Focus Stacked Milkweed Beetle Experiment: This is my preserved Milkweed Beetle that I staged for a focus stacking session. The experiment was to see if I could create a gradient pastel...

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Focus Stacked Milkweed Beetle Experiment

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Jan 9, 2020 11:53:08 #

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

This is my preserved Milkweed Beetle that I staged for a focus stacking session. The experiment was to see if I could create a gradient pastel background using an Android Tablet placed behind the subject and this is the result as my first attempt.

I started with an Android Tablet that I seldom use anymore and created a gradient pattern using a paint program by smearing colors and blending them and saving the result as a JPEG image.

I staged the Milkweed Beetle and setup the camera with a reversed 28mm enlarger lens and I placed the Android Tablet behind the stage. It was a pain-in-the-butt getting the tablet to stand up and find the right angle and hoping that the screen did not "sleep" in the middle of the 20-minutes of camera shooting.

I found the result to be encouraging and I've learned a bit about the choice of colors and the depth of hue to use the next time.

As always, thanks in advance to all who view and for your comments, suggestions, questions and critique.

(Download)

Jan 9, 2020 12:02:09 #

Curmudgeon Loc: SE Arizona

Wow Sippy, you hit that one right on the mark.

Jan 9, 2020 12:09:34 #

bbrowner Loc: Chapel Hill, NC

I've recently seen a fair amount of pics being poster using focus stacking. I have never tried it... don't particularly have an interest in it and don't know how it is done. But I have a question to those of you who have don't this. And let me say that I am in no way asking with any criticism suggested. My question is completely for my information and knowledge.

Why is the subject of focus stacking (seemingly) almost always of bugs?

... and possibly... How do you do it?

Thanks

Barry

Jan 9, 2020 12:39:05 #

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

bbrowner wrote:

I've recently seen a fair amount of pics being pos... (show quote)

Thanks for asking and no...it is not simply insects although I tend to favor them. The subjects are unlimited and here's a view of the reproductive parts of a tiny wildflower, a seed and a dandelion seed that I did as an example of something different.

The process of focus stacking is to take several shots of a subject at progressively different depths of focus. For example mount a prime lens on your camera and turn the focus ring so that only the closest point to you is in sharp focus, take a shot, turn the focus ring a tiny bit so that a bit deeper is now in focus and take a shot....repeat, repeat, repeat until you have reached the farthest point you want to be sharp. Take all of those images (called a stack) and process them in a program such as Photoshop or an other that does focus stacking.

(Download)

Jan 9, 2020 16:04:54 #

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

Nice work, sippy. The background work you are experimenting with is paying off.

Jan 9, 2020 16:05:51 #

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

bbrowner wrote:

I've recently seen a fair amount of pics being pos... (show quote)

Focus stacking is often used by landscape photographers for it's depth of field attributes.

Jan 9, 2020 16:55:16 #

Johann Schutte Loc: NZ

Great idea SJ. The only problems I would foresee are (a) reflection off the tablet screen and (b) when using flash, the background not being bright enough. Neither seems to be a problem in your very well detailed pic. Did you use continuous lighting?

Jan 9, 2020 17:01:13 #

Johann Schutte Loc: NZ

@ bbrowner/Barry. DOF is literally micron at magnification of 10:1. If you took a single shot of your subject so little would be in focus that the subject would not be discernible. This is where focus stacking comes in, i.e. taking multiple shots of the same subject down the y (depth) axis and then adding them together into a composite in which more of the subject is in focus. I regularly use 200 exposures to integrate into one final pic. Fortunately pc tech is such that this possible and affordable. Can be highly frustrating though, because you never know what you get till you're through the stacking process. Here's a brief vid I made to demo the stacking process with Zerene, if you're interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcKYSa_eiEE

Jan 9, 2020 17:09:12 #

bbrowner Loc: Chapel Hill, NC

Thanks for the explanations. I do actually understand (a bit) how to do it... and I do understand what is going on by using focus stacking. My main question is why do I see primarily bugs as the subject... understanding and sometimes seeing it used with other subjects. Just curious why bugs seem to dominate.

Thanks

Barry

Jan 9, 2020 17:35:24 #

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Johann Schutte wrote:

I had to things that worked in my favor. 1) I use constant lighting and 2) my old tablet has an anti-glare protection film on it. I'm not contemplating doing this more than a few times for it is simply the joy of experimenting. I started out using speedlight flash but batteries and recycle time were an issue for me. I then moved to studio monolight which worked well but they overheated and would shut down until they cooled. I moved to constant lighting and although not the best, it solved several problems with my methods.

By the way, I admire your work and it is my ultimate goal to produce the quality that you do.

Jan 9, 2020 17:45:43 #

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Johann Schutte wrote:

@ bbrowner/Barry. DOF is literally micron at magni... (show quote)

Johann, ever so true. High magnification and specialty lenses and objectives produce a "flat depth of field" and an example is this Brown Recluse Spider where only a tip of a hair is in focus. Steps of movement are in the single digit micron range so it takes precision equipment and absolutely no vibration at these magnifications. Unfortunately one never knows how a session will turn out until it is processed so there are times that all of the images get dragged to the recycle bin and it becomes the old, try...try...again.