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Archive 2016 · Here's a focus stacked robber fly

  
 
Photozack81
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Here's a focus stacked robber fly


I found this little guy in the pool. He didn't make it. But, I didn't want him to go off into the great beyond unremembered. So I took a picture.

Actually it was close to 50 pictures.

D7200, Nikon 105mm f/2.8D on a couple of extension tubes
1/250, ISO200, diffused flash at manual 1/2 power.

Processed in lightroom, assembled in Zerene stacker.





© Photozack81 2016


Robber fly





© Photozack81 2016


Closer crop




Jul 26, 2016 at 05:29 PM
LordV
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Here's a focus stacked robber fly


Lovely stack - great detail
Brian v.



Jul 27, 2016 at 12:33 AM
e6filmuser
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Here's a focus stacked robber fly


LordV wrote:
Lovely stack - great detail
Brian v.


I agree. Could you confirm the aperture?

Haroldf



Jul 27, 2016 at 03:06 AM
dugaut
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Here's a focus stacked robber fly


Nice work.

I spend a little time in the summers doing landscape and macro and with macro, given the challenges with depth of field, I've tried the stacking method.

How do you get the subject to remain still for 50 shots? Or if you're photographing flowers and there is some wind don't you have issues with subject movement?



Jul 27, 2016 at 04:32 AM
e6filmuser
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Here's a focus stacked robber fly


dugaut wrote:
How do you get the subject to remain still for 50 shots? Or if you're photographing flowers and there is some wind don't you have issues with subject movement?


All subjects which would be mobile in life are dead when huge numbers of shots are taken for a stack. Sometimes two to four shots of a living insect are achievable, e.g. in cold weather.

Harold



Jul 27, 2016 at 04:48 AM
Photozack81
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Here's a focus stacked robber fly


e6filmuser wrote:
I agree. Could you confirm the aperture?

Haroldf


In a focus stack, the aperture doesn't really matter so much. The depth of field is determined by the final stack. All the aperture really does is control the end sharpness, as aperture does play a role there. Remember at macro distances the depth of field is miniscule, often less than the width of a human hair. That said, the aperture I used for these was for f/11. I chose that aperture for two reasons. 1, the 105d puts out a very clean image at that aperture, and 2, it's a tiny bit deeper which let me cut the number of shots required by a not insignificant amount.

---------------------------------------------

e6filmuser wrote:
All subjects which would be mobile in life are dead when huge numbers of shots are taken for a stack. Sometimes two to four shots of a living insect are achievable, e.g. in cold weather.

Harold


Harold's right on the money with this one, more or less anyways. One trick that some use is to cool a bug down and then do your shots, let it go. I've never had good results with that, although I have tried it. I occasionally find a cooperative live subject but many of my best macro stacks were with bugs that I found either floating in the pool, or otherwise dead. I will NOT kill a bug to take a picture of it. Nope nope nope nope nope.

This picture illustrates why moving uncooperative subjects are no fun. The stacking software can attempt to correct for some movement but results may vary.



© Photozack81 2016


Living subject, you can see movement between shots



Edited on Jul 27, 2016 at 10:55 AM · View previous versions



Jul 27, 2016 at 10:51 AM
Photozack81
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Here's a focus stacked robber fly


This is another bee I found, this one wasn't alive at the time. Much easier to do a stack



© Photozack81 2016


not living subject



Edited on Jul 27, 2016 at 10:55 AM · View previous versions



Jul 27, 2016 at 10:52 AM
Photozack81
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Here's a focus stacked robber fly


This caterpillar was alive for both stacks I'm including here. This worked because he was content to chill on the leaf for several minutes while I shot off the stack frames.




© Photozack81 2016


Live subject





© Photozack81 2016


Another stack




Jul 27, 2016 at 10:53 AM
Photozack81
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Here's a focus stacked robber fly


dugaut wrote:
Nice work.

I spend a little time in the summers doing landscape and macro and with macro, given the challenges with depth of field, I've tried the stacking method.

How do you get the subject to remain still for 50 shots? Or if you're photographing flowers and there is some wind don't you have issues with subject movement?


I've never tried setting up a focus stack on a flower outdoors in the wind.

My mom is a big flower gardener and has a greenhouse that is suitable for this, and there's always one type of flower or another that's been cut and brought in her house so it's easy to do on those as well. I'll include an example.



© Photozack81 2016


stacked flower





© Photozack81 2016


dandelion stack





© Photozack81 2016


closer crop




Jul 27, 2016 at 11:00 AM





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