I have an old 8x10 inch DIY soft box I use for field work. Flash Freezes any camera shake or insect movement, I think it makes it easier. The older I get the more tricks I need.

Wait them out..

Thanks.. Yeah these were taken the first week of Sept when I first returned to macro and stacking. I was having problems nailing the focus so I started stacking between F/10 to F/13 so these are around 16 to 20 images per stack. Turns out I have a cataract forming in my right eye, I found this out as I had an appointment to get glasses right after I had started shooting macro again. Immediately after getting my glasses I'm back in my comfort zone at F/9. Usually averaging 26 to 30 frames images per stack. I'm still having problems with the raynox 250 as you have to have sharp vision/Or Good Light/ especially as you get in the 2x and higher range. When I add an additional light source my problem goes away, but without extra light I'm feeling my way thru.

Love he Raynox 250, but it requires excellent eye site. I'm just returning to macro and went back to my old set up the Tokina 100mm with 36mm of tubes and then the Raynox 250 to help fill the frame with the smaller jumpers I like to shoot. I was struggling as if I had never shot macro before. I was missing the focal plan by fractions. I finally broke down and got Real glasses, been using readers for 10 yrs. I think because of the reduced surface area of the lens plus the reduced DOF due to higher magnification plus the reduced amount of light it allows in for viewing removes any fudging of, Nailing the focus. It's a great tool but keeps you honest with your focusing abilities in the field.
Love the little fly, nice set.

Very Clean.. How many shots for the last Image?

Hey Mark, yeah I've done the old curled leaf trick back when. After awhile it becomes the same shot time and time again. I still use leaves from but always looking for something different. Each jumper is different, some will chill out and some just wonder around for days. Not to mention they can sit but also move their palps or adjust a leg

A few more stacks from the last few weeks

(Download)


(Download)


(Download)

Oct 2019 was the last time I posted any stacks here on the Hogg.
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-614479-1.html

Boat will have to take a break for awhile.. I have a house that I'm working on that is currently still flooded from the storm. I'm going out today to begin prep but I'm wading in water up to the house. Tis the reason I'm at home and playing on the computer, just waiting for the sheet flow to fall and the water to return to the creek banks. I also just made an offer on a house yesterday and if that goes thru I'll be moving in my spare time. I sold my other house and I'm trying to down size. Loving the photography break I have at the moment.. Walt is ready to go as soon as we can.

Hand held because the subject is alive and moving around.. You have to wait till the subject pauses and takes a break. If the subject is situated in a position that you can shoot you take your stack and if all is in your favor the subject won't move for at least 45 seconds. You can spend several hours or entire days getting a proper stack. I can nail the shots but many of the stacks will have a terrible background or something else in the image not pleasing to the eye.. I can't just stage the jumper where I would like it to sit and to pose them like you do when shooting portraits. It's about patience and being ready to fire when you get the opportunity.. If it was easy then that would take the fun out of it. Zerene stacking software requires me to take each image front to back or back to front in order for the software to work properly. With photoshop you just rock back and forth and fire off a bunch of images and then the software does all the work aligning and stacking. I could do the same with Zerene and painstakingly put the images in order but then I would not know if I missed a plane of focus. I use F/9 at 1.5 to 2 times magnification which is paper thin. I see and shot each plane of focus as I work thru the image. Takes about 45 seconds for me to get 25 to 30 images in succession. If I had a dollar for every time a subject moved before I finished a stack I would be rich. Patience and practice.. I've done this so many times it comes automatic. I was just in North Dakota with a friend and shooting stacks. He had never seen it done. He said he could not tell I was moving forward as I took my images. 25 or more shots and I only move forward about 1/2 to 5/8 of an inch

Thanks. Yes I've used vellum before, gives just a touch of cool light if I remember..Different makers gave different white balance results. I'm still sticking to the old paper towel trick.. Use to be Bounty back in the day but they went paper thin and cheap on me so I switched to Viva brand.. My all time favorite diffuser material was tissue paper. Now that I'm kicking this around again I'll take a few days to try out some different materials again.. Will give Vellum a try again as well. I laminate the material then shape into a cone and place over the lens, gives that round look in the jumpers eyes. If not for the eyes I would use my old trusted DIY rectangle 8x10 diffuser box. Having fun here.......
PS I see your shooting out in the field.. When did that start??

Here's one I ran thru the software tonight. Phidippus pacosauritius. 27 image handheld at F/9 at a bit of an angle.. Probably could have been 30 deep but hey, still a little rusty. I only have a few moments before they start running around again. I just got my first prescription of glasses so I'm tackling stacking again. Been using readers for about 10 yrs just wasn't cutting it any more. Anyway long day will try and post a few at a time tomorrow.
Download to view

(Download)

Perfect lighting

Fairly new described species.. The Phidippus Genus are known for their Tufts or spikes of hair like you see on 90% of the other Phidippus I post. This little guy looks to have horns but with little tufts of hair/scales on the edges of his horns.. Body length about 1/2 inch so average size for the Genus.

Long time no see. Just a single shot image of a little baby Phidippus arizonensis, and an adult male P. pacosauritius taken in the last week.. I'm back to stacking jumpers after taking several years off to chase wildlife and cityscapes. I'll post some stacks later in the week as I get time. Still working for the most part. A few more years and it will all be play time.......
I'm guessing a few of the old timers still around??

P. arizonenenis

(Download)

Phidippus pacosauritius

(Download)