The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Calypso Bulbosa
The skies darkened as the evening wore on. Lightning began to flash and thunder rumbled through the canyons. A moderately heavy rain fell in the forest. From the comfort of my home I wondered how this little clump of Calypso Orchids would fair. A few days prior I had discovered them while on an exploratory walk-about. They were not yet open, but I suspected that several days of quite warm weather would be just what was needed for these tiny but stunning little flowers, also known as Fairy Slippers, to open up in all their glory. I was a bit worried that the rain may have damaged them, but as I approached where I remembered seeing them, a smile came to my face as I noticed not just intact blooms, but that they were covered in rainwater droplets. Here’s one of the flowers, isolated with a macro lens, showcasing the delightful shapes and textures these plants possess.
Specific Feedback
It’s very difficult to get rid of the artifacts of stacking a lot of images when the lens is just 4 or 5 inches from the flower. I’ve worked most of them out, but a few remain. Do you find it distracting? It’s crazy the detail a stacked macro shot captures, but it also removes some of the softness you perceive when viewing from a standing position. Does the texture bother you at all?
Technical Details
Nikon D850
Sigma 105 macro 2.8
ISO 320, f/5, 1/80th second
88 images stacked in Helicon Focus and processed in Lightroom Classic CC
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
I can see a few artifacts pixel peeping at the largest image, Paul, but certainly nothing worth worrying about except just possibly the out of focus yellow band along the base of the blossom, especially where the drop is hanging from the blossom. Some of those things are just about impossible to remove, and I probably wouldn’t have noticed it if I hadn’t known this was a stack and started looking for artifacts. I love that you were able to get the out of focus blooms in the background and the way they’re refracted through the drops. The only thing I could think of to change is to give the blossom just a bit more room. A beautiful image.
I love the image, the colors and the composition are great IMHO.
These little orchids are one of my favorite flowers in the wild.
Thanks for the story of how you planned the photoshoot.
I don’t have a lot of experience with focus stacking, especially with stacks near 88 images at once.
I’ve dealt with 3 to 5 image stacks, but to my untrained eyes, I’m not seeing anything distracting.
I like the texture!
The only suggestion I have is to select the background, then reduce the gamma and/or the exposure just a bit. And the reason is to provide a little separation between the star of the show and the background.
It works well as it is of course, but the adjustment may add to the overall appeal.
Very lovely!! I was wishing for more contrast and then when I saw @Merv’s suggestion, it worked well. Maybe a mix of both. But a lovely find!
When stacking I have more issues with halos as the aperture becomes wider, and with a very close macro, a smaller aperture is even more important. But that usually gives too much detail in the BG. I’ve started doing a BG exposure at wide aperture and attempting to composite it, but it isn’t easy.
Such beauties - thanks for finding and waiting them out. It’s like they were waiting for you and your stacking expertise. I don’t stack this many images often, but when I do I almost always have some tiny glitches that remain after all my clean up. I didn’t study this close enough to discover them. I don’t mind the brightness of the background, but that little bright strip that is OOF back there could go easily, but of course and as always that’s up to you. What a fantastic fine.
Paul: I hope I don’t sound like a curmudgeon but I wonder if 88 images isn’t gross overkill. Perhaps we do it because we can but I would venture that you might get fewer artifacts with a fraction of the images. That said, I am a relative novice at stacking and my camera will not auto stack so I have to have still conditions and work with larger focus areas. As for the general image I love it and am green with envy. I’ve never seen fairy slippers or any other wild orchids for that matter. The tweak that @Merv showed is a nice boost IMO. Back to you. >=))>
@Bill_Fach Thats a valid point, but honestly when the lens is this close, ( I was at the minimum focus distance, which I think is 8 " from the sensor and the lens is at least 5 inches long) the difference in depth of field is fairly negligible. in addition, the background starts to look a little “crunchy” at smaller apertures. I could probably set the “step” between shots to a bigger number…I use 4 of 10 and get away with fewer shots. It’s such a time (and card space) commitment that I tend to stick with what has worked! I should try though!
@Merv I like what you did there! I’ll try that with a little less darkness. I dont want it to look like I used a fill flash. @Diane_Miller I’ll tweak it a bit and add it to the top! I’ve just learned how to do blends for Milky Ways, I’ll have to try what you’ve suggested next time! @Kris_Smith I saw that as I posted but didnt have the SSD with that library with me. I’ll work on that in the shot I’ll add at the top! Thanks all for your suggestions.
