He was one tough bug, literally and in editing. He was an Eastern Hercules beetle, a species of rhinoceros beetle, native the the eastern US. The distinctive horns identify it as a male. Despite its intimidating appearance, they are totally benign and tolerate handling with respect. They are also about the largest beetle in the US, measuring up to four inches in length.
I found this guy yesterday in a parking lot where I knew he wouldn’t last long, so I took him home and kept him in a planter where he recovered while feasting on some sliced apples. He really liked those apples. This morning I perched him on a stick and took a bunch of shots before releasing him into the neighborhood woods.
This was a four shot stack from my Canon R7 and EF 100mm f/2.8 macro lens, merged in Affinity and then processed in DT. He was so shiny that I had to shoot in natural light, and even then I still had to take a lot of time tamping down the gloss.
