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Flower stack, Heesch, Netherlands Another example of a focus shift stack done on a tiny flower taken from our garden. Unfortunately, I have no idea what type of flower it is. I really love the lighting in this one, but as you can see it suffers from strong halo effects around the edges. In this case it was too difficult to clean up. Halo is a result of focus stacking software being inaccurate in trying to determine which part of a single shot in a stack is sharp. <br /> <br /> Some more experiments done on this day:<br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/62997/blue_passion_flower_macro_heesch_netherlands.html" title="Blue Passion Flower macro, Heesch, Netherlands"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/2/62997_thumb.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1759968010&Signature=MbuJEHxFAl4ngTvxlicDsk7PZQ0%3D" width="200" height="126" alt="Blue Passion Flower macro, Heesch, Netherlands About 2 weeks ago, I noticed how our neighbour&#039;s passion flower plant, which grows several meters during a single summer, has made an entry into our garden by &quot;climbing&quot; over the fence. Great, because they are wonderful flowers. I made a note to myself that as soon as I have time, I will try a focus shifting stack on one of the flowers. As I was rather busy, each day I would just observe if the flower is still there, because a single flower was blossoming. <br /> <br /> Yes, it was still there each day for the whole 2 weeks. Except that it wasn&#039;t, because I&#039;ve now learned that passion flowers bloom for a single day. In other words, I was looking at a different flower every single day. Quite a mindf***?<br /> <br /> Anyway, bear with me a little as I am inexperienced in focus stacking. I&#039;ve made tons of mistakes and I&#039;m still not happy with these results, but you have to start somewhere. This is an in-house scene (every outdoor shot failed horribly due to wind) with the flower on a clamp, and a flash light for top lighting. My camera is flat on the table and I&#039;m using the Nikon D850&#039;s inbuilt focus shifting mode, where you simply enter the number of steps and the size of each step. The background was initially not this dark yet I had to apply some brushes due to halo effects as part of the stacking process. <br /> <br /> And oh yes, about passion flowers. As said, they bloom for a single day. Another remarkable fact is regarding the mimicry of some species. Butterflies using this flower as a host plant to deposit eggs, first check if another butterfly did not already deposited eggs, to avoid cannibalism. The passion flower has a brilliant defense: it contains a mimic of these butterfly eggs: small, orange round bulbs that looks like eggs, but are purely a misleading appendage. <br /> <br /> Some different crops:<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/63001/blue_passion_flower_macro_-_ii_heesch_netherlands.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/63002/blue_passion_flower_macro_-_iii_heesch_netherlands.html<br /> <br /> Different experiments:<br /> <br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/63005/white_flower_heesch_netherlands.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/63007/flower_stack_heesch_netherlands.html Europe,Focus Shift,Focus Stack,Heesch,Netherlands,Passiflora caerulea,World" /></a></figure><br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/63003/blue_passion_flower_-_core_heesch_netherlands.html" title="Blue Passion Flower - core, Heesch, Netherlands"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/2/63003_thumb.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1759968010&Signature=tMW4WWA9T0pBwPkcvrE4Ust8A28%3D" width="200" height="134" alt="Blue Passion Flower - core, Heesch, Netherlands A focus shift stack of just the stem of a passion flower. Held in a clamp in a diagonal angle towards the camera, back-lit by a flash light, bottom-lit by UV light (which does nothing on passion flowers). Closer:<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/63004/blue_passion_flower_-_core_ii_heesch_netherlands.html<br /> Here&#039;s another stack from another angle:<br /> <br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/63001/blue_passion_flower_macro_-_ii_heesch_netherlands.html<br /> <br /> Setup:<br /> https://scontent-ams3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/37235550_10156480611577692_1420255666567643136_o.jpg?_nc_cat=0&amp;oh=1fe828d163b5a711b1c4be6552ba64d9&amp;oe=5BEA5C43 Blue Passion Flower,Focus Shift,Focus Stack,Passiflora caerulea" /></a></figure><br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/63005/white_flower_heesch_netherlands.html" title="White flower, Heesch, Netherlands"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/2/63005_thumb.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1759968010&Signature=MO3BsGuKAjPW1HQwDOmuTbHaZdU%3D" width="200" height="134" alt="White flower, Heesch, Netherlands Another example of a focus shift stack done on a tiny flower taken from our garden. Unfortunately, I have no idea what type of flower it is. In this case I used a high key process to get rid of halos, although you can still see some traces of it.<br /> <br /> Some more experiments done on this day:<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/62997/blue_passion_flower_macro_heesch_netherlands.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/63003/blue_passion_flower_-_core_heesch_netherlands.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/63007/flower_stack_heesch_netherlands.html Europe,Focus Shift,Focus Stack,Heesch,Netherlands,World" /></a></figure> Europe,Focus Stack,Heesch,Netherlands,World Click/tap to enlarge Promoted

Flower stack, Heesch, Netherlands

Another example of a focus shift stack done on a tiny flower taken from our garden. Unfortunately, I have no idea what type of flower it is. I really love the lighting in this one, but as you can see it suffers from strong halo effects around the edges. In this case it was too difficult to clean up. Halo is a result of focus stacking software being inaccurate in trying to determine which part of a single shot in a stack is sharp.

