Focus stacking misused

This area is for the discussion of what's new, what's on your mind, and general photographic topics. A place to meet, make comments on this site, and get the latest community news.

Moderators: rjlittlefield, ChrisR, Chris S., Pau

Guido
Posts: 333
Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2011 1:02 am

Focus stacking misused

Post by Guido »

Focus stacking works for other subjects to ;)

20 images

Image

Olympusman
Posts: 5090
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2012 12:31 pm

Focus stacking

Post by Olympusman »

One of the most remarkable stacked image I have ever seen was a lightning storm. The photographer lived on a hill above a city and stacked about twenty or so lightning strikes into one image.

Mike
Michael Reese Much FRMS EMS Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA

Pau
Site Admin
Posts: 6053
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 8:57 am
Location: Valencia, Spain

Post by Pau »

Image stacking for sure, but is there any actual focus variation between frames?. If not, it will be better qualified as multiple exposure.
Pau

Guido
Posts: 333
Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2011 1:02 am

Post by Guido »

Pau wrote:Image stacking for sure, but is there any actual focus variation between frames?. If not, it will be better qualified as multiple exposure.
Think it's none of both!

Olympusman
Posts: 5090
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2012 12:31 pm

Image stacking?

Post by Olympusman »

Just the same, image stacking software allows us to produce images unknown beforehand. HDR (which is wildly abused and end up looking like velvet paintings) can also be applied to photomicroscopy. I don't know how many of us are old timers and remember water-bath development of black and white silver film for extended contrast ranges.

Mike
Michael Reese Much FRMS EMS Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA

JW
Posts: 249
Joined: Wed Feb 23, 2011 7:38 am
Location: New Haven, CT, USA

Re: Image stacking?

Post by JW »

Olympusman wrote:I don't know how many of us are old timers and remember water-bath development of black and white silver film for extended contrast ranges.

Mike
Ah, the old push-pull with TMX100, I used to underexpose and overdevelop to increase contrast (guess I qualify as an oldtimer :roll: )
It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see - Henry David Thoreau

Chris S.
Site Admin
Posts: 4042
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2009 9:55 pm
Location: Ohio, USA

Re: Image stacking?

Post by Chris S. »

JW wrote:Ah, the old push-pull with TMX100, I used to underexpose and overdevelop to increase contrast (guess I qualify as an oldtimer :roll:)
That new-fangled T-Max stuff, eh? Didn't hold a candle to Pan-X, Plus-X, and Tri-X. (Old-timer--who, me?)

--Chris

ChrisR
Site Admin
Posts: 8668
Joined: Sat Mar 14, 2009 3:58 am
Location: Near London, UK

Post by ChrisR »

If you got the wrong proportions of metol, phenidone and hydroquinone, you could have played around with Farmer's and a potassium dichromate/hydrochloric acid bath. With Plus-X and Pan-X anyway.. Couldn't afford TMax!
Chris R

ChrisR
Site Admin
Posts: 8668
Joined: Sat Mar 14, 2009 3:58 am
Location: Near London, UK

Post by ChrisR »

:D
Glass plates and collodion, anyone?
Chris R

Chris S.
Site Admin
Posts: 4042
Joined: Sun Apr 05, 2009 9:55 pm
Location: Ohio, USA

Post by Chris S. »

Collodion? I used to dream of collodion whilst fuming silver plates in mercury. And carrying the camera obscura uphill both ways, in deep snow, barefoot to save shoe leather. . . . :roll:

Guido
Posts: 333
Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2011 1:02 am

Post by Guido »

I had my first SLR in 1975, a Pentax Spotmatic F with a takumar 50/1,4.
I used Pentax BW film, later Kodak. As HP5 came on the market it was my favorit for years. I shot pictures for newspapers and needed strong contrasty pictures. HP5 was ideal. Could easily push it up to 3200 ASA (iso)

Olympusman
Posts: 5090
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2012 12:31 pm

Developing techniques

Post by Olympusman »

The newer emulsions were too thin to hold much developer for water bath development, so the technique kind of went by the way side. As for me, I overexpose B&W film a full stop and underdevelop 30% -- good exposure range and the highlights don't block up. I also agitate very little. Presoak, continuous tank inversion for the first thirty seconds, then one inversion every thirty seconds for the next 2.5 minutes, and then one inversion a minute for the remainder. Beautiful negatives.
I almost exclusively use D-23 film developer.

Mike
Michael Reese Much FRMS EMS Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA

ChrisR
Site Admin
Posts: 8668
Joined: Sat Mar 14, 2009 3:58 am
Location: Near London, UK

Post by ChrisR »

I settled on Acutol. Unsharp Mask in a bottle :)
Chris R

Olympusman
Posts: 5090
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2012 12:31 pm

Acutol

Post by Olympusman »

I have some Pyrogallic Acid and have tinkered with some of the staining developers, but geez they're a lot of work.
And on the topic of classic B&W films -- Verichrome Pan.

Mike
Michael Reese Much FRMS EMS Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA

Olympusman
Posts: 5090
Joined: Sun Jan 15, 2012 12:31 pm

Acutol

Post by Olympusman »

Looked up the Acutol formula and I think I'll give it a try this summer with the 8X10 view camera. I see the magic ingredient Phenidone (of which I have slightly less than three pounds -- long story). Phenidone was the other ingredient in the POTA developer (the other being Sodium sulfite) which yielded a 20-stop range for photographing atom bomb tests back in the 40s and 50s. Strange negative requiring the highest polycontrast filters to get a decent image, but what a range.

Mike
Michael Reese Much FRMS EMS Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA

Post Reply Previous topicNext topic