Stacked Slipper

[Steve Adkins]

Found this pink and white lady slipper yesterday.
Went back today for another session and no luck... the deer (or something) had eaten it.:eek:
14 images focus stacked. CS5 levels, curves.
Zerene Stacker used for stacking and editing. I'm really enjoying this program.
All C&C welcome.

[denise ippolito]

Steve, Really nice comp. and great job w/ the stacking. I like the color tones and the sharp details through out really do make this special. I might tone down the small white area on the top petal. Nice work:)

[Christopher Miller]

Beautiful work, Steve. Very nice comp and I love all the details and lighting. Looks just a little bit tight on both the left and right.

[Paul Lagasi]

Very nice work...love the results..I don't have this program, what exactly does Stacking do?

[Lance Peters]

Very nice work...love the results..I don't have this program, what exactly does Stacking do?

Stacking allows you to create greater DOF - 14 images taken above each with a different point of focus - dOF varies on each - they are then combined in P.S. to create one image with a greater DOF than any of the single images.

Think HDR for DOF :)

[Lance Peters]

Nice work steve - for my own personal tastes - Id prefer a little more seperation between the leaf and the flower.
Well done :)

[Steve Adkins]

Thanks denise, Paul, Christopher and Lance. I have made a couple changes to add more room L&R and tone down the top petal but won't repost. Thanks a bunch for your vision. :)
Paul, Lance gave a great description of focus stacking.
It's a good way to extend your DOF yet keep the BG blurred.
Also lets you use a larger aperture if higher shutter speeds or lower ISO is needed.
CS5 and I think CS4 have this built in. I went with Zerene because of the editing method.
Lance, Yes I had hoped the flower would be more separated but it was nestled so naturally in the fold of the leaf. :)

[Jackie Schuknecht]

Lucky you to have found a lady slipper Steve. Techs mentioned, never heard of that program but will give it a look. Looks pretty sharp throughout. Hope you get more shots. Lots of work to do 14 images, so kudos to you for that!

[Kerry Perkins]

Very nice work Steve! I really like the combination of stacked focus and blurred background. Like the colors of the flower against all that green.

[Steve Adkins]

Thanks a bunch, Kerry :)