Peacock feather

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Sharon Artley

Sharon Artley

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Nikon D850 very first attempts at using focus shift shooting. Still very much a learning curve. 72 images stacked using Zerene Stacker. 1/200 | f16 | ISO 2800 | lens 105mm f2.8. Grateful for constructive comments and feedback.
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Both impressive and interesting. I’m surprised it’s 72 images at f16 but it’s useful info as it’s something I’d like to try. I’m guessing you left out some images to get OOF into the greens and if I’m right I totally agree. I would have done the sequence in a small tent as I find the window and furniture in the water drop distracting. And as another suggestion, I like how you’ve aligned to the dark green section, but the rachis is slanting to the left. I don’t know if it works but would aligning to the rachis give a more balanced feel? If this is the start of the learning curve I can’t imagine you’ll be up to in a couple of months. It’s already beautiful.
 
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Squawk said:
Both impressive and interesting. I’m surprised it’s 72 images at f16 but it’s useful info as it’s something I’d like to try. I’m guessing you left out some images to get OOF into the greens and if I’m right I totally agree. I would have done the sequence in a small tent as I find the window and furniture in the water drop distracting. And as another suggestion, I like how you’ve aligned to the dark green section, but the rachis is slanting to the left. I don’t know if it works but would aligning to the rachis give a more balanced feel? If this is the start of the learning curve I can’t imagine you’ll be up to in a couple of months. It’s already beautiful.
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Thank you very much for your reply. I take the point about the window and furniture being a distraction, but as I don't have a small tent in my office, I'll have to think of another solution! Sometimes you don't see things like this until it is processed. I didn't leave any images out. I don't quite know what you mean by "but the rachis is slanting to the left". The feather was not completely flat, so this was the natural bend. However, I think this adds a bit more depth and character to the image than if it were in one completely flat plane? Thanks again.
 
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Sharon Artley said:
Thank you very much for your reply. I take the point about the window and furniture being a distraction, but as I don't have a small tent in my office, I'll have to think of another solution! Sometimes you don't see things like this until it is processed. I didn't leave any images out. I don't quite know what you mean by "but the rachis is slanting to the left". The feather was not completely flat, so this was the natural bend. However, I think this adds a bit more depth and character to the image than if it were in one completely flat plane? Thanks again.
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You can get little tents specifically for photographing a subject in and they’re not expensive. Various sizes (sort of 20cm to 80cm I think), can come with different backgrounds and quite useful.

The rachis is the central support of a feather, I think quill would be another term. The bend is perfect and certainly shouldn’t be straightened out. I just found myself leaning to the left looking at the picture so wondered what it would look like slightly realigned. It may not work at all but I tend to try different angles as I’m not up to the standard of seeing the best shot straight off.

But this is all subjective – It’s your photo and the idea behind it and execution is great. I hope we’ll see more of your work and ideas soon.
 
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Squawk said:
You can get little tents specifically for photographing a subject in and they’re not expensive. Various sizes (sort of 20cm to 80cm I think), can come with different backgrounds and quite useful.

The rachis is the central support of a feather, I think quill would be another term. The bend is perfect and certainly shouldn’t be straightened out. I just found myself leaning to the left looking at the picture so wondered what it would look like slightly realigned. It may not work at all but I tend to try different angles as I’m not up to the standard of seeing the best shot straight off.

But this is all subjective – It’s your photo and the idea behind it and execution is great. I hope we’ll see more of your work and ideas soon.
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Aha! Thank you. I've learned a new word - comes from the Greek for spine or ridge. I love learning new terminology. Thanks also for the tent info. The image would look completely different if I had placed it another way. In a free moment, I might give it a go!
 
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Oh, if you love learning, the blue colour on your feather is produced mechanically and not by pigment. Feathers are the coolest things. Keep photographing them and create a whole new genre.
 
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Sharon Artley said:
Nikon D850 very first attempts at using focus shift shooting. Still very much a learning curve. 72 images stacked using Zerene Stacker. 1/200 | f16 | ISO 2800 | lens 105mm f2.8. Grateful for constructive comments and feedback.View attachment 5369
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WOW! Beautifully done! The feather detail almost looks as if the drop of water was resting on an old-fashioned braided rug!
 
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