A peony

[DanK]

I haven't posted photos for a while--too busy to do much--but I had to take this new peony when it opened up in our garden yesterday. Late afternoon light. 50D, EF 100mm macro, 10 images focus-stacked with Zerene, DMap algorithm. C&C welcome, as always.

[Daisy Mae]

I like it a lot Dan, looks like little baby birds in a nest waiting to be fed.

I know from recent experience how difficult Peonies are to work with so....respect!

[Bobobird]

Very well done Dan.

The DOF at these close distances is so thin I just cannot manage to get any stack to work. What is your secret?

[DanK]

Bobo,

Thanks. I don't use a rail. I usually use live view, magnified, to focus on the closest thing I want in focus, sometimes then focusing a bit closer just to play it safe. Then I make very small changes in focus until I am past the farthest point I want. No real secret, but you have to make the changes in focus very small, particularly if you are shooting at f/8. I sometimes shoot at f/13 to get a little more margin for error. Also, I use a remote release to lessen the chance of moving the camera out of alignment. I always use either manual or aperture priority, usually manual.

For flowers, I use the DMap stacking algorithm in Zerene. It seems to do better at preserving colors and textures than the faster PMx algorithm.

Dan

[DanK]

Bobo,

Thanks. I don't use a rail. I usually use live view, magnified, to focus on the closest thing I want in focus, sometimes then focusing a bit closer just to play it safe. Then I make very small changes in focus until I am past the farthest point I want. No real secret, but you have to make the changes in focus very small, particularly if you are shooting at f/8. I sometimes shoot at f/13 to get a little more margin for error. Also, I use a remote release to lessen the chance of moving the camera out of alignment. I always use either manual or aperture priority, usually manual.

For flowers, I use the DMap stacking algorithm in Zerene. It seems to do better at preserving colors and textures than the faster PMax algorithm.

Dan