More focus stacked pics

[LordV]

Just thought I'd post some more focus stacked pics to show the sort of effect you can get. They are certainly not all wonderful pics, but may give you some ideas! The original pics were all handheld apart from the last one. The biggest stack I have done is actually the coin pic here for Racketman's thread- 16 pics in total http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=899773&postcount=5 .
Brian V.

Small crab spider on a potentilla bloom Focus stacked from 3 pics

http://static.flickr.com/22/27820908_203c7172e1_o.jpg

Gladiolus bloom stacked from 3 pics

http://lordv.smugmug.com/photos/32674379-L.jpg

Seaside beach daisy stacked from 2 pics

http://lordv.smugmug.com/photos/35095391-L.jpg

Hibiscus stacked from 3 pics

http://lordv.smugmug.com/photos/35095392-L.jpg

Oregano herb flower head stacked from 3 pics

http://lordv.smugmug.com/photos/32674380-L.jpg

Fuchsia buds stacked from 3 pics

http://lordv.smugmug.com/photos/32674382-L.jpg

Flower border stacked from 5 pics

http://lordv.smugmug.com/photos/35412427-L.jpg

Christmas cactus bloom stacked from 3 pics

http://lordv.smugmug.com/photos/43233331-L.jpg

[kallousa]

Excellent. You make me more convinced to practice more and more preparation and application of photo stacking
Want to ask you, does it work all the way ? or there are some limits ?
Regards

[LordV]

Excellent. You make me more convinced to practice more and more preparation and application of photo stacking
Want to ask you, does it work all the way ? or there are some limits ?
Regards
Thanks Kallousa.
If there are limits, I haven't really found them yet. Of course the stacks do not always work if there is too much movement in either the camera or the subjects, But I have been able to do stacks from macros to almost landscapes. As I mentioned the coin pic is the biggest stack I have done (16 pics) and that went through without a hitch even though it was obvious the coin was getting bigger as I focused further into it. I did use a tripod and macro stage to do it though.
I suspect the biggest problem you can get is where the OOF elements in one pic are significantly larger than the the in focus part in another pic- The software may give you an OOF halo around that part.
Brian V.

[Bald Eagle]

You definitely are doing quite well with stacking, my favorite is the Crab Spider, that is one fantastic piece of work, very well done.:D :D :D

[LordV]

You definitely are doing quite well with stacking, my favorite is the Crab Spider, that is one fantastic piece of work, very well done.:D :D :D
Thanks BE
Fairly obviously I like focus stacking as a technique for increasing the DOF, but frequently it does seem to help that extra "pop" on the pictures- ie gives them more of a 3-D appearance. Think I'm just learning as it's interesting how these shots work best when there are still OOF elements in the picture. Guess we are just used to seeing OOF elements in pics- especially macros. ;)
Brian V.

[Ballen Photo]

Brian, I'll echo Bald Eagles sentiments about the Crab Spider being the show Stopper here, but not to say the shots of the Flowers aren't stunning too, because they are. Great work. :D
-Bruce

[LordV]

Brian, I'll echo Bald Eagles sentiments about the Crab Spider being the show Stopper here, but not to say the shots of the Flowers aren't stunning too, because they are. Great work. :D
-Bruce

Thanks Bruce,
Yes I agree, I still haven't really got into the lighting etc necessary to make flower shots look stunning.
Brian V.

[Ballen Photo]

I still haven't really got into the lighting etc necessary to make flower shots look stunning. Will You settle for "Very sharp with good detail" then? ;)
-Bruce

[BigAl-SA]

Great shots Brian. The crab spider is cool, but I also like the hibiscus.

I must try stacking someday, but because I also do handheld shots, Im not sure that I'll always get the object in the same part of the frame for the stack :(

[Guitartists]

You are the stacking master :D Great pics as always! :D

[LordV]

Great shots Brian. The crab spider is cool, but I also like the hibiscus.

I must try stacking someday, but because I also do handheld shots, Im not sure that I'll always get the object in the same part of the frame for the stack :(
Thanks Al,
You just need to try it, The software does put up with a certain amount of framing movement and corrects it. Most of the stacks I do are handheld.
Brian V.

[LordV]

You are the stacking master :D Great pics as always! :D
Thanks Guitartists,
As usual with most photography it's just practice. As I've said before I normally think about the possibility of doing it when I'm taking most of my shots. If like me you take several shots just to try and make sure the focus etc is good on one of them, trying to make sure you actually get shots with different focus depths just adds a bit of method to it. As someone else commented it's a bit like exposure bracketing- just focus bracketing instead;) . As an added bonus , I've found the shots you get will also frequently act as stereo pairs assuming you are handholding.
Brian V.

[Leorooster]

All are nice, but the 1st one is just amazing. Very powerful and colorful. Great job, Brian!

[LordV]

All are nice, but the 1st one is just amazing. Very powerful and colorful. Great job, Brian!
Thanks Leorooster,
I think that spider is actually one of my best macro shots. As I said above, I haven't yet got the knack of making flower pics more than just "good". They are much more difficult subjects in many ways.
Brian V.

