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Barrel Cactus Flower
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Barrel Cactus Flower

by Eirini Pajak

Gallery: FloraPosted July 30, 201260 views9 comments
5D2 @100mm

Stack of 59, zerene stacker
ISO 200, f8, 1/80.

I did not need to retouch this at all to remove artifacts & I did not use a focusing rail...zerene seems to handle large stacks very easily.

The flower was more reddish/orange than shown here, but I found the red colors overpowering so I messed a little with the white balance, saturation & color slider....

I don't seem to know how to handle reds very well!

C&C appreciated.

Comments

9 comments
Comment posted by Nathan Buck on July 30, 2012 at 5:39 PM
I love the amount of detail Eirini, and that size of stack is very impressive. To me, the comp feels as though the flower is sort of 'falling away from me' to the right - I think I would have liked the plane of focus lined up a bit better, or tilted more away from the viewer. That feeling leaves me with a lot of tension.

Nathan
Registered on November 1, 2003, 1101 Posts, 13589 Comments
Comment posted by Eirini Pajak on July 30, 2012 at 5:53 PM
hmmm....I can see what you are referring to! I think maybe you are right to some extent about my plane of focus, but it could also be that there was a thorn pushing some of the petals forward that I pushed back out of the way! I am not totally content with this photo but have been having a horrible time photographing these flowers for some reason!
Registered on December 13, 2011, 216 Posts, 1671 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Windom on July 30, 2012 at 7:54 PM
Terrific detail....good job on the stack. I agree with Nathan about the image seeming to fall away to the right although I gotta admit I didn't notice it at first. I would bring back some of those reds....

(Sending you an email re: my experience with Zerene).
Registered on November 1, 2003, 176 Posts, 2302 Comments
Comment posted by Philip Hodgkins on July 30, 2012 at 8:39 PM
Must not have been zip for wind. :biggrin: I question the actual need for that many images at f/8. I do like the results, however!

Red is tough, indeed.
Registered on July 24, 2006, 2741 Posts, 12349 Comments
Comment posted by scott lanz on July 30, 2012 at 10:05 PM
Like Phil, I wonder about the need for all those images, as well as how you even accomplished it without a rail, but you can't argue with the result. Stunning. :toast:
Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments
Comment posted by Bob&Charly Nelson on July 31, 2012 at 12:38 AM
Fantastic in my opinion, it looks like it is crafted from gold dust. I like it as is.
Bob :wavey:
Registered on October 27, 2005, 289 Posts, 4202 Comments
Comment posted by Howard Cheek on July 31, 2012 at 5:34 PM
Results look good to me Eirini..Not having used the stacking software as yet I can offer this one comment.
If I ever have to to stack 59 images to produce a single floral image, well that's the day I QUIT! :biggrin:
That's too much like work anyway :smile:
Nicely done as posted :toast:
Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments
Comment posted by Albert Darmo on July 31, 2012 at 7:03 PM
Hi Eirini :wavey: Robert said it so well," It looks like it's crafted from gold dust" flawless detail, light and color :toast:
Albert Darmo
Registered on November 25, 2008, 1386 Posts, 11978 Comments
Comment posted by Lorna Taylor on August 1, 2012 at 5:47 PM
Stunning detail, and I love the gold yellows tones of the flower and the few curling pedals . :toast:
Registered on November 12, 2010, 254 Posts, 3083 Comments