23 images stacked at f/2.8 over 1/8th of an inch!

[Bilbo_baggin]

This is the tiny central stamen of a (I think) an alstroemeria flower which spread over less than ¼ inch, but I couldn't do more images because of the file sizes that it would create!

I deliberately chose f/2.8 as I wanted all the background petals completely defocused to keep it abstract whilst keep the focal point on the stamen. These 23 images took me an hour to shoot, process, and stack (using combine CZ). I also used some Gaussian blur to hide a few artefacts that the stack generated, but it came out pretty much as I envisaged.


WDYT?

Exif:

Camera Maker: Canon
Camera Model: Canon EOS 550D
Image Date: 2011-06-19 12:45:39 (no TZ)
Focal Length: 105.0mm
Aperture: f/2.8
Exposure Time: 0.022 s (1/45)
ISO equiv: 100
Exposure Bias: none
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: aperture priority (semi-auto)
White Balance: Auto
Flash Fired: No (enforced)
Orientation: Normal
GPS Coordinate: undefined, undefined
Photographer: Paul Iddon
Copyright: A View of the UK - Paul Iddon Photography






Paul.

[dpSparhawk]

Very cool mate. It's not an easy process to do well but you've done very well mate.

Nice shot.

[WRATH OF BOD]

realy well done mate.

[Bilbo_baggin]

Cheers chaps. Worth the effort then!


Paul.

[cybollox]

very sharp mate, and patience of a saint.

[Goldberg]

Nice shot, but forget the Noobness here.... What does Stacking mean and why do you need to do it?

I take it that you have 23 shots and merge them together, cleaning it up afterwards?

[BertRoot]

Fantastic work mate but not liking your watermark with a camera in it. detracts from the image IMO.

[greaseweasel]

Great bit of work, not meant negatively but wouldn't it have been easier to shoot at a higher f stop and then add the required blur to the background?

[dpSparhawk]

Goldberg, you're pretty much correct.

With Macro your DoF is down to millimetres. In fact, sometimes you can be photographing a tiny subject and still not get it all in focus. By stacking you take a shot of every focal plane through the subject and then stack them on top of each other either by hand in photoshop or by using one of the specialised programs out there such as Zerene stacker, Helicon focus both of which are pay for programs or CombineZP which is free.

The end result should be a subject that has all aspects of what you want, in focus.

[Bilbo_baggin]

Cheers for the feedback chaps.

Spot on reply Ian.

As for using a higher f-stop Greaseweasel, the reason behind all that work was to ensure that the petals behind became totally abstract with because the depth of field would never reach that far on 2.8, but it would show signs of the petals at say f/5.6 or higher, which I was deliberately avoiding in this instance.


Paul.