Stinkbug. First post

Images of undisturbed subjects in their natural environment. All subject types.

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Waveluke
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Joined: Mon Dec 24, 2018 3:39 pm
Location: Pacific Northwest

Stinkbug. First post

Post by Waveluke »

Image

Stinkbug. Shot using reversed Nikon El Nikkor 50mm f/2.8 enlarger lens on bellows at about 2:1 or 3:1 magnification ratio, 50 image focus stack, raw processed with Rawtherapee, focus stacked in Affinity Photo. First is the whole picture and the second is a 1:1 crop.

I left the bug outside in a jar overnight to cool so it would be still, and put it on a paper plate. I used natural light, as adding lighting was causing the stinkbug to move too much.

I am new to extreme macro and this is my first extensive focus stack.

Constructive criticism welcome and encouraged.

ChrisR
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Post by ChrisR »

Welcome to the forum!
And well done for getting the mechanics & software working.
Cooling them down is a good way to slow them down (though a paper plate environment we would say is for the"studio" section, we'll move it later).

Your paper (or some foliage) also has to be cold or they start moving very quickly! Live specimens are hard; a windowsill-grade dead moth is good for proactice. Lighting is the next hardest thing; if you'd had a white/silver reflector to the left, it would have made a big difference to shadow detail.
On a pictorial point, people in general seem to find out-of-focus foregrounds less acceptable that OOF backgrounds.

We'll look forward to seeing what you find next ;)
Chris R

rjlittlefield
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Re: Stinkbug. First post

Post by rjlittlefield »

Welcome to photomacrography, both the sport and the forum!
Waveluke wrote:First is the whole picture and the second is a 1:1 crop.
I'm not seeing a second image, either in your post or by admin view into recent uploads. Did the crop not get uploaded?

--Rik

Waveluke
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Dec 24, 2018 3:39 pm
Location: Pacific Northwest

Post by Waveluke »

ChrisR wrote:(though a paper plate environment we would say is for the"studio" section, we'll move it later)
Wasn't sure about categorization as I shot outside in natural light, but with paper plate.
ChrisR wrote: Lighting is the next hardest thing; if you'd had a white/silver reflector to the left, it would have made a big difference to shadow detail.

On a pictorial point, people in general seem to find out-of-focus foregrounds less acceptable that OOF backgrounds.
Good feedback. I tried using a flashlight as fill light, but that caused the bug to move too much. More paper would have worked as a fill much better, although I did raise the shadows somewhat in post through dodge and burn.

The paper plate was randomly found outside, so it was cold, too.

And on the DOF point, I was just thinking, "I need to get the body in focus" but I have heard about the advice w/ regards to OOF foregrounds. I didn't think to apply it to foreground legs, as I implicitly assumed that they were not part of the subject, so thanks for that point.

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