Some more experiments done on this day:

Blue Passion Flower macro, Heesch, Netherlands About 2 weeks ago, I noticed how our neighbour's passion flower plant, which grows several meters during a single summer, has made an entry into our garden by "climbing" over the fence. Great, because they are wonderful flowers. I made a note to myself that as soon as I have time, I will try a focus shifting stack on one of the flowers. As I was rather busy, each day I would just observe if the flower is still there, because a single flower was blossoming. <br /> <br /> Yes, it was still there each day for the whole 2 weeks. Except that it wasn't, because I've now learned that passion flowers bloom for a single day. In other words, I was looking at a different flower every single day. Quite a mindf***?<br /> <br /> Anyway, bear with me a little as I am inexperienced in focus stacking. I've made tons of mistakes and I'm still not happy with these results, but you have to start somewhere. This is an in-house scene (every outdoor shot failed horribly due to wind) with the flower on a clamp, and a flash light for top lighting. My camera is flat on the table and I'm using the Nikon D850's inbuilt focus shifting mode, where you simply enter the number of steps and the size of each step. The background was initially not this dark yet I had to apply some brushes due to halo effects as part of the stacking process. <br /> <br /> And oh yes, about passion flowers. As said, they bloom for a single day. Another remarkable fact is regarding the mimicry of some species. Butterflies using this flower as a host plant to deposit eggs, first check if another butterfly did not already deposited eggs, to avoid cannibalism. The passion flower has a brilliant defense: it contains a mimic of these butterfly eggs: small, orange round bulbs that looks like eggs, but are purely a misleading appendage. <br /> <br /> Some different crops:<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/63001/blue_passion_flower_macro_-_ii_heesch_netherlands.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/63002/blue_passion_flower_macro_-_iii_heesch_netherlands.html<br /> <br /> Different experiments:<br /> <br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/63005/white_flower_heesch_netherlands.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/63007/flower_stack_heesch_netherlands.html Europe,Focus Shift,Focus Stack,Heesch,Netherlands,Passiflora caerulea,World

Blue Passion Flower - core, Heesch, Netherlands A focus shift stack of just the stem of a passion flower. Held in a clamp in a diagonal angle towards the camera, back-lit by a flash light, bottom-lit by UV light (which does nothing on passion flowers). Closer:<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/63004/blue_passion_flower_-_core_ii_heesch_netherlands.html<br /> Here's another stack from another angle:<br /> <br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/63001/blue_passion_flower_macro_-_ii_heesch_netherlands.html<br /> <br /> Setup:<br /> https://scontent-ams3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/37235550_10156480611577692_1420255666567643136_o.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=1fe828d163b5a711b1c4be6552ba64d9&oe=5BEA5C43 Blue Passion Flower,Focus Shift,Focus Stack,Passiflora caerulea

White flower, Heesch, Netherlands Another example of a focus shift stack done on a tiny flower taken from our garden. Unfortunately, I have no idea what type of flower it is. In this case I used a high key process to get rid of halos, although you can still see some traces of it.<br /> <br /> Some more experiments done on this day:<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/62997/blue_passion_flower_macro_heesch_netherlands.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/63003/blue_passion_flower_-_core_heesch_netherlands.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/63007/flower_stack_heesch_netherlands.html Europe,Focus Shift,Focus Stack,Heesch,Netherlands,World

    comments (11)

  1. View Christine Young's profile
    Christine Young
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    I really love this one - the colors and the lighting! Gorgeous! Posted 7 years ago
    1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
      Ferdy Christant
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      Thanks! Posted 7 years ago
  3. View gary fast's profile
    gary fast
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    Hello Ferdy, I find that a lot of times the halo effect is an appealing result of the stacking rather than a serious distraction. Posted 7 years ago
    1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
      Ferdy Christant
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      I see what you mean, but I definitely ran into issues where basically an exposure is duplicated partially, and that makes no visual sense, and requires a lot of manual cleanup. Posted 7 years ago
  5. View Claire Hamilton's profile
    Claire Hamilton
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    Beautiful really arty, I love it! Posted 7 years ago
    1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
      Ferdy Christant
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      Thanks, Claire! Posted 7 years ago
  7. View Stephen Philips's profile
    Stephen Philips
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    Ferdy, great comp and artistic impression. I love a challenge. Send me the raw files and let me see what I can do with my stack process. I can send you a dropbox link if you would like. Posted 7 years ago
    1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
      Ferdy Christant
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      It's funny you're offering this, Stephen, it actually crossed my mind to ask you because I know you love post processing. That said, I do have a problem figuring out how to practically get this to you. As an example, the original NEFs of this photo is close to 7GB. I don't know how to get this to you.

      So yes, one of my many mistakes was taking too many shots as well as shooting in RAW. There's no benefit in shooting RAW since all stacking software I've seen use JPEG and produce a JPEG.

      Posted 7 years ago
      1. View Stephen Philips's profile
        Stephen Philips
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        I sent a dropbox link to upload files to. Also, my stacking SW processes tiff files so send me raw... Posted 7 years ago
        1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
          Ferdy Christant
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          Which SW do you use? Posted 7 years ago
          1. View Stephen Philips's profile
            Stephen Philips
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            Helicon if it is complicated. Just send every other image. 200 seems much for this DOF. Posted 7 years ago

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By Ferdy Christant

All rights reserved
Uploaded Jul 15, 2018. Captured Jul 14, 2018 15:42.
country flag of Netherlands Explore Netherlands 8,314 2,306 0
  • NIKON D850
  • f/3.5
  • 1/60s
  • ISO64
  • 105mm