Through the labyrinth of precisely measured specimen boxes and perfectly regulated air-conditioning systems, we gained exclusive access to Natural History Museum invertebrate collections. Here the team showed us the art of focus stacking, a digital photo processing technique where multiple images are taken of the specimen at different focus distances, then merged together to create a final image with a huge depth of field.

Despite it being an initially a tricky technique to grasp; once you’d played around it a bit it was easy to see how you could spend a lifetime playing around with the settings! Subsequently, I found myself sitting there for hours choosing interesting subjects to position and photograph.

The Angela Marmont Centre is a fantastic learning environment, offering a vast pool of knowledge and technological innovation. It was amazing to be granted the opportunity to work with the talented staff and see such a variety of species up close. I learnt how to appreciate the tiny differences in detail, which I may have not even noticed in everyday circumstances.

Not only was the collection extensive, but each specimen presented itself with a hidden story. The Centre runs a drop-in identification service which has led to some unusual specimens travelling from far-off lands. But I’ll leave that as a mystery!

Images taken of specimens from the archive will be used to help illustrate and distinguish different species in our upcoming invertebrate species ID handbook.

Stay tuned for further updates on the project.

 Photographs by Liz Clark-Lim