Focus Stacking

On Sunday, CCC had a focus-stacking day to share ideas and try some techniques. I am still experimenting but have settled with Zerene Stacker for my Software as it plugs in well to Lightroom and processes the images quickly and is pretty accurate. I shoot at 2.8 either on a focus rail as in the first image or using a rapid burst during which I move the manually focussed camera forward through the object keeping same focus. The first pair shows a focus-stacked image at 2.8 and the same insects at f22 to show why I use the wide aperture (to ensure an out-of-focus background). Others are examples of moving with the camera find I need to move more slowly as there are gaps in focussed areas of the photos. Zerene makes it very easy to retouch the photos.

Grey Heron Antics

I paid a quick visit to St Albans on way back from Richmond and delighted to see baby Heron triplets in one of the nests. This seems very early for almost full grown chicks but, apparently, they can lay eggs in early February. Further down, a pair were exchanging a twig very lovingly. There was a brood of 10 tiny ducklings on the lake. Unfortunately one got separated from its mother and was swimming around frantically trying to locate her.

Kew 2. Flowers

A lovely time to visit Kew Gardens with the trees just coming into leaf and lots of spring bedding to admire. I concentrated on the wildflower area where the bluebells are almost at their best (another week or so). I also practised a bit of focus stacking ready for Sunday's workshop. These were done handholding the camera and moving myself forward during a fast burst of image capture. Unstacked on left, stacked on the right (50mm lens f2.8)

Birds at Kew Gardens

I took advantage of a sunny afternoon when I arrived in Richmond to give a  talk toRichmond and Twickenham club in the evening and visited Kew Gardens. First some birds around the Lake. Coots as always were the dominant bird chasing off all other species including the Canada Geese. The reflection of the sky and trees on the water added to the fun for the afternoon. Flowers and general scenes to follow.

Hardwick Wood Spring Flowers

This year all the woodland flowers are out at the same time rather than the usual succession. I used my lightweight Fuji Macro kit of 50mm Zeiss macro and the 10-24mm wide angle. Need more practice getting the focus right but happy with some. It was a bright sunny morning and therefore lots of light and shade which the contrasty Zeiss lens accentuates while the 10-24mm lens works well with a wider contrast range, Here more and less contrasty images displayed as pairs. The Oxlips (image 5,6) are only just coming out and appear very thin stemmed so far.