A somewhat experimental shot of a green shield bug I found on a stick in the backyard. A 7-image stack of a shield bug on a stick. Not the happiest bug, but I had fun and eventually let it be. It was a difficult stack because it moved ever so slightly and was hard to stack. Not all the shots I took worked so it was just a select few I could get to align.
Specific Feedback Requested
Does the far antenna bug you? It really was in that position and is quite long, but…should I cut it out? Anything else jump out at you that looks weird?
Technical Details
Handheld with focus point changed slightly between shots
Lr for most of the processing - the usual S-curve to balance tonalities, some texture and clarity, sharpening and noise reduction. Slight crop. Zerene for the stack - a DMap base with PMax details. That’s about it.
Funny, Kris! I really like the eye just peeking in the second one. The long antenna doesn’t bug me, especially as it’s in focus. Maybe present them side by side simultanously for even greater effect (don’t know if this can be done on this platform).
Kris, it does look like he is playing “peak-a-boo” with you in the second shot. Glad that you were able to get out and have fun with him. He doesn’t seem to mind. I’m not sure about that antenna, it does seem like it is detached, but we know it wasn’t. It is nice and sharp, but does seem disconnected. I think if it were mine I would see if I could remove it. That might seem strange then with only one antenna showing. Nice details in the bug, and I love the shades of green both in the subject and the BG.
Very nice photo Kris and how well the background blends in. The details are very good. Not sure about antennae , I agree with Shirley about this to see. A shift to the right and a slight left turn might have captured some of it on the subject which would show more of it. I like the hidden view, looks like he is peeking at you on the left side
Fun shot. I don’t think we have these creators here. The colors are very interesting. I like the orange edge. I can’t tell if the back is orange too or it’s just the edging. You got a nice sharp image and I like both positions you took. The antenna doesn’t bother me. I guess it shows that this bug has a very long antenna and gives the viewer more information. I wouldn’t know that if you cloned it out. Good job on the focus staking. I use Helicon Focus which does a pretty good job of auto alignment. It also allows you to look at all the photos in the stack afterwards and paint in any sections of them you want on the one you choose from the stake to use. I use it a lot on waterfall images. I can then paint in the water flow that I like best on the image I’m working on. All this can be done in Photoshop, but I find it easier to do in this program and it does a better job of alignment. It’s a little pricey though. I purchased the lifetime Pro which is $200, but I found a coupon for $40 off. I purchased it some time ago, so I don’t remember where I got the coupon. You can also pay a yearly subscription. They do give you a Pro free trial. Worth it if you do a lot of focus staking. It’s a Raw in DNG out.
Thanks @Shirley_Freeman, @Dean_Salman, @Mike_Friel, @linda_mellor & @Donna_Callais - glad the experiment worked. Zerene Stacker to the rescue. I’ve posted a second image with the far antenna removed, see what you think. I’m guessing if you didn’t know it was there you wouldn’t miss it.
Glad you’re having success with Helicon @Donna_Callais - Stacking software does need to be specialists so having a choice is good. I went with Zerene Stacker and have had good results with it. I have the Pro version that’s discounted for consumers. The retouching is nice and easier than Photoshop for anything involving more than 3 photos or so.
Warning - it’s not as flashy as Helicon. It’s got a positively antique interface, but if you do deep stacking it has slabbing and I find the retouching tools really flexible.
Nice image of san interesting critter. I like green on green with the insect being separated from the background by orange edges. I don’t mind the antenna on the other side of the stem as it is sharp. I also like the one peeking from behind the stem. When they realize you are around and looking at them, they do move around to hide. It is fun playing with them.
Thanks @ravi -the orange is really hard to see with the naked eye and I’m not sure I’d ever noticed it before photographing one of these guys. Yesterday I was outside reading for a while and one ambled along, moving relentlessly and constantly on the ground. I picked it up to study it a bit, but it just kept walking over my hand and arm without sitting still. Funny guys and yeah, they are fun to handle and be around.
