Posted by Bill Pelzmann on April 12, 2012 at 4:13 AM
I found the handsome fellow last fall on a trail above Kebler Pass.
He was dead, but I thought he would still make a great macro subject for practice, so I took him home, and finally got around to the portrait session yesterday.
Shot with window light and one reflector.
Canon 100mm Macro + 20mm extension tube.
f/8, 24 image focus stack with Helicon Focus.
Posted by Todd Caudle on April 12, 2012 at 9:25 AM
Beautiful shot, Grasshopper!
Posted by Jack Garrett on April 12, 2012 at 10:29 AM
did you embalm him, he still has color? Nice macro Bill.
Posted by Bill Pelzmann on April 12, 2012 at 11:32 AM
No embalming, Jack. He did change color from a brilliant green all over to this mottled green and dark brown.
I obviously should have done this much sooner.
Posted by Bob Maynard on April 12, 2012 at 2:46 PM
BTW, Bill: I've brought Helicon Focus into the Louisville National Juried Photography Show as a sponsor this year. I'll have six copies to give away. Entry deadline is May 9.
As one who has done stacking a bit, I think you did a fantastic job on this subject, Bill!
I am also impressed that Helicon did a good job on alignment. When I was running trials between Helicon and Zerene, I found I typically had to conduct more post editing with Helicon. But frankly, it all depends on the image. Each program has its strengths and weaknesses.
Posted by Bill Pelzmann on April 12, 2012 at 10:56 PM
Ken, I appreciate the positive feedback from an experienced macro photographer.
I was also very pleased with the results from Helicon using the default settings. Even a novice like me can run it!
There were a few boundaries that required manual touchup. In particular, the problems appeared where there was a big change in focus between the adjoining areas. The result was a narrow halo of blur that was easily corrected by manually selecting the correct source image. I doubt there is a program that will perfectly focus stack any image thrown at it. Some just require more work than others.
At the time I tested Helicon, I was not aware of Zerene. One of these days I will have to check it out, based on all the great recommendations.
Posted by Adam Schallau on April 13, 2012 at 12:30 PM
Very nice!
Posted by Kalin Wilson on April 13, 2012 at 2:01 PM
This is so cool, and a terrific way to practice!
24 image focus stack? Well, it seems to have worked very well! I like this a lot, Bill. Hope you keep focusing (..ouch!) on this kind of photography.
Discussion
13 repliesHe was dead, but I thought he would still make a great macro subject for practice, so I took him home, and finally got around to the portrait session yesterday.
Shot with window light and one reflector.
Canon 100mm Macro + 20mm extension tube.
f/8, 24 image focus stack with Helicon Focus.
I obviously should have done this much sooner.
I am also impressed that Helicon did a good job on alignment. When I was running trials between Helicon and Zerene, I found I typically had to conduct more post editing with Helicon. But frankly, it all depends on the image. Each program has its strengths and weaknesses.
I was also very pleased with the results from Helicon using the default settings. Even a novice like me can run it!
There were a few boundaries that required manual touchup. In particular, the problems appeared where there was a big change in focus between the adjoining areas. The result was a narrow halo of blur that was easily corrected by manually selecting the correct source image. I doubt there is a program that will perfectly focus stack any image thrown at it. Some just require more work than others.
At the time I tested Helicon, I was not aware of Zerene. One of these days I will have to check it out, based on all the great recommendations.
24 image focus stack? Well, it seems to have worked very well! I like this a lot, Bill. Hope you keep focusing (..ouch!) on this kind of photography.