Project 365 - Day 176 - Focus Stacking

This is my first attempt at focus stacking.  This is a flower that grows in my garden out back.  I took 14 exposures of this flower at various focal planes and then imported them into Photoshop and arranged them, then stacked them.  When that was done, I cropped out the misshapen edges (the subject is never 100% in the same spot) and boosted the contrast a bit.  This is the result.

Not too bad, but it will get better. 

Shot with Nikon 60mm lens with 1 extension tube (16mm).  ISO400, 1/100 s shutter at f/14.  External flash as well fired with my camera. 

I used focus stacking as a way to maintain the sharpness in the picture.  If you have too long of an exposure at too small of an aperture you get soft edges that are more pronounced at closer distances.  Focus stacking allows you to pick only the in-focus parts of each image and stitch them together.  In all, this image was about an hour of working time.  So it's labour intensive.  Usually I pull the image out of camera, adjust a few things and post.  It takes me longer to write the post than it does to work on the image.  Not in this case.  But sometimes, you have to put in the extra effort to get the results.

Project 365 - Day 175 - Macro presentation

Tonight was camera club night and we had a guest speaker.  Don Komarechka came and talked to us about Macro phtography.  He covered a lot of subjects, from snowflakes to bugs to flowers.  It was a very good presentation.  I recommend visiting his web site.  You can find it here.

So when I got home, I was inspired.  But it was dark, so I can't take any macro shots of bugs or flowers.  I looked around and found this to shoot.  I used all three extension tubes on my 60mm lens.

Shot with my 60mm lens at ISO400.  Shutter was 1/100s and the aperture was f/14.  This is part of a pull tab from a pop can.

Project 365 - Day 171 - Potato / Potatto

Of the things I know for certain in life, one is pretty common knowledge.  If you touch a potato bug he will curl up into a ball.  When this happens, you can carry him to a sheet of white paper under a macro lens and take a bunch of really cool shots.

Well, maybe know is a strong term.  It didn't seem to turn out that way today.  I was playing with three of these guys, and only one would sit still long enough for me to get a shot.  This shot took about an hour playing with potato bugs.  One got away and I had to search for more.

No potato bugs were harmed in the making of this photo.  I released my other two reluctant models.  They refused to sign the model release forms anyway....

ISO 800, 60mm macro lens. 1/4s at f/18.

Project 365 - Day162 - Car Wash

Tonight I was on the hunt for a moon shot.  The only problem was there were too many clouds.  So while pontificating on what I was going to shoot for my shot-of-the-day, I decided to fill the Mazda and get a car wash.  My camera was right beside me, so I started shooting while the soap was running down the windshield. I got this shot.

Shot with my 60mm Macro lens.  ISO is 1600, shutter is 1/40 and aperture is f/3.2

Project 365 - Day 161 - Now that's cold!

Lousy day out there today, and we also had a club meeting tonight.  It was dark and raining when I got home.  Dark I can take, as night shots are awesome.  Dark and raining gets my camera wet and I can't see where it is wet and it just makes me miserable.  Plus, it messes up my hair.

So I came home to think about my shot over a nice cold beer.  Hrm ... what's that running down the side of the bottle?  Is that a water droplet?  Time to grab the camera!

 

Shot with my Nikon 60mm Macro lens at f/10.  1/250 of a sec.  On a tripod, with my flash mounted on a pocketwizard to the right of the shot.  ISO640.  Simple crop, that's it.  Oh, I had to erase a dog hair that was on the bottle - full disclosure ... :-)

Project 365 - Day 159 - Millipede??

I hate these things.  :-) 

We have a garbage containment unit outside since we don't have a garage.  For the first couple of years, I battled with the racoons and other "night life" around here when it was getting close to garbage day.  We would try everything from tying the garbage cans up to the posts of the car port to leaving securing the lids with bungee cords.  Nothing worked.  But finally, I designed and built a containment unit and this has kept them away successfully since then.

One of the bonuses of the containment unit is that it creates a nice damp environment for all kinds of creepy crawlies to lounge about in the doorjambs of the unit.  Every time I open the door, centipedes run for cover, potato bugs slowly meander in their potato bugly way into a darker corner, and the small millipedes pretend that they are not there and that I can't see them.

So today, I purposely went to get this guy and shoot him.

I wanted to get him in his "ring" state, but he wasn't sitting still for me.  These things should have more respect for my size and humanness...  but I did get a couple of good shots of him trying to get away.

Shot with my 60mm Nikon lens, at f/32.  Mounted on my tripod.  ISO was 1250, and the shutter is 1/100.

Project 365 - Day 156 - Toadstools

Mushrooms, toadstools, fungi.  All names to describe the spore bearing body of a fungus.  Although these guys are not what you typically want growing in your garden or your lawn, sometimes they make really good photographic subjects.

A few years ago, I went on a school trip to Algonquin Park as part of my Certificate in Commercial Photography.  We saw a lot of mushrooms on this trip, helping the fallen logs break down and providing nutrients to the local animals.

Yesterday, when I was out cutting the grass, I ran into these guys.  So,of course, I decided to shoot them.

I will say though that when you are lying on your stomach in your own backyard, you don't get nearly as many quizical stares - unless of course you count the dog...


Shot at ISO1250 with my 60mm lens.  1/6 sec and f/13.  Handheld, but braced on the ground.  Deep breath then hold, then release shutter - repeat.