Posts in Category: focus-stack
Maine Landscape
Not exactly a landscape, but part of the early spring landscape in the Southern Maine woodlands. In this case Emmon’s Preserve of the Kennebunkport Land Trust. I went a week ago to check the Trout Lily (Adder’s Tongue…I just found out it is also called Dog Tooth Violet, though that was a distinctly different plant in upstate New York when I was growing up) and the leaves were just barely above ground. This week there are a few in full blossom, but only a few in the most favored of spots among thousands of plants. This is a hand-held in-camera focus stack with the OM System OM-1 and M.Zuiko 12-45 Pro zoom. Program mode. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Crocus
Our Crocus only got to bloom for two days before being buried in the April Nor’easter’s six inches of snow and ice. We will see if there is anything left by the time the snow melts. I doubt it. These are all hand-held focus stacks with the OM System OM-1 and the M. Zuiko 12-45 f4 zoom at 90mm equivalent. The last 2 closer shots also use the built in digital tel-converter for an equivalent focal length of 180mm and a 1:1 image ratio. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! focus stacked flowers
Flowers from the Botanical Gardens at Selva Verde Lodge and Reserve in the Sarapiqui valley of Costa Rica. We spent an afternoon doing macro and frogs at Selva Verde…not a great day as the rain threatened all afternoon and the light was less than ideal, but it was the day we had. These are all “focus stacked” in my Olympus OMD E-M5mkiii with the 12-45mm zoom. I had the camera set to take 8 exposures at different focus points and combine them in-camera to one shot with extended depth of field. The camera was on my tiny travel tripod. Program mode. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Focus stacked frog
Red-eyed Leaf Frog: Selva Verde Lodge, Sarapique Valley, Costa Rica — the poster child for Costa Rican conservation, the Red-eyed Leaf Frog (or Tree Frog) is one of the main attractions of Selva Verde Lodge. They have a healthy population right at the foot of the stairs leading up to the dinning hall. They are nocturnal and sensitive to flash so you have to photograph them with led movie lights or with flashlights. This year I got to try the OM Systems OM-1’s in-camera focus stacking…which takes 8 images and stacks them to get the whole frog in focus at the same time. Quite a trick. Especially working from my monopod beanbag. I cannot argue with the results though! Perhaps my best Red-eyed Leaf Frog shot to date. 🙂 As noted the OM Systems OM-1 with the ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications and in-camera focus stacking. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Fly Agaric
One of the Amentia Mascarias or Fly Agarics. They are popping up all over this time of year. This one was along the edge of the Bridle Path in Kennebunk, Maine. There were some full grown ones near by with their flat tops. This is an in-camera focus stack of 8 images. Program mode. OM Systems OMD EM5Mkiii with 12-45mm zoom at 26mm equivalent.
Maine! Red-legged Grasshopper
Red-legged Grasshopper: Kennebunk Plains, Kennebunk, Maine, USA, October 2023 — There are lots of grasshoppers out on the Kennebunk Plains…from early spring to late fall. I believe this one is a Red-legged Grasshopper, and this is a hand-held focus stacked image at 800mm equivalent with the OM Systems OM-1 and the ED 100-400mm zoom. Eight shots at different focus points, taken automatically and stacked in the camera. It is rare to find a grasshopper cooperative enough for this trick. 🙂 Processed in Pixomator Pro.
Maine! Semi-palms (focus stack)
Semi-palmated Sandpipers and Plover: York County, Maine, USA, September 2023 — This looks different. It is different. It is a focus stacked image of a group of Semi-palmated Sandpipers, and one Semi-Palmated Plover from our local beach the day before Hurricane Lee went by off-shore. The birds were still! Still enough that I attempted a hand held (well bean-bag monopod supported) in-camera focus stack. I set the OM-1 to take 8 shots at different focus points and combine them into one shot…otherwise I could have only focused on one of these birds at a time with an 800mm equivalent lens. Though the result is much closer to reality…that is to the way our eye sees it from 12 feet away…in a photo where we expect a narrow focus plane it can look unreal. OM-Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with focus stacking. Processed in Pixomator Pro. Nominal exposure: ISO 200 @ f7.1 @ 1/1000th.
Maine! Focus stacked fungi
One of my excuses for buying the Olympus OMD EM5Miii and the 12-45mm zoom was so that I could do focus stacked macro without taking the 100-400mm zoom off my OM-1. I have a December trip to Costa Rica that features at least 2 macro photography outings. 🙂 And I have not done much real macro while using the Sony RX10iv as it did not lend itself to really close work (and did not have in-camera focus stacking anyway). For those who do not know, focus stacking takes 8-10 exposures, automatically moving focus by a set increment, and then combines those images in the camera to produce an image that has much greater depth of field than a normal exposure…so that macro subjects in particular where depth of field is a real issue, can appear sharp from the very front to the very back. These are a few mushrooms I found along the Bridle Path in Kennebunk last week. I have a little, light weight Sirui carbon fiber tripod that I bought for this purpose exactly, and it works really well. Olympus OMD EM5Miii with the 12-45mm zoom at various focal lengths. Program mode with focus stacking. The only issue is the mosquitoes working this close to the ground for any length of time 🙂
Maine! Monday motivation
Focus stacked image of Begonia flowers from the back deck. OM Systems OMD-EM5Miii with 12-45mm f4 Pro zoom. Program mode with focus stacking at 90mm equivalent. Nominal exposure ISO 200 @ f4.5 @ 1/125th. Processed in Pixelmator Pro.
Maine! Friday Surprise. Indian Pipe
Ground level on a small stand of emerging Indian Pipe (Ghost Pipe, Ghost Flower) This is a hand-held focus stack from the OM-1 and the 12-45mm f4 Pro. Program mode. Processed in Pixelmator Pro.