Posts in Category: focus-stack
Maine! Not so strange frame fellows
Great Blue Heron and Great Egret: York County Maine, USA, September 2024 — As I have mentioned before, this month we have been treated to mixed flocks of herons and egrets, probably staging for migration, in our river marshes. This is a manual focus stack…the birds were as they are in the frame but, of course, it was impossible to focus on both of them at the same time. I took two shots, one focused on the heron and one on the egret, processed them in Photomator, then merged them in Pixomatic, and finally touched the image up in Photomator again. Sony a6700 with the Tamron 50-400 Di iii VC zoom at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my bird and wildlife modifications. Highlight metering.
Maine! Pitcher Plant
Pitcher Plant: Coastal Maine Botanical Garden, Boothbay, Maine, USA, May 2024 — Carol and I took advantage of the Maine resident open days this weekend (free tickets) to visit the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden 2 hours north of us in Boothbay. It was a lovely day, and we have never been there this early in the season. Pitcher Plants are one of my favorite plants, just because they are so bizarre, and they always grow in the tiny and carefully maintained bog at the end of the pool at the Alfond Children’s Garden. Both these shots are in Program mode with in-camera focus stacking, with the OM System OM-1 and M.Zuiko 12-45 f4 Pro zoom at 90mm equivalent and at 72mm equivalent. In the past it has been a challenge to get both the flower stalk and the pitchers themselves in focus at the same time. but hand-held focus stacking makes it easy. I always have mixed feelings about photographing plants in gardens…it is kind of like photographing wildlife in zoos…but I am not going to pass up a chance for a good photo of the Pitcher Plant. 🙂 I might get out to Saco Heath this week, our closest remnant bog, to see if I can find some in the wild.
Maine! Lady Slipper Bouquet
Maine! Lady Slipper bouquet — Lots of Lady Slippers still along my secret slope. This clump was one of many within sight. OM System OM-1 with M.Zuiko 12-45 f4 Pro zoom at 26mm equivalent. Program mode. In-camera focus stack. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Lady Slipper
I went back to the woods to check on my patches of Lady Slipper Orchids here in Kennebunk, Maine. At least some of them have come out fully in the past 5 days and I spent over an hour on the slope where they grow. Others will still require another few days of warm sun. They are all somewhat small this year, maybe because of the peculiar weather we have been having…I don’t mean short, though most of them are…but the blossoms themselves seem a bit undersized compared to past years. This intentionally odd angle shot, an 9 frame in-camera focus stack, really shows off the bloom. OM System OM-1Mkii with M.Zuiko 12-45 f4 Pro zoom at 42mm equivalent. Program mode. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Trillium
It is Painted Trillium season in southern Maine, but, at least in my experience, they are becoming hard to find. I used to know of several patches, but it is down to one now. If anyone knows of any accessible spots where I could respectfully photograph them I would appreciate it. This is a program mode focus stacked image at 1600mm equivalent (1x) using the digital tele-converter in the OM System OM-1Mkii and the M.Zuiko 100-400IS zoom, taken from about 4 feet. The remaining flowers I know of are quite small for Painted Trillium, and seem to be getting smaller year to year. ??
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.