Which background do you prefer?

Davids · Post by **Davids** » Sun Jan 15, 2017 10:44 pm

One of my favorite subjects - Drosera scorpioides. Pardon the difference in magnification. Does anyone prefer one background over the other? I tend to use black, but the white can be quite striking:

g4lab · Post by **g4lab** » Sun Jan 15, 2017 11:30 pm

imo for this specimen the white works better because it lighs up the droplets.

leonardturner · Post by **leonardturner** » Mon Jan 16, 2017 5:31 am

Spectacular subject, beautifully photographed in either presentation. I like the black, but it's close.

Lou Jost · Post by **Lou Jost** » Mon Jan 16, 2017 6:03 am

I think I like the white because so many macro shots have black backgrounds.

Beatsy · Post by **Beatsy** » Mon Jan 16, 2017 8:04 am

In general I prefer black for macro (when "blurred natural environment" is unavailable), but for this subject I think white works better.

Lou Jost · Post by **Lou Jost** » Mon Jan 16, 2017 9:03 am

By the way, how do you keep these Drosera still enough to stack? Don't those hairs move a bit, particularly the curved ones?

Davids · Post by **Davids** » Mon Jan 16, 2017 11:12 am

As long as the glands aren't physically disturbed they should remain still enough for stacking. I have found that, in some cases, a detached leaf may move it's glands without physical stimulus. This is most likely due to turgor loss.

JH · Post by JH » Mon Jan 16, 2017 11:25 am

I have looked at them several times, both of the pictures are wery good, if I have to choose I say the white background.
Regards Jörgen Hellberg

doveoflight · Post by **doveoflight** » Mon Jan 16, 2017 1:39 pm

I do like the White background, as the stem's detail just sets better with my eyes.

JohnKoerner · Post by **JohnKoerner** » Tue Jan 17, 2017 10:12 am

The white, although it almost makes the sundew look like a cgi graphic.

MarkSturtevant · Post by **MarkSturtevant** » Thu Jan 19, 2017 9:50 pm

White. But you can try other colors that 'go' with the colors in this plant.

elf · Post by **elf** » Fri Jan 20, 2017 11:26 pm

What technique did you use to switch backgrounds?

Davids · Post by **Davids** » Sat Jan 21, 2017 9:31 am

Elf, it really was just a simple switch of backgrounds. The black is a piece of cardboard covered in flocking, making sure that it was far away from the subject and all light was on the leaf.

The white background was an experiment. I just had a couple layers of diffusion film that I light with one light and used another to light the subject.

I've been enjoying white backgrounds so much lately that I've considered purchasing a light pad. Rosco offers one, but it's quite expensive.

MarkSturtevant · Post by **MarkSturtevant** » Sat Jan 21, 2017 4:43 pm

I wonder if one could put a subject in front of a computer monitor that displays whatever background you choose. If that is well out of focus, one should not be able to see the pixels.

ChrisR · Post by **ChrisR** » Sat Jan 21, 2017 6:40 pm

That's what I assumed had been done!
You could put a pol sheet against it and rotate to adjust the brightness. Or put an image with a black center on your screen, for "darkfield".