Nice job.
EXIF shows F16.
Clovis' Nikon Nuggets
- Thread starter Clovishound
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EXIF shows F16.
Clovishound
Senior Member
Well, I thought I had it nailed with the second stack. It had more images, 10 to be exact, and I had good overlap. PS dropped the ball on it, however. I was nearly done editing, concentrating on attempting to remove a distracting edge of a leaf on one corner, when I discovered a real problem.
If you look at the leaf behind the legs, there is a section that isn't sharp. I think the issue was that since there was enough distance between the leg and the leaf, the images that had the legs in sharpest focus, also had the leaf outside of DOF. This may have been my issue in previous stacks, that I assumed were just not enough images. It's a shame in this case, as I like this image better than the first, but this issue ruins it.
Edited to add: I just went back and looked closer at the first stack, and discovered it has the same issue, although not nearly as obvious. Oh well, it was an interesting exercise, and I learned something about focus stacks. Perhaps different software overcomes this issue.
And just for giggles and grins, here is the little critter a little closer up. You can see that there is shallower DOF in this than in the single shot image I posted previously. I do like a nice head on shot.
If you look at the leaf behind the legs, there is a section that isn't sharp. I think the issue was that since there was enough distance between the leg and the leaf, the images that had the legs in sharpest focus, also had the leaf outside of DOF. This may have been my issue in previous stacks, that I assumed were just not enough images. It's a shame in this case, as I like this image better than the first, but this issue ruins it.
Edited to add: I just went back and looked closer at the first stack, and discovered it has the same issue, although not nearly as obvious. Oh well, it was an interesting exercise, and I learned something about focus stacks. Perhaps different software overcomes this issue.
And just for giggles and grins, here is the little critter a little closer up. You can see that there is shallower DOF in this than in the single shot image I posted previously. I do like a nice head on shot.
Clovishound
Senior Member
Tried opening up to F/9.5 and shooting a lot more. Used the focus stacking option in the camera's menu set to 25. Ran it through PS. Made things worse. I think the problem is that PS doesn't properly mask the subject. It feathers out from the legs quite a distance. My club has a workshop this weekend on macro. I will ask the instructor about this and see what he has to say.
This is one cooperative spider. It was still in the same spot this morning. It doesn't like quick movements nearby, but if you are slow and steady, it will allow you to get very close.
I need to get my step stool out if I want anything much different than this angle. I have thought about catching a fly and seeing if it will pounce on it.
I did manage to get a little different angle on it. This takes care of the DOF problem by putting most of the spider's body on the same plane. Not as pleasing a composition, IMO, but it does nicely display the entire arachnid. BTW, I hate trying to get that green to a natural looking shade.
Clovishound
Senior Member
Spent some more time in the backyard again today.
Clovishound
Senior Member
Thanks. I found that it's good to bring a stool and just sit in the middle of the patch and be patient, If you sit there, they will come. I saw several anoles yesterday for the first time. They make excellent subjects. Move slowly and you can often get quite close to them. Hopefully they will hang around for a while. I got some native wildflower seeds for next season. From what I understand, the native plants generally attract more insects. I'm looking forward to what they bring, and expanding my small patch a bit. Right now I just have the generic wildflower mix, although they are attracting a lot of insects so far. I'm also seeing more insects as the season progresses.
Clovishound
Senior Member
The club had a macro workshop today. Unfortunately, the instructor/leader was sick so it was mostly a handful of us playing around with some of the equipment/props and sharing our knowledge. It was very interesting, but "studio" macro is an entirely different animal than the field macro I've been doing. I was a little disappointed with my results, although I felt I was exposed to some very interesting techniques and had a great time.
Here's a few.
I really wanted to turn this into a B&W. Unfortunately I couldn't seem to get enough really black blacks, so had to settle for the color version.
