3D Dew drops

Just sharing my attempt at focus stacking to attain more DOF at high mags. Tried CS5 but went with Photoaccute Studio as it required less cropping. Next time I will give myself more room to work with in CS5.
Used 11 images at about 1 mm focus adjustment on RRS focus rail.
6x with bellows and reversed 24mm. 6"@f22, ISO 400
Modified some of the masks to enhance the DOF but there are still some gaps. Needed more "slices".
So... since I have been scratching my head over the 3D Theme and I have dew drop refractions on my bucket list... decided to modify the "small worlds" polar coordinates technique and added a spot light and shadows.

My only excuse for this image is that I teach 6th grade and these last days of school are having an affect on me :eek:

All C&C welcome. Have Fun!:D

Hi Steve, I think it's a great example of 3D effects and a really cool image! I do wish the stamen was in focus... Nice work on the droplets!

Steve, I like the bold colors and the dew drops are fantastic. I agree w/ Kerry wanting the stamen more in focus, but from your explanation I can see that you do too. Maybe a tiny bit tight on top? Very creaitve:)

Steve, the colors are really nice together and the dew drops are really nice (and very cool). Well done:)

I think the dew drops look fabulous. I too think it would have looked nice to have the stamen in focus. Beautiful colour of blue in the flower.

Love the contrast between the yellow and blue colors. The little dew drop spheres are very cool! They are very 3D.

I haven't tried the DOF stacking capabilities in CS5 yet, but I really preferred Helicon Focus over CS4 or any other stacking programs I tried.

Thanks everyone for your support. Enjoyed finding out more about the software. Thanks for the tip on Helicon Focus, Patti. I'm going to look into it.:)

Steve, I went to a George Lepp seminar a month ago as Art Morris' guest and George Lepp said he likes the stacking capabilities in CS5 better than Helicon focus. May be worth looking into.:)

Thanks for this insight denise! I hope to learn more about focus stacking and practice this over the coming months... If I'm successful, I'll share :)