Ant Portrait Stack - New picture added

Every 30 days the site administrators will pick a favorite macro or close-up image from one of the "Macro and Close-up" galleries to be featured on the front page of the www.photomacrography.net website.

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acerola
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Ant Portrait Stack - New picture added

Post by acerola »

I managed to find a Red Wood ant (Formica pratensis) I stacked 58 picture. The result was not too good at first sight, because the overlapping parts. But I managed to pull out some more detail. I want to create a big print from this picture.

Canon 20D + 100mm macro + 58mm Minolta reversed + extension tube set

Image

A crop from the face:
Image
Last edited by acerola on Mon Mar 10, 2008 2:24 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Péter

Cyclops
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Post by Cyclops »

WOW what an impressive shot! You really feel like your stood next to an ant! =D>
Canon 5D and 30D | Canon IXUS 265HS | Cosina 100mm f3.5 macro | EF 75-300 f4.5-5.6 USM III | EF 50 f1.8 II | Slik 88 tripod | Apex Practicioner monocular microscope

tpe
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Post by tpe »

Wonderfull, i really like the angle that set up gives, it brings in much more perspective than i get on mine. And the lighting is very nice too. Great shot.

tim

Planapo
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Post by Planapo »

Beautiful, Péter!
Yes, the lighting is wonderful, showing the hairs in such great detail!
How did you light it then?

Cheers,
Betty

MacroLuv
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Post by MacroLuv »

Link to the first photo doesn't work for me. :?
The meaning of beauty is in sharing with others.

P.S.
Noticing of my "a" and "the" and other grammar
errors are welcome. :D

rjlittlefield
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Post by rjlittlefield »

Very nice, Péter! Shooting from below gives different impression from most pictures -- big ant, little me!

--Rik

beetleman
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Post by beetleman »

Excellent work Peter. The photo is simply amazing. Like tim says, the angle is great and the detail is wonderful. The only thing I would to is process out the few spots of dust....that would be very easy to do :smt023.
Take Nothing but Pictures--Leave Nothing but Footprints.
Doug Breda

acerola
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Post by acerola »

tpe: I just searched out your picture, I want to try the microscope objectives too. Lighting is just the usual. Tissue on top and an external flash. This time I used white base under the ant, so it also helped in the reflection.

Nicola: I now uploaded it to the internal server.

Thanks Rik, Beetleman

I'm not completely satisfied with the contrast and color. I was too inpatient to convert and correct the individual pictures from raw. So I have to correct it on the end result.
Péter

Danny
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Post by Danny »

Amazing !!. Truly excellent work and stack result. The detail is just out of this world, beautiful. The only nit I would have being a live macro shooter, would be in the antenna. Personally they just don't look right with both being down like that. But heck, this is just incredible to see.

All the best and so very well done, looking forward to more. :D

Danny.
Worry about the image that comes out of the box, rather than the box itself.

acerola
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Post by acerola »

Thanks Danny,
I'm not aware on the unusual antenna position. OK, I have to force one of them down out of the way of the eye. But I still did not see they are in unusual position. I run thought my ant pictures and it seems there are more ant in similar antenna position. Here is one example. What do you think, Isn't it the same position?

Image
Péter

Hairyduck
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Post by Hairyduck »

Fantastic picture Peter !!

Danny
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Post by Danny »

You are right. And thats one heck of a shot as well. I guess I'm just used to seeing them waving the antenna in the air, sniffing the delights around them :D just amazing shots Peter. In that case, its perfect !!!. I wouldn't worry too much about the background, the eyes don't even get that far to look at it. Incredible work and shots. The eye is to die for.

All the best Peter, just love the ratio and DOF. Can't wait to see more. :D

Danny.
Worry about the image that comes out of the box, rather than the box itself.

rjlittlefield
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Post by rjlittlefield »

Péter, there is one thing about the first picture I forgot to mention.

I notice a colored arc in the background, kind of a "rainbow" effect. It's pleasant, but I wonder if it's intended?

Color shifts like that often happen with digital cameras when one or two of the RGB channels saturate, but the other channel(s) don't. The reason I'm suspicious is that the color appears on what I would expect to be a uniform gradient of gray-to-white.

It's on my check-list to be sure that saturation like this doesn't happen during shooting, since if it does, there's no way to get rid of it later, short of masking in a new background. All that's required is to reduce the exposure a bit. Then if I want to push the background to pure white, or even to introduce the rainbow, I can do that afterward with Photoshop levels or curves.

Just a thought...

--Rik

Cyclops
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Post by Cyclops »

I reckon this image deserves to be in the Admins choice section,it is the best such pic I've ever seen! I'd be dancing if i'd taken this. Just amazing!
Canon 5D and 30D | Canon IXUS 265HS | Cosina 100mm f3.5 macro | EF 75-300 f4.5-5.6 USM III | EF 50 f1.8 II | Slik 88 tripod | Apex Practicioner monocular microscope

Charles Krebs
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Post by Charles Krebs »

Péter,

Can only echo what everyone has said... excellent job! Whatever time you must have spent preparing the subject was well worth it!

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