A few dewdrop refractions

MisterMcCruff · Post by **MisterMcCruff** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 1:26 am

I had lent my macro rig to a friend of mine but I got it back on Saturday.
I got up bright and early yesterday morning to grab a few snaps of dewdrops in the garden:

There are some more on my flickr: http://www.flickr.com/newkie_mccruff
I'd love to know what you think.
Chris.

Dalantech · Post by **Dalantech** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 12:17 am

Did you stack images for this set Chris or are they all single frames?

MisterMcCruff · Post by **MisterMcCruff** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 1:06 am

Yes, this was my first attempt at stacking.
They're 2 or 3 frames each, stacked by hand in CS3.
Does anyone know of a stacking program for mac?

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 7:14 am

Helicon Focus and Zerene Stacker both have Mac versions, no Windows emulation required.

--Rik

MisterMcCruff · Post by **MisterMcCruff** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 7:19 am

Thanks Rik.

Any comments on the photos anyone?

Dalantech · Post by **Dalantech** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 9:05 am

I really like the dual composition of the second frame -between the out of focus background and the in focus dew drop. Very few people do that, and it makes for an image that really stands out!

IMHO: The first two photos suffer from out of focus foreground elements -that blade of grass needs to be sharp. Because it's out of focus, and in the foreground, my eye goes right to it and it's distracting. Since you're in control of the composition it would be best to get the plane of the sensor parallel with the grass to keep from having to take more than just a few frames to get it in focus.

The light in all of the images is a little harsh -either use a larger diffuser or get your flash closer to the dew drop.

The problem with this type of macro is that even the slightest mistake will stand out like a sore thumb...

This is the quality you should strive for. I know Alistair (the photographer) and he's a nice guy -I'm sure he'd be happy to help you if you have any questions.

lauriek · Post by **lauriek** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 10:32 am

I think these are very good for a first go at this technique. These images are surprisingly difficult to get right, it looks simple but is is far from that! My first attempts will not be seen by anyone!

I think the third is my favourite, probably because of the way the subject is nicely centred in the drop..