Flowers Continued

[JAS]

My recent efforts are more focused on composition to better present the subjects. No flowers are damaged in the production of these photos. All shots are of live plants, in place. I will remove dead leaves and debris but do not remove live items (buds, leaves, branches) though I will softly reposition them if safely possible. Many things to learn, but it is relaxing, fulfilling fun as I do so.

Photo processed in LrC and stacked with Helicon Focus. Additional work done in PS to remove blemishes, small spots, distractions and other impefections. I Will also use PS to blur certain parts of some photos that are captured in the stack but do not add to the image. This is done via use of a duplicate layer using the Box Blur filter. Then, using a layer mask on the blurred layer, selected areas are brushed in.

All shots with Nikon Z6 with the f 2.8, 70,-200mm S lens with a Canon 500 (2 diopter) Closeup lens with my old, less the great Sunpak tripod (my good one is not with me now). I typically set for 100 shots at f/5.6 (some variation here) and balance the shutter speed to keep the ISO under 1600. Set the step for 1 on smaller, closer subjects and 2 or 3 for larger subjects. A subset of shots are then selected for stacking to achieve the depth of fiels I want to present.

Shout out to Steve Perry for his wonderful video class on Focus Shift shooting and processing.

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[R.Philip]

Jackpot! Joe, I really like them all. Some still need some editing because of halo'ing.

 

[JAS]

Jackpot! Joe, I really like them all. Some still need some editing because of halo'ing.

Thank you for your comment! It is appreciated.

Yes, on the halo. First it was to learn the photo stacking technique, then to learn my way around the basics of Helicon Focus. Next has been on Composition because it is different when you plan to stack. Next will be to fine tune the processing to deal with artifacts like halos and other stuff. I want to get deeper into blending sets of stacks taken at different f/stops - something mentioned by Vincent Versace, that I have not yet seen in practice. So much to learn and so much fun doing so.

I am moving back home (Milwaukee, WI USA) after 12 years in the Middle East. I will get there in time to practice on our own flower gardens. What fun that will be!