Lichen Landscapes 2

Basically the same technique as the last batch except not on the coffee table. This time I placed everything on the corner deck railing facing into the dimmest part of the woods.

My goal was to again provide a natural background, but this time one that was darker so the lichen stands out more distinctly.

I put these together in two sessions on two days - one around 6am when there was very little light yet and the other during the day, but in the shade. The LED panel was in my hand and I positioned it a little differently with each one. The one in the early morning needed a lot less light than the other and I powered it down to 40%.

The biggest difference is in the later in the day shots, the light is fill. In the early morning shots, it’s almost the only illumination in the scene. The result has a very different feel one to the other.

Specific Feedback Requested

General thoughts, opinions and suggestions are welcome.

Technical Details

Is this a composite: No
All done with the G9, P/L 45mm f/2.8 macro - at between f3/2 and f/5 (experimenting)
Beanbag support
20-odd image stacks using either 0/+ or 0/-/+ focus bracketing method - +2 steps to +4 steps
Lightroom for basic edits, Zerene for stacking and Photoshop when needed to remove distractions like spider thread.

@the.wire.smith

Kris: W :scream: w what an effort but well worth it. Fascinating subjects and superbly crafted images all. Mny kudos. >=))>

Well done. They remind me of a coral reef. The bg was a really good idea as well as mixing up the lighting. I like all four but the third image stands out for me.

Gorgeous, Kris, well worth the effort. Very nicely done.

Kris, you must have the patience of Job to capture so many images for stacking, and then editing and combining the images. Just the setup and lighting to me is quite the feat. They are all good.

Thanks so much you guys.

It’s really not that much trouble. The camera does a lot of the work in terms of image capture. I focus on one point, engage & configure focus bracketing & it does the rest. Some of these needed barely any retouching in Zerene and not much in Ps or Lr either. The bits & bobs for capture are just that…tools to make things easier and/or different. I think what you do, @Shirley_Freeman, with the flash set up is equally as detail-oriented.

Kris, I didn’t realize the camera did most of it. I haven’t tried focus stacking yet. Thank you for your kind comment. I am still learning even with the flash setup and one shot shots. I’m enjoying your lichen images (well, all of your images, really). Thanks for sharing.

Nice one Kris very interesting photo. The stacking did very well.