Mushroom & Moss


Posted by cwdavis on Fri Sep 28, 2018 2:22 pm

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The cap on this little fellow was ~5mm,
Mason Farm, Chapel Hill, NC

Sony a7riii w/ adapted Canon MP-E 65mm/2.8 macro
Stack of 15 images, f/5.6, 0.5 sec, ISO 400
C William Davis
Chapel Hill, NC

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by Tom Whelan on Fri Sep 28, 2018 8:40 pm
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Pretty setting for a tiny mushroom - nice moss detail and color.
Tom

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by Cynthia Crawford on Tue Oct 02, 2018 9:10 pm
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Lovely miniature- vibrant colors. I wish the lower right hand oof area was less obtrusive-perhaps crop a little?
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by Matthew Pugh on Thu Oct 04, 2018 8:59 am
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Hi

I like the composition - I like the setting and subject material, but yes the OOF effects are not helping imo

I know nothing about stacking, but suspect you could just have used a tripod/smaller aperture to gain more DOF to make the stacking easier?


All the best
Matthew
 

by cwdavis on Sat Oct 06, 2018 3:17 pm
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Thank you for the complements & constructive input.  After posting this one, I was wishing I had held it back, basically for the problems in the foreground.  There were two things working against me, the 1st being the angle of the camera & lens was such that the back edge of the cap was in the same plane of focus as the foreground moss.  The 2nd what I believe to be artifacts from the stacking merge algorithm in PS -- the 'out of focus' area in the leaf at the lower right is mostly artifact, and if you look carefully around the edge at the left of the leaf you'll see a halo which is also artifact.

Matthew, at about a 2:1 magnification, a tripod was absolutely essential, especially when shooting a 15 image stack.  And, I considered a smaller aperture, but found that increasing the f/ beyond 5.6 brought too much of the background moss into plain view.  This was a tough one and I should have used it just for the lessons learned!  Still a fun one, though ...

Bill
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by Cynthia Crawford on Sat Oct 06, 2018 4:17 pm
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cwdavis wrote:Thank you for the complements & constructive input.  After posting this one, I was wishing I had held it back, basically for the problems in the foreground.  There were two things working against me, the 1st being the angle of the camera & lens was such that the back edge of the cap was in the same plane of focus as the foreground moss.  The 2nd what I believe to be artifacts from the stacking merge algorithm in PS -- the 'out of focus' area in the leaf at the lower right is mostly artifact, and if you look carefully around the edge at the left of the leaf you'll see a halo which is also artifact.

Matthew, at about a 2:1 magnification, a tripod was absolutely essential, especially when shooting a 15 image stack.  And, I considered a smaller aperture, but found that increasing the f/ beyond 5.6 brought too much of the background moss into plain view.  This was a tough one and I should have used it just for the lessons learned!  Still a fun one, though ...

Bill
Hi Bill

That all makes sense....as far as I know about image stacking, which is about nothing!  I'm sure it is tricky business and I admire any effort to get such fine close detail with apparently much thought and forethought. Most of my subjects only stand still for a shot moment-it would be fun to enjoy more things that don't fly away!  I guess there was no way to simply turn the camera slightly to the left to avoid the leaf altogether?
Cynthia (Cindy) Crawford-Moderator, Photo & Digital Art
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"If I Keep a Green Bough in My Heart, the Singing Bird Will Come"  Chinese Proverb
 

by Matthew Pugh on Fri Oct 12, 2018 8:59 am
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Hi Bill

I understand your remarks and I guess its all down to taste - but why not try for a front to back sharp look? The moss looks nice, and contrasts against the main star, hence you already have your subject to surround separation. either way thanks for the explanation - and its not a bad shot!

All the best
Matthew
 

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