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Ron Conlon
09-09-2014, 07:36 PM
A Japanese or hybrid anemone. We have several varieties of these, but these white ones are my favorites for their simplicity. It is the time of year when I begin to worry about the diminishing blooms to come. The anemones are among the last of my favorites--chrysanthemums are rarely attractive in closeup.

A stack of 12 images taken in a light box with remote flash and artificial background. D5100 tripod 200mm f6.3 1/200 ISO 100
I stacked this series about 7 times to learn more about the stacking software, and to eliminate some ghosts that had originally shown up as a result of stacking--some of the ghosting seemed to result from extra photos at the ends of the stacks. Settled on adjusted files in ACR, saved as Tiffs, stacked in Zerene by PMax, some local contrast enhancement and sharpening in PS. This one has a little more local contrast than I have used in the past...

Diane Miller
09-09-2014, 11:09 PM
Very nice! I wonder about a little more push of the histogram toward the dark end, to punch contrast just a little without overdoing the whites.

Ron Conlon
09-10-2014, 09:25 AM
Thanks Diane. It's funny, but my photos and taste have evolved toward a flatter, less vivid/contrasty style. I am not that experienced as a photographer, but I recognize the histogram that gives the pop to photos: the mountain range in the middle of the histogram. Now when I see photos of mine from a year or two ago, I reprocess them to a less vivid appearance. A lot of this probably has to do with all the lightbox work I have done recently, where the very even lighting makes the contrast low and generally brighter. I don't spend time in software trying to bring them down to pop in the midrange, but am happy, for the time, with the results. A link you had posted in another forum on this site to a wonderful article on raw files and processing had the intriguing statement that our color esthetic remains programmed by Kodachrome and Fuji slide films (though fortunately not Velvia, which though interesting would be a step too far if it were everywhere). It was an interesting thought. In any case, flatter is where my esthetic is, for the moment. Who knows where I will be in a year's time. However, I have moved toward a little more contrast and midrange on your suggestion(s) and think that perhaps I was too flat...

Diane Miller
09-10-2014, 10:08 AM
As you say, it's all a matter of taste, and mine certainly evolves, probably in circles. We'll always get a range of opinions on anything posted. So I'm never trying to talk anyone into anything -- just presenting what strikes me, for whatever it's worth.

I love our lightbox work -- keep it up! Someday I need to try it.

Jonathan Ashton
09-10-2014, 10:32 AM
Another absolute peach of a shot, I love the almost pastel like colours.

Kaushik Balakumar
09-10-2014, 03:31 PM
"Subtle" and "soft" were the words that came to my mind even before I scrolled down to read other comments.
I guess that's due to the low contrast (a flatter look) you've mentioned and I simply love it !

John Robinson
09-10-2014, 05:22 PM
Your trade mark stuff Ron.
I do wonder about the OOF stem though. Can't make my mine up.
John

Ron Conlon
09-10-2014, 06:36 PM
I couldn't make up my mind either John, had both, and ended up posting a version with stem oof.
Thanks, all.

Ron Conlon
09-11-2014, 06:28 AM
Diane, in the end I did as you said, starting over to apply a curve on all the individual photos to drop the brights a bit in ACR, and the end result is better. I should have tried it first before protesting and blathering. Thanks for all your insights and thoughtful critiques--despite mule-headedness on my part, I do eventually learn.

Steve Maxson
09-11-2014, 04:51 PM
Hi Ron. Another excellent image - the stacking worked quite well for you. Interesting discussion above about contrast. Sometimes I like the soft, low-contrast look and sometimes I prefer more pop - and that preference varies from image to image. In the end, I think it is largely a matter of personal taste. :S3: