Four shot stack of a good looking and colorful caterpillar

[JBW]

I haven't done the studio setup to capture the difference the new tripod and wireless shutter release make but this morning I did get a 5 shot sequence that I couldn't have gotten with my old tripod using manual shutter. Gotta love the water drops. I couldn't take the blue area out without really mucking up the shot.

ISO 100 ~ Shutter Speed 3.2s ~ F/16 ~ Natural Light ~ Four Shot Stack In Fiji ~ Sony Alpha a58 ~ Tamron 90mm 272E

[Wavelength]

This is very nice; since you mostly prefer no alterations, i accept the brown thing hanging behind, which is an optical distraction

[JBW]

This is very nice; since you mostly prefer no alterations, i accept the brown thing hanging behind, which is an optical distraction

The trouble is that I don't see them as I line up the shot and I don't have the skills needed to remove them in pp

[Geoff F]

You might be able to carefully tone down that blue area, Brian, if you just work on the highlights. Possibly try just using the blue channel or do a colour based selection? Although that might be getting a trifle complex.

Otherwise, an excellent portrait.

It can be so difficult to get a perfect background with live real subjects can't it. At least with flowers and fungi you have the chance to do a bit of rearrangement. I was attempting to photograph a spider in its rain drop covered web today but just couldn't get the background right. Eventually I attempted to remove a bit of foliage which was causing too bright an area in the background and, of course, I scared the spider which quickly retreated to hide under a leaf at the edge of its web.

[JBW]

You might be able to carefully tone down that blue area, Brian, if you just work on the highlights. Possibly try just using the blue channel or do a colour based selection? Although that might be getting a trifle complex.

Otherwise, an excellent portrait.

It can be so difficult to get a perfect background with live real subjects can't it. At least with flowers and fungi you have the chance to do a bit of rearrangement. I was attempting to photograph a spider in its rain drop covered web today but just couldn't get the background right. Eventually I attempted to remove a bit of foliage which was causing too bright an area in the background and, of course, I scared the spider which quickly retreated to hide under a leaf at the edge of its web.

I did tone the blue down though not as much as i should have liked to.

Or even more disheartening for me is when while attempting to remove a bit of foliage i manage to remove all of the water drops

[Rainforest]

Neat. He sure is colorful! You could just crop the brown bit and maybe even flip it - have it leave the frame and towards the light..? If you are able to do selective exposure adjustments the top triangle could benefit I think. Light wise it feels unbalanced IMHO. Darkening that area would even things out.

[JBW]

Neat. He sure is colorful! You could just crop the brown bit and maybe even flip it - have it leave the frame and towards the light..? If you are able to do selective exposure adjustments the top triangle could benefit I think. Light wise it feels unbalanced IMHO. Darkening that area would even things out.

The orange part is the head and he is moving towards the light? I did tone down the top right area but I have a thing for unbalanced light. Maybe too much so in this case.

[Rainforest]

The orange part is the head and he is moving towards the light? I did tone down the top right area but I have a thing for unbalanced light. Maybe too much so in this case.

Ah, didn't realize your light preference Brian. If he's flipped he'll still be heading towards the light ;-) ...strangest creature

[JBW]

Ah, didn't realize your light preference Brian. If he's flipped he'll still be heading towards the light ;-) ...strangest creature

the caterpillar or me

[Jim A]

Amazing creature, Brian - makes me think of an exotic version of those Chinese or Japanese bullet trains! I did not notice the brown hanging thing until pointed out and my skills lie much more in getting rid of things like that than taking such marvelous pics in the first place.

[Shadowman]

Nicely done.

[JBW]

Amazing creature, Brian - makes me think of an exotic version of those Chinese or Japanese bullet trains! I did not notice the brown hanging thing until pointed out and my skills lie much more in getting rid of things like that than taking such marvelous pics in the first place.

False modesty aside I have put in a lot of effort to develop skills in the extreme closeup / macro genre. However as many in CiC will attest my shooting dramatically improved when I bought the Tamron 90mm 272E lens. I have just bought a new Slik tripod and a Vello Freewave wireless shutter release. Seems to me my shooting has taken another dramatic step up.

[JBW]

Nicely done.

right time at the right place with the right gear

[george013]

Brian,

I still don't know what you're stacking. Mostly it's different exposures or different focal distance. Can you be more specific what you're doing?

George

[JBW]

Brian,

I still don't know what you're stacking. Mostly it's different exposures or different focal distance. Can you be more specific what you're doing?

George

Perhaps I can. I am taking a slow and methodical trip into stacking.

Right now i am attempting to find out how many shots I can take both singly and in groups of various types that I can stack.

For now i am letting the natural light create different focal area as it creates different brightness areas.

Shortly I'll be working on the classical change the focus DoF to bring more of the shot into focus.

Hope that helps.
Brian

[george013]

Perhaps I can. I am taking a slow and methodical trip into stacking.

Right now i am attempting to find out how many shots I can take both singly and in groups of various types that I can stack.

For now i am letting the natural light create different focal area as it creates different brightness areas.

Shortly I'll be working on the classical change the focus DoF to bring more of the shot into focus.

Hope that helps.
Brian

If you use natural light to change you need time. I don't think that caterpillar will wait for the moving clouds to change the light.
Is it possible to show us the four individual shots?

George

[JBW]

If you use natural light to change you need time. I don't think that caterpillar will wait for the moving clouds to change the light.
Is it possible to show us the four individual shots?

George

If tiny pics is working but to what purpose? I can simply tell you that all of the histograms are noticeably different and that the in-focus areas are all different. Not to get into an argument but I find that natural light changes quite quickly. Sometimes even by the second.

[DanK]

Nice image. I think you have clipped the whites a bit, but even with the jpeg, I was able to pull them down easily.

Re George's question: I too would be interested in seeing the individual images, if you decide to post them.

[JBW]

For George and Dank and any one else who is curious. With a 3.2s shutter speed and a 1s pause there are detectable differences in each shot due solely/primarily? to the changing natural light

[george013]

For George and Dank and any one else who is curious. With a 3.2s shutter speed and a 1s pause there are detectable differences in each shot due solely/primarily? to the changing natural light

I don't see any difference. Open a picture by clicking on it and go through the images with the cursor, they're all the same.
I think you've just discovered the benefits of the remote control.

George