Show us your setup and the final result!

Rivest wrote in post #13273841
That, is insane. Seriously insane. How much that went into that shot from setup to the final result?

EDIT: Also, was the spider dead or completely frozen to stay sit for the shoot?

Thanks Rivest. I can capture around 100 images in 10 minutes. This is all done manually. No motorized rail used. The setup can be a little tricky. I would be guessing if I say that some can take 30 minutes if starting from scratch. The time spent creating the final image can really vary. It depends on how deep the stack is and how complex it is. Sometimes partial stacks are required. These are then manually combined. There might be other issues that need addressing as well. I think this particular shot required a lot of editing. My sensor was very dirty and the streaks it left were horrible. If you go to my website and read Part II you will see a crop of the type of streaks sensor dust left on this particular photo shoot.

And, yes, the spider is dead. Some folks do 50+ image stacks in the wild with subjects that are still sleeping, or too cold to move. Impressive stuff. I am not there yet. And since the season is coming to a close I will have to wait until the spring to give this a try.

*Reading website right now*

Thanks

That was an incredible read, I hope I can produce something as amazing as those in the future.

Fantastic shot AbPho! Well done!!!

AbPho wrote in post #13273886
....
And, yes, the spider is dead. Some folks do 50+ image stacks in the wild with subjects that are still sleeping, or too cold to move. Impressive stuff. I am not there yet. And since the season is coming to a close I will have to wait until the spring to give this a try.

... I was thinking about that. His eyes looked a little "empty"

@AbPho: excellent work and nice article on your website!

I didn't find the name of the stacking software though,
is it Helicon Focus perhaps?

Holy crap, I don't even like hairy insects, but that was cool!!!

Bioshock wrote in post #13267499
It was a pain in the butt trying to get the exposures for this without people in the shot.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …s/kevinmiller/6​256031663/

Wow.. very nice,, how many exposures was it, or was it just one long one { I think you said 20 sec}.
it also looks like you change the light ring shadow on the ground to be more centered. but I might be looking at it at an angle.. Either way, quite impressive

Nothing fancy here, just realized I had both pics to post here. First pic is mine taken with 60D, second is of my buddy's pic shot with a XTI. The colors on his might be a bit funky since I stole it from his Google+.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/11274294@N03/6​260859189/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/11274294@N03/6​261733064/

gvg45 wrote in post #13253878
I'll buy it!

I can't help but wonder if he went into the pool to get that light so nice

Thanks Rivest & The Ran.

Candersson wrote in post #13274178
Fantastic shot AbPho! Well done!!! ... I was thinking about that. His eyes looked a little "empty"

If it was alive and the angle of the light was correct you would get some colour in the highlights. But to have an spider sit still for 20+ minutes while alive is not going to happen. I can't even think of a human model that can handle that.

DutchVince wrote in post #13274203
@AbPho: excellent work and nice article on your website!

I didn't find the name of the stacking software though,
is it Helicon Focus perhaps?

Thanks DutchVince. I use Zerene Stacker. Apparently it handles deep high magnification stacks a lot better than Helicon.

Thanks CyberPet.

AbPho, how did you get it to look into the camera like that for 20 minutes, dead or alive? LOL. J/K ... that's a stunner ... you have way more patience than I!

DwightMcCann wrote in post #13276974
... that's a stunner ... you have way more patience than I!

Thanks. Taking the pictures is a lot more soothing than you think. It is all the work afterwards that gets grating.

Dr.D wrote in post #13274841

Stunning. It is like each tree has been painstakingly coloured one by one.

AbPho wrote in post #13273760
The Setup. Not the first type this sort of setup has been shown here. But I wanted to share regardless. Here is a shot of the camera gear used. Clicking the image will take you to an article that explains all the components.

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This image gives you an idea what the final setup would be.

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Byte size: ZERO

Here is what the final image looks like. This was taken at a 10.5:1 magnification. 167 images were captured and stacked to create a depth of view of around 1.27mm (0.05"). The scale in the top left gives you an idea how small this spider is. The camera was incremented around 0.0076mm (0.0003") for each shot. In this particular shot I used three LED desk lamps for illumination. The subject was propped onto a small leaf. And a green card was used as the background.

HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Redirected to error image by FLICKR

CheerS!

Holy wackamoly! IMPRESSIVE

AbPho wrote in post #13273886
And, yes, the spider is dead. Some folks do 50+ image stacks in the wild with subjects that are still sleeping, or too cold to move. Impressive stuff. I am not there yet. And since the season is coming to a close I will have to wait until the spring to give this a try.

I have always wondered how people manage to stack insects - I have enough trouble getting a single shot off!