Damsel

doenoe · Post by **doenoe** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 10:00 am

Well, this is my first stack, that worked out a bit. Tried another one of a cricket, but that was not really showable here.
Found the damsel in my brothers house and threw it in the freezer, which didnt do good things to its eye. It collected some dust, so its doesnt look to clean.
I shot these with a Canon 350D with a Sigma 105mm 2.8 macro and bellows (got those this week, so i had to play with it) For lighting i used my Speedlite 430EX. I did the focus stack, so i turned the bellow backwards. The lens was moving away from the subject. I have to work on a more stable place to use the bellows. I now screwed it on a piece of wood and the subject was on a placed on a stack of cd-cases
Anyways, here is the pic:

Any advise would be great
Thanks for looking
Greetz Daan

nto · Post by **nto** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 5:59 pm

doenoe i understand impatience stack, I believe that damsel deserved better photos, it seems that you have good control light, perhaps it would be test case with other entities where have technical mastery continue criters photos, this and only thought, not rule.

cheers doenoe

augusthouse · Post by **augusthouse** » Fri Jun 27, 2008 12:35 am

Hi Daan,
This is good to see. Focus stacking is not any easy task at first. I don't know if it ever gets 'easy' as I'm still learning myself.

There is a calculated discipline involved (as there is in all areas of photography) and the best way to learn that is to read, learn from others (you are in the right place for that) and gradually apply that knowledge as you have begun to do here.

It always has its challenges and each project adds to your experience and helps prepare you for the next, as you have already discovered in regard to the stability of your setup.

The next step would be to look at the distance between each shot used in the stack and the method you are using to move the camera or subject. It will be different somewhat in most cases and will need to be calculated with consideration of both equipment and subject.

Supporting the subject is also important and another consideration is vibration, either in the immediate environment or in the actual mechanics of the camera that are involved when the shutter is triggered.

You should feel encouraged by some of the elements in this shot. If you have the passion and the patience then the technique will follow along as a matter of course.

Craig

doenoe · Post by **doenoe** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 12:41 am

Thanks for the comments.
nto: you are right, i should have tried it on other things first. I have crickets in the house every week, for feeding my bearded dragons. Most of the time there are some dead ones or nearly dead ones in the package. So im just gonna use those as my models.
augusthouse: im gonna have to look into some new equipment, so i can move the subject with smaller and more even steps then i did now. Turning the knob on the bellows probably isnt the best thing to do. Also have to look into lighting the subject. I now used the normal flash, which was bounced against a wall, i think i need to get the flash off-camera so i can get the light from a different angle. To shorten the story here, i have alot to learn and need other stuff to make some decent stacks.
I allready read alot on this site and its really helpful. Im just gonna keep on reading and learning and try to do the best i can at this stage

Thanks for the help