First of all, I had to crank up the ISO (and I don't even like shooting this D80 at even 400) and use a large aperture, to counteract the lightest occasional breezes, which really move a hosta bud.
I knew that a dewdrop (well, a leftover raindrop, in this case) could act as lens. Salvias were blooming just behind the hosta. For this image, I focused on the salvias in the drop as best I could, which also gave a little bit of the bud in focus. If it was a still morning, I would have used a smaller aperture, or taken two images -- one for the salvias in the drop, and one for the hosta bud to get optimal focus on it.
With the limitations of a gentle breath of a breeze, I chose to take a single capture in camera (repeated several times, to keep only the one best focus). I'd still like better focus, and I feel that sharpening is at its max for this shot, so I'll just have to make some drops or catch the right morning another day.
Nikon D80, Nikon 105mm macro, 1/1000 @ f/4.8, ISO800, plus the usual cropping, contrast, noise, and luminance and sharpening tweaks.
I've always struggled with getting crystal clear water drops out in the field so I think you did an excellent job here, Bruce. I agree that you've probably pushed the image as far as it can go but I like it as presented. Sure, sharper raindrop would be nice but it certainly isn't a deal breaker here.
The one little thing you might try to do is to clone over that small white spot that is in the middle of the salvia. Not sure if that's possible as it's pretty small but it does take away from the flower image inside the drop to me. The outer ring being whiter looks totally natural on the other hand.
Using a Dewdrop as a Lens
