Purely & simply lucked out on the focus

[JBW]

[Wavelength]

What is this, i wonder !!!

[RandyRFJP]

I, too, wonder what is depicted. To me, the foreground object looks somewhat like it might be a portion of the base of a metal lantern. What is behind the "slot" in the foreground object might be a portion of an eyeball.

[JBW]

Sorry, should have included this shot too

[Wavelength]

Brian, the top part is not well focused, even though bottom part is in focus

[JBW]

Brian, the top part is not well focused, even though bottom part is in focus

Look a little closer. the only in-focus area is the gap

[Mike Buckley]

If you were to explain the focusing method you used, I would be willing to bet that it was skill rather than luck that led to achieving the focus you wanted.

[xpatUSA]

Interesting, Brian, I would never have thought of focusing inside a Cicada shell. Well done !

[JBW]

Interesting, Brian, I would never have thought of focusing inside a Cicada shell. Well done !

It goes back to Donald's questions about my Cicada emerging shot. I saw this new exo-skeleton at a good height for shooting and thought I would try to show the exit mechanism.

[JBW]

If you were to explain the focusing method you used, I would be willing to bet that it was skill rather than luck that led to achieving the focus you wanted.

Perhaps a bit of both?

I set up the tripod to get a straight on shot and then nudged it a bit this way and that to get the opening as near to perfect focus point as I could manually. Once it was set up i switched to 2 second delay to get rid of camera shake and auto focused using zone focus.

Shoot nudge, shoot nudge four or five times.

This sounds like skill but there was also a breeze and the clouds scurrying around the sky giving each shot subtle and not so subtle differences. Out of the shots I took this was the one and only that worked.

So a little skill... a little luck?

In the attached shot the green areas indicate the in focus parts.

[Mike Buckley]

Consider trying a different method next time: Use manual focus and Live View. Magnify the image to the largest size in Live View and manually adjust the focus so the part you want in focus is indeed in focus. Release the shutter. Naturally, this method will not work if the conditions make it difficult to see the image in the camera's LCD.

[JBW]

Consider trying a different method next time: Use manual focus and Live View. Magnify the image to the largest size in Live View and manually adjust the focus so the part you want in focus is indeed in focus. Release the shutter. Naturally, this method will not work if the conditions make it difficult to see the image in the camera's LCD.

I will certainly give it a shot (pun intended) Seems I am going to be developing new techniques that can be used in 'studio' shooting.