[chemicalbro]

woah.how did i miss these :)....... the spider shot is just fantastic (its head looks like an alien from star wars)

[LordV]

woah.how did i miss these :)....... the spider shot is just fantastic (its head looks like an alien from star wars)
Thanks Chemicalbro,
I had to take a pic of that spider- I noticed it run around from the back to the front of the flower when I was walking past, so I went and got my camera and it was still there and started doing this threat routine on me or rather the camera lens. Luckily it held very still whilst doing this allowing me to get off enough shots for a stack. I just missed the focus on it's front left leg tip :)
Brian V.

[joayne]

Bowing in the direction of Lord(of the Flies)V....

I know that you have posted some links in regard to focus stacking. I am extreamly interested in learning about this technique. Would you, Could you share your software and technique links. As we all know you are Lord of the Files (ooops Flies)

All of the captures are beatiful, but the spider and the Fuchsia rock.

joayne

[Nidz]

Love the spider and the Hibiscus. We got a whole bunch of Hibiscus plants at home waiting for the summer to come alive so the flowers to bloom. The spider looks like a special effect out of a movie. Nice job.

[LordV]

Bowing in the direction of Lord(of the Flies)V....

I know that you have posted some links in regard to focus stacking. I am extreamly interested in learning about this technique. Would you, Could you share your software and technique links. As we all know you are Lord of the Files (ooops Flies)

All of the captures are beatiful, but the spider and the Fuchsia rock.

joayne
Thanks joayne from LOTF ;)
The software I use is freeware from here
http://www.hadleyweb.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/CZ5/combinez5.htm
You just need to take pics of the subject with the focus at different point on the subject but keeping the frame as identical as possible. This means using manual focus and is easier using a tripod. I normally start by focusing on the nearest point of the subject, and then either move the camera forward very slightly or change the focus ring slightly take another pic and continue doing this until I have covered the entire focus range I'm interested in. Depending on what you are taking most macro subjects can be covered in 2 or 3 shots when shooting around F11-F16. You then just load the pics in to the software but it is important that you have not cropped the pics so I always do this first (after RAW conversion) and tell it to stack them. It does the rest automatically although I think the software does allow manual interventions I have never done this. If it's sucessful you end up with a stacked pic which may have odd striations round the borders where the pics did not line up properly. I then carefully check the stacked pic against the originals to make sure nothing odd has happened (8 legged flies- 2 headed spiders etc). You may find some OOF halos around some bits which can be cloned out. I normally get a sucess rate of about 90%+ on tripod shots and 50%+ on handheld shots.

Hope that helps
Brian V.

ps It does not just work on macros- it will work on just about anything including landscapes as long as nothing moves :)

[LordV]

Love the spider and the Hibiscus. We got a whole bunch of Hibiscus plants at home waiting for the summer to come alive so the flowers to bloom. The spider looks like a special effect out of a movie. Nice job.
Thanks Nidz,
It's great for hibiscus flowers so you can get the whole antenna effect in focus ;)
Brian V.

[Sam]

The picture of the spider is the single most amazing picture I have seen. I couldn't stop looking at it. WOW!

[Sam]

:razz:

I did a google search for Focus stacked and this is what the first link on the list was!

http://lordv.smugmug.com/gallery/734022/4/32483155

[LordV]

The picture of the spider is the single most amazing picture I have seen. I couldn't stop looking at it. WOW!
Thanks for the appreciation.
That's funny- I entered the pic in a weekly macro competition on DPreview on bug faces, with the title "I put a spell on you"- seems it worked;)
Brian V.

[LordV]

:razz:

I did a google search for Focus stacked and this is what the first link on the list was!

http://lordv.smugmug.com/gallery/734022/4/32483155

:D :D :D :D :D
Ah fame at last ;)
Brian V.

[joayne]

Thanks joayne from LOTF ;)
The software I use is freeware from here
http://www.hadleyweb.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/CZ5/combinez5.htm
You just need to take pics of the subject with the focus at different point on the subject but keeping the frame as identical as possible. This means using manual focus and is easier using a tripod. I normally start by focusing on the nearest point of the subject, and then either move the camera forward very slightly or change the focus ring slightly take another pic and continue doing this until I have covered the entire focus range I'm interested in. Depending on what you are taking most macro subjects can be covered in 2 or 3 shots when shooting around F11-F16. You then just load the pics in to the software but it is important that you have not cropped the pics so I always do this first (after RAW conversion) and tell it to stack them. It does the rest automatically although I think the software does allow manual interventions I have never done this. If it's sucessful you end up with a stacked pic which may have odd striations round the borders where the pics did not line up properly. I then carefully check the stacked pic against the originals to make sure nothing odd has happened (8 legged flies- 2 headed spiders etc). You may find some OOF halos around some bits which can be cloned out. I normally get a sucess rate of about 90%+ on tripod shots and 50%+ on handheld shots.

Hope that helps
Brian V.

ps It does not just work on macros- it will work on just about anything including landscapes as long as nothing moves :)

Thank you for taking the the time to explain your technique. I am off to the internet to get some software and do some practice this weekend.

Thanks for the push in the right direction.

joayne