This was the most interesting technique. I didn't really get the hang of it until just before I needed to turn the setup over to someone else. Got a ton of out of focus shots, and not terribly interesting ones. They had one of the machines that spits out a specified number of drops at a specified time lag after the button is pushed. It had a cable you could hook to a camera using a hot shoe connection, but it was for Canons, so........... Instead we set it for a 5 second delay then a 4 drop sequence, and counted down to 5 and hit the shutter in burst mode. I think I could do fine with a suspended Ziploc bag with a pinhole in it. I would choose a different kind of bowl and background material. The biggest issue for me, is that after getting a couple dozen good shots with this, I would probably loose interest.
I had high hopes with this one. I find that the hot spot and shadow in the bottom right hand corner annoy me. I could probably fix that in PS, but not sure it would be worth the effort. If I were to shoot it again, I would want to clean the light table thoroughly, and use a bigger soft box. I also would need to use a different tripod setup so I could get directly overhead to avoid soft focus at the top of the nautilus. I did have fun playing around with balancing the light from the table, and light from my diffused flash to get the look I desired.
Here's a few.
I really wanted to turn this into a B&W. Unfortunately I couldn't seem to get enough really black blacks, so had to settle for the color version.
This was the most interesting technique. I didn't really get the hang of it until just before I needed to turn the setup over to someone else. Got a ton of out of focus shots, and not terribly interesting ones. They had one of the machines that spits out a specified number of drops at a specified time lag after the button is pushed. It had a cable you could hook to a camera using a hot shoe connection, but it was for Canons, so........... Instead we set it for a 5 second delay then a 4 drop sequence, and counted down to 5 and hit the shutter in burst mode. I think I could do fine with a suspended Ziploc bag with a pinhole in it. I would choose a different kind of bowl and background material. The biggest issue for me, is that after getting a couple dozen good shots with this, I would probably loose interest.
I had high hopes with this one. I find that the hot spot and shadow in the bottom right hand corner annoy me. I could probably fix that in PS, but not sure it would be worth the effort. If I were to shoot it again, I would want to clean the light table thoroughly, and use a bigger soft box. I also would need to use a different tripod setup so I could get directly overhead to avoid soft focus at the top of the nautilus. I did have fun playing around with balancing the light from the table, and light from my diffused flash to get the look I desired.
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Clovishound
Senior Member
Tried setting up a drip into a bowl using a ziploc with a small hole. I could time hitting the shutter with the drop coming off the bottom of the bag so that I could get the timing I wanted 10%-20% of the time. Focus is tough. I don't think the drops all hit in exactly the same place. It seems like it when I put a plastic fork in the water at the drip point in order to focus, but it doesn't look consistent in the images. I'm also having a real problem with DOF. I stopped down to F22, and can't seem to get splashes sharp front to back. I've backed off as much as I feel comfortable cropping, and raised the angle some to try and flatten out the plane. I could stop down to F32 and perhaps try an even higher angle. I'm not sure it is practical to get an entire splash in focus front to back with the equipment I'm using. I'm somewhat intrigued by these images, but the frustration factor is high, and in the end I don't see this as more than a passing fad for me.
This is the best I got today.
Edited to add: Looked at some online images just now, and it looks like most don't have the entire splash in focus. I'm thinking maybe the rear of the splash is what I should shoot for.
Just to salve my bruised ego, I spent a few minutes in the backyard with more familiar subjects. After a year of photographing insects, it still hasn't gotten old.
This is the best I got today.
Edited to add: Looked at some online images just now, and it looks like most don't have the entire splash in focus. I'm thinking maybe the rear of the splash is what I should shoot for.
Just to salve my bruised ego, I spent a few minutes in the backyard with more familiar subjects. After a year of photographing insects, it still hasn't gotten old.
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Clovishound
Senior Member
Was looking back over the RAW files from yesterday and discovered I had an image of the chambered nautilus taken without flash. I edited it and here is the result. I like tones of the other one better, but this doesn't have the annoying hot spot and shadows.
