English: Experiment: This specimen has previously been photographed and uploaded to our account. www.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/14589580124/ and www.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/14404813170/

The difference is that I have cleaned the specimen by rehydrating it overnight floating on foam in a tupper ware container of water and then vigorously washing it in hot soapy water by dunking the specimen on the pin into another plastic container and shaking. The specimen was rinsed under the faucet, blotted on a paper towel and then dipped into Acetone to replace much of the water. At that point it was subjected to compressed air which quickly dried the hair. There is a slight bit of matting compared to the original, but you will notice the eyes are nicely saturated and dark now and the pollen and dust on the specimen is largely gone. Will be doing this with more specimens in the future. The comparisons are even more dramatic when you consider how much time I spent on the first pictures to photoshop out a lot of the major dust.

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Photography Information: Canon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, Stackshot Sled, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash in Styrofoam Cooler, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200