First Focus Stack Attempt

Early this morning I noticed some beautiful dew on the cobwebs on my front hedge, so I cranked out the extension tubes and took some shots. I couldn't get everything in focus together so I got the tripod and took a few shots and different focus points. Then I downloaded the trial of zerene stacker and this is the result

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/14730729@N06/5​051541258/

stack clearly worked well but too much of the frame is taken up with uninteresting areas, I would like a closer image cutting out the distracting leaf and the top third.

racketman wrote in post #11031568
stack clearly worked well but too much of the frame is taken up with uninteresting areas, I would like a closer image cutting out the distracting leaf and the top third.

so that is the best you can expect from the stack? i think it sucks.

ok, just discovered the retouching feature. helps alot

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/14730729@N06/5​051199223/

it is possible that in this case the web was physically moving a little between frames. is that where the halo comes from or is it always there even for subjects that don't move?

The stack actually worked pretty well although as Racketman says a bit closer would have given more impact.
Halos like this are inevitable on high contrast edges that drops have with the way the stacking software works. I often do multiple droplet shots like this by hand - often faster than trying to repair a software stack.

LordV wrote in post #11032680
The stack actually worked pretty well although as Racketman says a bit closer would have given more impact.
Halos like this are inevitable on high contrast edges that drops have with the way the stacking software works. I often do multiple droplet shots like this by hand - often faster than trying to repair a software stack.

Thanks. Do you have a link to somewhere that explains how to do a stack by hand? My photoshop skills are limited.

magwai wrote in post #11043465
Thanks. Do you have a link to somewhere that explains how to do a stack by hand? My photoshop skills are limited.

Not sure if this will help- http://www.flickr.com …iscuss/72157624​267681728/

Brian v.

LordV wrote in post #11043549
Not sure if this will help- http://www.flickr.com …iscuss/72157624​267681728/

Brian v.

Thanks again, very helpful