Day lily

[DanK]

I took this in our garden because of the textures. I'm skeptical about it because the mix of colors makes the stigma and filaments not stand out. C&C welcome.

16 images shot at f/6.3, 5D3 with 100mm macro, stacked with zerene DMap, retouched for haloing from original images and from a PMax stack. Edited in LR except for dodging, burning, and smart sharpen in PS.

[Nicks Pics]

I think that is an interesting image. Especially the textures, as you mentioned. I've never heard of stacking so many images till it's been mentioned on this forum sometimes recently. Could you have gotten a similar image with just one? I'm just not familiar with that technique.

[NorthernFocus]

Amazing detail. Technically well done and I agree that the center detail kind of hides due to the lack of contrasting colors.

[DanK]

I think that is an interesting image. Especially the textures, as you mentioned. I've never heard of stacking so many images till it's been mentioned on this forum sometimes recently. Could you have gotten a similar image with just one? I'm just not familiar with that technique.

No, generally not. At very close distances, DOF is very thin. Moreover, the effective aperture is more than the nominal aperture at these distances (which some Nikons show but Canons don't). So, if you try to get more DOF by closing the aperture way down, you are likely to get a soft image, and even with that, it may not be enough depth of field. That's why focus stacking has become a standard tool for macro photographers. the best do it for bugs as well, but I am not fast and steady enough for that. I use it only for tripod-mounted shots.

[Kaye Leggett]

Amazing detail. Technically well done and I agree that the center detail kind of hides due to the lack of contrasting colors.

I'd second that. Perhaps not being so close would have helped - giving the flower some room around it ?

[DanK]

I'd second that. Perhaps not being so close would have helped - giving the flower some room around it ?

I don't think so. I had a second series, taken from slightly further back, and the distance did not improve things. I think the problem is that the color of the filaments and stigma almost exactly match one of the colors on the petals. They are beautiful to look at, but the effect in a photo is to give it less of a visual focus, I think. It's too bad, as the textures in this particular variety are unusual and very striking.

[FrankMi]

I think problem is that the color of the filaments and stigma almost exactly match one of the colors on the petals. They are beautiful to look at, but the effect in a photo is to give it less of a visual focus, I think. It's too bad, as the textures in this particular variety are unusual and very striking.

Hi Dan, I've run into this issue several times. If the color, texture, and contrast is almost exactly the same then there are a few 'less than ideal' techniques you can use to improve the separation of the pistils and stamen from the rest of the blossom in this copy of the image.

When you look at the flower, your eyes can focus on the pistils and stamen and mentally 'ignore' the rest so it stands out in your mind's eye. To achieve that in this image, you could experiment with changing the softness of the flower by blending the sharp and a slightly blurred copy of the image at about 50%, but only for the blossom, not the pistils and stamen. You could also try to drop the contrast of the blossom just a bit also. Lastly, you could change the hue and clarity of just the pistils and stamen just a bit to make them stand out more.

It would be very much hit or miss and subject to your interpretation of what looks best. The goal would be to increase the separation between the similar looking components using some combination of image resolution, color, and/or contrast.

Another option is to reshoot from a different viewpoint where you can position the pistils and stamen against a part of the blossom that has a stronger visual difference. Hope this helps!

[DanK]

Frank,

Many thanks. I think that blurring or softening would be a good strategy for some flowers. I did something sort of like this with a hibiscus recently by painting from the front of the stack. However, in this particular case, I think nature has me trapped. The texture of the petals is what makes this interesting, so I don't think I can blur them. I could try changing the hue, as you suggested, if I can create a precise enough selection.

I think one option might be to position the camera differently so that more of the filaments were against the partially red areas. Can't try it now--we are having intense storms, so any that are open will be ruined.

Dan

[bnnrcn]

I like it very much, very nice colours and details Dan

[DanK]

Thanks, all.