The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
Edit comment: Sometimes one can get away with single capture still. My primary concern with the single capture was the details in the BG. I shot some frames at f32 and even f45 and gained a little more detail in the leaves but picked up too much icky BG. This seemed the best compromise
We have a large plot of calla lilies but they were decimated by the freeze last winter and were looking pretty sorry. Chrissy was engaged with other corners of the garden and really didn’t do much with them. A few weeks ago they started to reemerge on their own and I thought the juxtaposed leaves made a nice comp. If the weather cooperates, and so far this has been an incredibly mild fall, they may flower again in a few months.>=))>
Specific Feedback
Tried several different stacking methods and settle on the pyramid result. Wish I could understand all the potential variations. I need some tutoring from Mark Seaver!
Technical Details
Sony A7rIII
Sony FE 70-200 f2.8 GM-II, 2xTC @ 360mm
ISO 400, 1/30 @ f8, 26 shot stack in Helicon Focus
Single Capture
ISO 400, 1/5 sec @ f22
Critique Template
Use of the template is optional, but it can help spark ideas.
I love this composition, Bill. It’s just perfect for my taste. I do see a couple of minor stacking issues on close examination, both on the top, almost edge on, portions of the bottom leaf. Unfortunately, I’m not enough of a stacking guru to help fix the issue. The image appears nicely sharp on both sides of those areas, so it’s not making a lot of sense to me, but hopefully Mark can chime in with some good advice.
I think you’ve caught nearly all shades of green in this one frame. The light and texture, not to mention the near 3D quality is quite harmonious and extraordinary.
I’m not Mark, nor do I play him on TV, but insofar as stacking goes, I rarely leave my images as an un-retouched stack. I usually will start with a DMap image because I find it leaves the background smoother and with less haloing around structures. When I start retouching I usually begin with the PMax image and paint those details on where needed. This is often in areas where tiny bits overlap as PMax does a better job on that than a Depth Map. Frequently I need to paint from a source image and so it helps to not have too many or do some slabbing beforehand if I have say more than 40 images to stack. Clear as mud, what? Check out the stacking thread here in discussions if you haven’t already and maybe it will help. Cheers!
