Posted by Ken Henke on February 17, 2014 at 12:31 AM
Needed a bit a color imagery, so I visited the Denver Botanical Gardens. Sure is nice they allow tripods.
On the technical side, this is a 10 image stack.
C&C always encouraged.
Posted by Debbie Yarra on February 17, 2014 at 5:31 PM
Ken, the detail and color are amazing! I find the comp to be off for me. I feel the right side is lacking interest. I love the way the flowers lines lead into the center.... maybe a square crop off the right? Anyway, I have to commend you on the stacking, that isn't easy and this is flawless.
Posted by John Mumaw on February 18, 2014 at 12:44 AM
This is lovely, Ken! Couldn't disgree more with Debbie on the composition, though. Rule of thirds works great here. 10 images stacked? Wow. Well, it worked perfectly. Which DOF stacking software are you using?
Anyway, excellent work, and I look forward to seeing more from your day here.
Posted by Ken Henke on February 18, 2014 at 1:30 AM
Thanks for the comments. Yea, I tend to like the focal area of the stamen off to one corner. For this image, I l wanted the space on the right side as it leads to the focal area. Frankly, its not a spectacular flower to begin with, but sometimes simple is better. I also did not want to accentuate any details on the petals as it added nothing but distraction. I believe I achieve the objective of having the petals glow brightly.
John, I use Zerene Stacker to blend images.
Posted by Kurt Bowman on February 18, 2014 at 2:46 AM
I'm really liking this Ken. I agree with your comp decisions on this, but also am curious as John about your DOF on the stacked images?
Posted by Doug Koepsel on February 18, 2014 at 2:58 AM
Ken, I was thinking about a move of the black point in about 6 points in levels. Noticing your want for a glow in the petals, perhaps brushing this layer (or maybe one of increased contrast) in around the pistil/stamen center might be a consideration.
Posted by Ken Henke on February 18, 2014 at 3:49 AM
Doug, here's another version in which I had differing contrast and curves work. Probably works a bit better as you suggest, particularly for a web version.
And, yea, surprisingly, there was enough depth in this image to stack 10. But I could have gotten away with 5 or so with a higher f stop. Typically, when I am trying to capture the finest detail, like the hairlike structures, I tend to overdo it to fully capture the detail.
Posted by Stan Rose on February 21, 2014 at 6:11 PM
Discussion
8 repliesOn the technical side, this is a 10 image stack.
C&C always encouraged.
Anyway, excellent work, and I look forward to seeing more from your day here.
John, I use Zerene Stacker to blend images.
And, yea, surprisingly, there was enough depth in this image to stack 10. But I could have gotten away with 5 or so with a higher f stop. Typically, when I am trying to capture the finest detail, like the hairlike structures, I tend to overdo it to fully capture the detail.