Description: Monarda fistulosa or beebalm is a common member of the mint family that is growing around the Duck Pond. I cut one of the fresher flowers and brought it into the studio. I lit the specimen with two flashes set at 0.0 and -1.0ev and fired off 40 exposures with focus shift. I allowed 10 seconds between exposures to compensate for flash recharging.
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Pertinent technical details or techniques: D850 105mm f2.8 micro (1/60 sec at f5.6, ISO 64) 40 image stack Pmax, Levels, Rubber stamp tool to remove several halos, Luminosity mask with negative curve adjustment for highlights, crop for comp.
Is this a composite? Yes, 40 image stack
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This is exceptional, Jim. You’ve taken a complex and sometimes messy flower and turned into a statement. The lighting is really terrific. And 40 exposures! The stack looks good to me and the black background makes this stand out. The two pairs of leaves are the perfect underpinning. Wow. Fabulous job.
Absolutely gorgeous, Jim. Every detail of the flower and petals are crystal clear. Tiny little nit pick, I see a very faint line going down the right side? Is this part of your set up or just a fluke in the stacking? No matter, the image is just beautiful to look at. Very nicely done.
Gorgeous!! Fantastic view of the flower and wonderful lighting! I think it’s wonderful that someone who isn’t a photographer would never know that this kind of shot defies the laws of optics and lets us see a level of detail that couldn’t be presented without stacking.
Thank you @Diane_Miller, @Kris_Smith, @linda_mellor for you comments. Linda, I found one artifact that I missed and rubber stamped it out. Repost conveys the change…Jim
@Jim_Zablotny This isn’t a criticism, but a genuine question. I’ve used focus stacking when the situation merits. However I can’t think a single instance where I used more that four, maybe five exposures. Why forty?
I see that you shot at f5.6, and that is probably the sweet spot of the lens, and would require more exposures, plus you shot a ISO 64, which again adds to the need for more exposures. However, with the power of a flash couldn’t you drop to f8 or smaller and make fewer images.
It seems that the artifacts generated by the lens mechanism moving with the various focus points would be reduced with a smaller aperture and increased ISO.
When I’m shooting my plant portraits I use f22 and ISO 250 as a standard set-up. I will adjust the ISO down at times, but the DOF from my 100mm macro handles most wildflowers. Of course, shooting in the field seldom allows for multiple exposures because of the movement.
I’m curious, too. I also try to use a fairly small aperture, depending on the focal length and available light. I’ll go to a wide aperture if I need to blur the BG naturally.
