Wasp at 6x with JML 21mm

seta666 · Post by **seta666** » Fri Sep 24, 2010 3:23 pm

Well,
I have not been very active lately; first because of some family matters and then beacause I am working on a series I think you all will like (maybe I can post some pictures later but there is lots of retouch too do)
Meanwhile here it is a wasp stack, taken at 6x with EOS 5D and JML 21mm 3.5. This time I used paper roll to difuse light with some silver tape inside to act as a reflector. 52 shots with 0,03mm steps.
I find that JML is a wonderfull lens, maybe the best one I own for hairy subjects. The picture is done with both Pmax and Dmap methods but all hairs are Pmax, so it is a bit noisy in those areas

Large version:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4127/502 ... a6de_o.jpg
Regards

sonyalpha · Post by **sonyalpha** » Sat Sep 25, 2010 12:32 am

Wow!...................What a wonderfully detailed study..............amazing jaws?

What are those things immediately beneath used for?

sonyalpha

pierre · Post by **pierre** » Sat Sep 25, 2010 2:02 am

Quite impressive !

morfa · Post by **morfa** » Sat Sep 25, 2010 8:12 am

The large version is a joy to watch – I've been happily pixel peeping for quite some time now!

The JML sure knows its way around those hairs!

One small thing: The contrast seem a bit low in an area surrounding the right antenna base. I probably wouldn't have noticed it if it wasn't for the fact that the left one seems "clearer". This is obviously easy do deal with in post but do you have any theory as to why this has occurred?

seta666 · Post by **seta666** » Sat Sep 25, 2010 10:37 am

vThank for your comments!!
I do not know what those things are, I guess they are some aid that helps feeding the wasp.
Morpha, the low contrast area you notice is an out of focus leg I did not notice in first place; I do not know how but there is always something disturbing the final image,some times dust, sometimes disturbing subject parts.
Anyway, I am quite happy with the overall results ( Light, resolution balance)
Regards

Craig Gerard · Post by **Craig Gerard** » Sat Sep 25, 2010 6:29 pm

Nice job!

I'm also curious about the drop in contrast at x:400 y:160 (radiating outwards from that point). x and y co-ordinates based on image posted. It would be beneficial to determine the contributing factors.

Craig

jgknight · Post by **jgknight** » Sat Sep 25, 2010 7:33 pm

Amazing capture. The sharpness and detail is incredible.

seta666 · Post by **seta666** » Sun Sep 26, 2010 12:38 am

@ Craig Gerard: I ndo not know how to look at cordenates of an image. In photoshop info window maximum X value I get is 105. As I told Morpha the right antena base lost contrast due to an out of focus leg which was in front of that antena. The other area where contrast changes is the top right corner; this may be caused by a change in color in the picture I used as background, I am still experimenting with bckground colors as placement, diistance to subject and even angle changes light behaviour quite a bit. Also my lighting technique is getting better with practice but it is still far from perfect. I have noticed that sometimes a little change in flash angle gives very different results in contrast
I think my bellows do not produce reflection anymore (at the begining I had quite a lot of trouble with flare caused by this),
Regards

Craig Gerard · Post by **Craig Gerard** » Sun Sep 26, 2010 1:23 am

The x and the y co-ordinates displayed on the Photoshop Info Panel are determined by the PS settings in Edit>Preferences>Units & Rulers. The co-ordinates I indicated were based on 'Pixels'.

I could not understand how an out of focus leg could be anywhere near those co-ordinates and wanted to make sure we were looking at the same location.

It is the area around the wasp's left antenna base, where it connects to the head.

Craig

morfa · Post by **morfa** » Sun Sep 26, 2010 1:47 am

The OOF leg explanation makes perfect sense to me not that you mention it.

Wasps have long legs that tend to curl slightly when they're dead so a leg could easily enter the frame from above and extend down to that region.

Again – the quality is really excellent here and you've certainly made me very curious about that series of yours – something to look forward to!

seta666 · Post by **seta666** » Sun Sep 26, 2010 1:48 pm

Thanks Craig, I did not know that thing about coordinates.
The out of focus leg is in front of the end of right´s antena, not in the back
You mean why left antena base (part connecting to the head)has less contrast? flash was on the right, the base of the right antena is getting reflected light while the left antena base was getting light directly from the flash
I am learnig about light with practice but I still have many thing to learn and understand. I think lighting is the most important part for this kind of photography

Morpha, I am quite happy with th JML. I find it stacks very well and less retouching is needed. On the other hand lenses with wide apertures tend to give mor resolution/detail, but more retouching is needed, as well as more precisse steps and gear in general. So lenses like m plan 10/0.25 have lots of resolving power but images taken with JML may look more pleasant, with less halos and transparencies
Regards