your slow film. A flash unit is an invaluable "portable sun" when held close to the subject. In conjunction with through-the-lens (ttl) exposure calculation and matrix metering, your flash will render a high percentage of correctly exposed images. Through-the-lens exposure control of your flash unit takes all of the time consuming calculations and guess work out of setting the exposure. Set your camera on manual at the top synch speed for the camera (1/250th second for the Nikon F4). As you shoot the frame, the flash fires and automatically turns off at just the right moment to deliver enough light to correctly expose your frame based on the cameras light metering of the scene. The brief burst of blazing bright light effectively determines the speed of the exposure allowing you to successfully hand hold your camera and flash. If you shoot with a small aperture, natural light usually has little to do with the lighting of the final image. One drawback to this method is the frequent appearance of jet black backgrounds. Try to make sure you have some background objects in close enough proximity to your subject to benefit from the light of the flash. Here is where the extra hands of a helper can be valuable to position foliage in the background of your scene as you compose and shoot.
I hope this page answers some of your insect macrophotography questions and inspires you to venture forth and observe the miniature world that crawls, hops and flies around us every day.
