Stacked Henbit

[Ken Childs]

Canon EOS REBEL T1i
Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro w/12mm tube and 1.4x extender
Av mode
1/25"
F8
ISO 200
Tripod + macro rail
Zerene Stacker
CS3

From the edge of the lower petal to the fuzzy top this flower measures 7mm.

BG is white foam board. Shot indoors with east facing window light.
Cropped, curves, contrast boost, high pass and edge sharpening.

This is a stack of 14 images shot with the camera hooked up to my laptop using the EOS utility in live view mode.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Ken,
Stacking you say......pretty cool! I like the high key BG......but I am debating the sharpness of some areas.....but not familiar with the technique.....so don't know what to add. I think I have these in NJ....so in a few weeks will have to try it myself!

[Anita Bower]

I might title it "Gelled Hair."

I like that you included the leaves. I am partial to white bgs, so like it here. You did a great job with the stacking. I like seeing the little hairs in all the various parts--flower, leaves, front, back. Good job!

What patience to take 14 shots. Using the computer monitor, live view and rail sound like the way to go--would never have thought of it. I just got extension tubes, but no rail.

[Brendan Dozier]

That is really an interesting looking flower! It has so many different contrasting elements to it. Being so tiny, I think the white BG helps to you to see the shape and bring out the fuzziness more. Would never have known that it was stacked images. Pretty cool!

[Chris Korman]

Really nice lighting on this plant and nice pastel purples. How did you stack them auto or manual?

[Ken Childs]

Anita, using my laptop was definitely the way to go. They make programs and specially designed rails that do all the work for you but I don't have an extra $500 to spend on that right now. :bg3: 14 exposures may seem like a lot but the people that are really into stacking bug photos will stack 50 to 200 shots!

Chris, this stack was done automatically.

[Patrick Sparkman]

Very nice Ken! I like the composition, and the background. You have inspired me to bring some of these inside, and try the same technique. There are about a million of these blooming around the house right now.

Agree with Roman that there seems to be some OOF areas, although it might just be the way the bloom is shaped.

[Mark T Helm]

Canon EOS REBEL T1i
Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro w/12mm tube and 1.4x extender
Av mode
1/25"
F8
ISO 200
Tripod + macro rail
Zerene Stacker
CS3

From the edge of the lower petal to the fuzzy top this flower measures 7mm.

BG is white foam board. Shot indoors with east facing window light.
Cropped, curves, contrast boost, high pass and edge sharpening.

This is a stack of 14 images shot with the camera hooked up to my laptop using the EOS utility in live view mode.

Hi Ken, good stack, detail is sharp, lighting is little bright but I am not a white BG fan for flowers.
Is the 7mm measurement horizontal or vertical?
the out of focus bands are a symptom of not overlapping shots in the stack, this can be caused by not shooting in manual and the camera refocusing or the stacking steps are too large but 14 images should be plenty.
we are all learning. Take care.

[Michael Lloyd]

Nice!

I think Roman is seeing the area below the red part of the flower. It looks a little soft.

My first and only stack attempt didn't turn out so well. I tried to stack 4 images from Henbit but the wind was blowing. Helicon Focus seems to be good software but I think that it still requires the photographer to do everything right :bg3: Mine appear to be all gone now so no redo for me.