First stack at 2:1

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Davids
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First stack at 2:1

Post by Davids »

Here's my first go at stacking. This is the peristome of N. sibuyanensis x hamata. Looks like there was a little bit of movement while taking the stacks. Also, the clear, sweet exudate produced on the peristome reflected lots of light.
This was shot with a Laowa 60 mm 2:1 lens, Fuji xt-1 body, Hejnar rail. 35 images were stacked.Image

JH
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Post by JH »

Nice!

rjlittlefield
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Post by rjlittlefield »

A pitcher plant, nice!

This image is excellent -- far better than most examples we see of "first go at stacking"!

I am especially pleased by the illumination. You have great control of diffusion, with well controlled specular highlights and good rendering of that very shiny surface of the exudate.

If this is processed with Zerene Stacker, then you can check for movement using the techniques described at http://zerenesystems.com/cms/stacker/do ... n_my_stack.

But I have to say, other than the fine streaks at several places such as upper right corner, I'm not seeing anything that strikes me as indicating motion. What features are you looking at?

--Rik

Davids
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Post by Davids »

Thank you JH and Rik!
For the lighting I used a Flashpoint Zoom Li-on flash at 1/1 power and bounced the light around the pitcher with a Rogue lightbender, which does a wonderful job!
I am using Zerene stacker, this stack was done using PMax, which got rid of some of the halo effect I saw with a DMap. I should really play around with it a bit more.The fine streak you mention are the ones I was talking about due to motion.
I do appreciate your comments! Using Zerene stacker was quite exciting- it's great to watch your image stack and become clearer with every image. I think I've found a new hobby.... :)

rjlittlefield
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Post by rjlittlefield »

Davids wrote:The fine streak you mention are the ones I was talking about due to motion.
Have you checked to be sure that those streaks don't appear in the original source images? Usually if streaks get created in the stacking process they will have blurred ends because the bright spots were out of focus there. But yours appear to be equally sharp throughout the streak.

One issue with Zerene Stacker is that sometimes its alignment process can think it sees movement, when it's actually being misled by the way that things go in and out of focus in an asymmetric composition.

If your physical setup does not permit rotation, then it's better to remove the checkmark on Options > Preferences > Alignment > Rotation. But at the magnification that you're using, it's usually better to leave checkmarks on Shift X, Shift Y, and Scale, because those are needed to compensate for common things that happen when focus shifts.

--Rik

Lou Jost
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Post by Lou Jost »

A nice photo and an incredible plant! I had long wondered when hybrids with Nepenthes hamata (or edwardsiana or macrophylla with even bigger "claws") would begin to appear in commerce. May I ask where you got this one?

Davids
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Post by Davids »

Thanks Rik, I'll have to play around with it a bit more. In all honesty, I put the images in and let Zerene stacker do the work without fiddling with any of the options. I'll need to spend some time getting used to the software. I assume that's what you use? It seems to be the most preferred stacking software just from browsing the forum posts.

Lou - N. hamata hybrids are becoming more and more common. This one was made by Borneo Exotics. I know they have made a few other N. hamata hybrids that are commercially available. Exotica Plants has also made some N. hamata hybrids, though they are a bit harder to find for sale (at least here in the US).
This plant was purchased from Tony Paroubek of exoticplantsplus, which has sadly closed their doors. I see you are from Ecuador? Unfortunately I don't know of nurseries that grow Nepenthes there, or that sell there. I'm sure you could buy directly from Borneo Exotics if you have the proper paper work. I'm sure they would love your climate!

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Post by rjlittlefield »

Davids wrote:I assume that's what you use?
I do, but the reason I know so much about it is that I also wrote it and I answer all the support request emails. After several thousand of those, I often have a pretty good idea what to look for and ask about when particular symptoms crop up.

--Rik

Davids
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Post by Davids »

Well, your software works wonders! Here are two quick stacks from this evening. Both are Nepenthes peristomes. This time I added a Raynox dcr-250, so I'm assuming the magnification is close to 3:1 on an APS-C sensor?
The first is N. vogelii, the third is a complex hybrid N. ((lowii x veitchii) x boschiana) x x Trusmadiensis.

Image
Image

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Post by rjlittlefield »

Davids wrote:This time I added a Raynox dcr-250, so I'm assuming the magnification is close to 3:1 on an APS-C sensor?
Could well be. A thin lens model computes 3.44:1, putting a 125 mm lens in contact with a 60 mm lens extended to 2:1. Separation cuts that, plus the Laowa may or may get shorter than FL=60 when it focuses close. Both aspects would reduce the increase in magnification.

The easy and reliable way to tell is to just measure it. Photograph a ruler and do the arithmetic: magnification = sensor width divided by field width.

--Rik

Lou Jost
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Post by Lou Jost »

You have quite a variety of great Nepenthes! I have a few here, and yes, the highland species grow well outside; I live in a cloud forest at 2100m, very similar to their natural habitat. They are getting huge, climbing trees, and some of them are always in flower. But they are difficult to buy here, and the import permits are practically impossible to obtain. So I will look forward to more photos from you, as this is the only way I will get to see most of these beautiful plants.

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