Clovishound
Senior Member
Well, I made some changes to my drip setup. I made some progress, but the major progress was when I set it up for the Pup. I haven't seen the edited versions, but judging by the back of the screen, she nailed it.
I got one OK image, and a funny one.
I got one OK image, and a funny one.
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Clovishound
Senior Member
Went to Cypress Gardens this morning to see how their wildflower field is coming along, as we have had some decent rain the last couple weeks. It's not as good as it was last year, this time, but it's definitely coming along.
Here are a few shots I got.
Here are a few shots I got.
blackstar
Senior Member
Nice images! Were these all shot with TTL flash?
Clovishound
Senior Member
Yes. Towards the end, I went ahead and used a little flash exposure compensation, as all the previous were a little dark.
Clovishound
Senior Member
I guess this little crab spider forgot they were green and the flower was pink. Sure made it easy to spot, even though it is very small. I went out to see if my wildflowers needed some water, and spotted this little guy. Had to run back inside and get my camera and extension tubes. I decided to use a tripod to facilitate focus. A focusing rail would be nice, even though I probably wouldn't need it that often. I do find that when I increase magnification with the extension tubes, it gets much harder to focus accurately handheld. Just the tinniest bit of back and forth swaying takes you in and out of the focus point.
Clovishound
Senior Member
Found another newcomer to the plot this morning. It's a spotted datana moth. I call it a cushion moth. Very laid back. I had a hard time getting the right angle on it, so I started messing with the basil plant it was perched on. I actually got pretty aggressive with the plant at one point. It wasn't phased one bit.
Clovishound
Senior Member
Blue439
New member
I'm not very much into insects myself (eeeks), and particularly not spiders. That said, some of your macro shots are really excellent and I like the lighting. Is it on-camera flash? Personally, I like to do off-camera, even if it means carrying this extra accessory:
I find this setup tremendously useful, not only to shape the light like I want and overpower the Sun, but also to cancel the effects of the breeze, which is always your enemy when doing macro work outdoors, and freeze-frame your exposure.
Congrats on your macros!
I find this setup tremendously useful, not only to shape the light like I want and overpower the Sun, but also to cancel the effects of the breeze, which is always your enemy when doing macro work outdoors, and freeze-frame your exposure.
Congrats on your macros!
Clovishound
Senior Member
I am currently shooting macro with the Z7ii and a Godox TT685 on camera. I am also using a homemade swiss style diffuser. I will probably pull the trigger on an AK diffuser in the near future. I would like to explore off camera configurations. The issue with that is that most insects won't stay still long enough to set up for that. Another consideration is getting an adjustable flash bracket that would allow me to keep the flash mounted to the camera, but still allow me to have some flexibility to change the angle and distance of the flash. I'm afraid that might end up being rather bulky.
In the end I suspect I will just end up doing a two channel technique. I could use off camera flash for more sedate subjects, and on camera for the flightier subjects. I have the perfect situation to try the off camera using my backyard wildflower plot. I can get my flash setup ready to go, and check the plot from time to time, and when I find a suitable subject, go grab my flash setup and try some different things.
Right now I am just trying to take full advantage of a simple setup. Some of the areas that I shoot away from home, require a bit of a hike from my vehicle. This makes a heavy, bulky gear set much less attractive. I already carry far more bulk and weight in gear than I would like. Still, as the saying goes, one must suffer for ones art.
In the end I suspect I will just end up doing a two channel technique. I could use off camera flash for more sedate subjects, and on camera for the flightier subjects. I have the perfect situation to try the off camera using my backyard wildflower plot. I can get my flash setup ready to go, and check the plot from time to time, and when I find a suitable subject, go grab my flash setup and try some different things.
Right now I am just trying to take full advantage of a simple setup. Some of the areas that I shoot away from home, require a bit of a hike from my vehicle. This makes a heavy, bulky gear set much less attractive. I already carry far more bulk and weight in gear than I would like. Still, as the saying goes, one must suffer for ones art.