Common Blue Damsel.

[JohnP]

You know when you have a shot that you nearly bin and then you have a play with it and you then still can't make up your mind whether to keep it or not... this is one of them... 

 

[annie]

nice shot john...I always seem to get the other way round..

[bugmeister]

Nowt wrong with that and it's a keeper in my book. The angle means you're never going to get the tail in sharp focus as well as the head and body.

[JohnP]

Nowt wrong with that and it's a keeper in my book. The angle means you're never going to get the tail in sharp focus as well as the head and body.

 

One could say that stacking is the answer but it's impossible to get more than one shot in situations like this, not only was there a breeze, I also had to move a bit of vegetation and I was squatting down on the sloping bank of a lake.

[NannyFerret]

You made the right choice. I like it a lot.

[FUJI]

With single shot Macro try to shoot with your subject sideways on and use the smallest aperture you dare .........I sometimes use F 18 with the ISO up at 400 ......my DIY Fuji Flash Filter helps too.

Otherwise you just need to shoot creatively knowing that parts will be out if focus because f the extremely shallow DOF.

To have a go at .....Hand- Held Stacking..... in the field, find a subject that is at rest ( or dead) ....or....like my recent Greenfly, not moving just sitting......there has to be no wind of course.

Choose your subject.....plan at least three frames, more if possible.......On manual focus concentrate on and remember your nearest focus point, move slightly back and forth to shot your first frame....now KEEP your lens pointing at exactly the same point whilst ensuring that this time your point of focus has moved back along the subject a step.....shoot .....then continue until you have the desired frames......all the time pointing your lens at EXACTLY THE SAME POINT.

Doing this will allow your free or purchased Stacking Software to align, then stack the shots into a fully all round focussed shot......before you merge the layers you will see smeared and out of alignment edges, artifacts and multiple bits and pieces .....if these don't intrude on your main subject crop them off or clone them out.

Focus Stacking like this is fun but very frustrating.......of course, if you want to go the whole hog, then spend oodles of dosh on a precision Stacking Rail, a Rock Solid Tripod or Stacking Rig, learn to shoot then stack from ten to two hundred frames at a time.........

Not for me I'm afraid.....but such photographers exist.

Just have Photographic Phun I say.

Addendum: If you are very keen look at this.....( hope ths is OK Phil?)

http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=20873

FUJI