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Archive 2010 · High Mag Butterfly Focus Stack Tutorial
  
 
Goldenorfe
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · High Mag Butterfly Focus Stack Tutorial


a series of shots showing how i shoot a high magnification butterfly head focus stack.
all 5 frames of stack are shown which have been converted from raw files and just resized for web.
stacking was performed by zerene stacker and on layers with masks in ps
http://zerenesystems.com/stacker/

there is a free program combine czp that is also very good -
http://www.hadleyweb.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/CZP/Installation.htm


to start shooting i hold the stem with perched butterfly in left hand, holding a leaf between fingers to give background colour.
the lens is suported by my thumb or fingers and slid along to change focus points as frames are shot.
everything is therefore kept steady,if my hand moves slightly so does the stem and butterfly, which means all frames are quite well aligned.

thanks to Pete for taking these next 2 shots, obviously i couldnt

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4150/4985796589_0708b74f19_b.jpg

resting lens on thumb for support, the blue male butterfly is the one i was shooting

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4088/4986397696_0ee9f9ec0a_b.jpg

here are the five frames as shot,just converted from raw files and shown resized for web. starting with the nearest hairs towards the camera and shooting each consecutive frame further into the subject , the last of the five frames has the back hairs on the nose in focus.
you can see they are not exactly aligned but zerene stacker still aligned them pretty good. i then used "edit" to clone all the best, sharpest areas.

#1 USED FOR HAIRS NEAREST ON SHOULDER AREA AND ANTENNA DETAILS

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4083/4986689964_f653408d16_b.jpg

#2 THIS IS THE MAIN FRAME WITH WING SCALES DETAIL

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/4986089217_327b273d61_b.jpg

#3 EYE DETAIL AND WING SCALES

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4092/4986691012_63de37e391_b.jpg

#4 HAIRS AROUND THE HEAD

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4086/4986691436_98d23df700_b.jpg

#5 HAIRS BACK AND AROUND HEAD

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4150/4986095805_d325a1accd_b.jpg

here is the finished image after stacking,minor adjustments with layer masks in ps. levels/contrast adjustment and very slight crop to remove stacking marks around edge , re size for web and unsharp mask


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4148/4986700006_ab7a977e18_b.jpg


HOPE THIS IS HELPFULL

PHIL
Sep 13, 2010 at 09:19 AM
gshawus
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · High Mag Butterfly Focus Stack Tutorial


That is a very nice post, Thanks for sharing the details
That's what's great about this forum, sharing and learning

Regards

Gil
Sep 13, 2010 at 09:33 AM
corvus
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · High Mag Butterfly Focus Stack Tutorial


Very educational and a great final image. Nice job and thanks!


Sep 13, 2010 at 01:43 PM
Kenj8246
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · High Mag Butterfly Focus Stack Tutorial


Don't know how you manage to hold a leaf for bg and then grab the perch without dropping the bg, Phil. You must be very dextrous.

Wonderful illustration and stack. Thanks for sharing.

Kenny
Sep 13, 2010 at 01:47 PM
bladesofgrass
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · High Mag Butterfly Focus Stack Tutorial


making me look like the underachiever of the community, ! Great shot(s)!
Sep 13, 2010 at 05:05 PM
Jeannean
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · High Mag Butterfly Focus Stack Tutorial


Phil...this is GREAT! Just what Roberta and I were wondering about. I've focus stacked two images to get two butterfly faces in focus on the same stem, but that's all I could manage. I can't imagine FIVE! Wonderful job and pictures.


Sep 13, 2010 at 05:35 PM
birdied
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · High Mag Butterfly Focus Stack Tutorial


Phil, this a wonderful visual example. Just what I need. You give an new definition to hand eye coordination
Not to mention flexibility. I don't think my thumb will bend that far back .

Great shots, and thanks for the explanation.








Sep 13, 2010 at 06:59 PM
chupacabra31
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · High Mag Butterfly Focus Stack Tutorial


All I can say is somebody is really strong and has a steady hand! Amazing!
Sep 13, 2010 at 08:24 PM
MarkB1
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · High Mag Butterfly Focus Stack Tutorial


Looks good Phil. Can you see what you're getting as you shoot or do you rely on technique to get the series?

Mark
Sep 13, 2010 at 11:12 PM
LordV
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · High Mag Butterfly Focus Stack Tutorial


Great Tutorial Phil !
Brian v.
Sep 14, 2010 at 12:53 AM
Goldenorfe
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · High Mag Butterfly Focus Stack Tutorial


thanks for comments everyone, it just takes practise.

mark i can see the focus point change through view finder quite clearly so usually can get all the frames i need without any missed areas.

Kenny - i have 8 fingers

i find loads of butterflys in windy conditions sheltering on the ground out of the wind, or on cooler cloudy days when they dont move too much

phil
Sep 14, 2010 at 01:01 PM
gmazza
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · High Mag Butterfly Focus Stack Tutorial


Very nice the tutorial on your technique and the final result, keep the background leaf steady should be incredible hard.
Sep 14, 2010 at 05:57 PM
Bandi
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · High Mag Butterfly Focus Stack Tutorial


Nice post Phil! Funny how far you can manage to contort your fingers when you have to I've ended up with cramps after taking a series of shots while holding the perch, background and extraneous leaves out of the way!
Sep 16, 2010 at 05:25 AM
Goldenorfe
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · High Mag Butterfly Focus Stack Tutorial


thanks guys

phil
Sep 16, 2010 at 01:59 PM
LCPete
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · High Mag Butterfly Focus Stack Tutorial


Brilliant tutorial Phil, I missed this when you first posted it
I have just started doing 2 frame stacks at 1:1 !
Looks like a very good technique for high mag shots


Sep 25, 2010 at 02:59 PM
adh67
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · High Mag Butterfly Focus Stack Tutorial


Thx Phil,

That is a great tutorial with a nice end result. One of these days I will have to give that a try.

Bert
Sep 25, 2010 at 03:11 PM
Zichar
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · High Mag Butterfly Focus Stack Tutorial


How'd I miss this too!
Have never tried stacking, thanks for sharing.
Guess I'd need to work on arm and grip strength, find that holding the rig for lengthy periods gets tiring fast
If you mentioned you took the first two shots yourself, I might have believed ya too!
Sep 25, 2010 at 10:08 PM
Goldenorfe
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · High Mag Butterfly Focus Stack Tutorial


thanks guys, try a few shots see how they come out!
phil
Sep 27, 2010 at 11:44 AM
fatlab
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · High Mag Butterfly Focus Stack Tutorial


Thanks Phil, great explanation and photos. Much appreciated!
Sep 28, 2010 at 05:53 PM
anjizkit
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · High Mag Butterfly Focus Stack Tutorial


Wow. Explains a lot. Great stuff
Sep 28, 2010 at 11:39 PM
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