FUJI

Right!....Pay attention at the back: I have been itching to return to Macro Photo Stacking for some time now and this mornings post on the subject resulted in a favourable response from DaveW.......I promised to have a go and post the results....Here they are.....I used the FREE COMBINE ZP Stacking Software, which, as you can see works very well: My first pic is of just one of the 8 Frames required for this particular stack....you will see the very shallow DOF typical of all Macro lenses...to create a fully focussed stack you require at least 5 frames taken with a camera on a tripod..........You can use the lens barrel to focus a section at a time...or, use an Ebay purchased Photo-Stacking Rail that holds the camera on the tripod.....when the adjuster is turned the camea moves in tiny increments backwards or forwards: My second Pic....shows the completed 8 Frame Stack just as the Software completed it......You will see that to get the whole lichen covered twig in full focus would take many more frames.....I chose to stop at eight for this Demo: ......You will also see, what are known to Stackers, as Artefacts...small areas that the software hasn't quite coped with....here they were very bright flashes of sunlight coming through a nearby tree that changed rapidly.......it is almost certain that the expensive Pro stacking software would deal with these, once learned: My third Pic, shows my Completed, Processed Stack using all 8 frames but with the unfocussed end cropped off, it was then given my usual treament plus very selective sharpening to add depth and texture: Should you do a little pixel peeping (especially on an iPad) you will be amazed at the detail. The Free sofware only works with large JPEGS.....You load your chosen frames in.....then select ..Align Frames...Then GO.....it takes a minute or two to do this.......On completion you have a list of stacking methods to choose from...I use ...Hard Stack...then press GO.....This process takes quite a bit of time depending upon just how many frames you have asked it to work with...it is fascinating to watch....or...you can go and have a cup of coffee while you wait ;-) Stacking isn't for the faint hearted, but , to me, far easier than creating a Triptych :-)........By the way you dont always require a tripod and stacking rail .....as long as you are certain of holding your camera steady and aim at EXACTLY the same point for each focussed frame...I can do this for up to 4 frames...great if you discover a stationary insect or bug in the field: There are Dedicated Macro forums, but unless you are very serious and are willing to take hard critisism (especially from the creator of the expensive but amazing ...ZERENE..Stacking Software) and from experts who like to see photographs of nature exactly as shot: Here endeth the Stacking Lesson............Come on DaveW ...no excuse now ;-) PICS best viewed LARGE...Click on Pics: FUJI

http://youtube.com/watch?v=AG4BPNvayWo ESPECIALLY FOR ChroNikon ;-)......( see his shout just now) FUJI

I felt very ancient this afternoon, when I gave a presentation on Old Wooden Toys to two classes of five year olds..........at my old infant and junior school...... Trying to explain that I was there as a five year old in 1942 wasn't easy......great fun though, especially now that I have hearing aids and new eyes.......when I did the same talk four years ago, I had great trouble hearing their little voices then. FUJI

Ah!......but a doggie version wouldn't even get off the ground.....it would explode with a .....WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOF! FUJI

Y'know.......if anyone did that with a dead dog........and it was posted on here.....there would be an uproar or a deathly silence.................... But......but.......we Moggie owners can take a joke. Did you notice that those little motors were.....Purring?......and......that the cat helicopter had been......Scratch Built? There you go......I'm feline much better now. FUJI

Can't see a dog having fun like this? FUJI

Watch it Leon.....or I'll send the gang round to change your nappy! ;-) GRANDDAD FUJI

MATT.......A very warm welcome back.......we missed you......can't wait to see what Cornwall can inspire you with. FUJI

WOW!..........This has made my day, and all my efforts with lens and High ISO experimentation worthwhile. THANK YOU! FUJI

I'll be 75 in early January.......still think like a twenty year old though, having a great life......I wouldn't change a thing. FUJI.......The Sage

Dear Kate, my thoughts are with you.... FUJI

So sorry to learn that Denis..........................Make sure it isn't one of those insurance scams............check Google for them. FUJI

Soooo, Funny. FUJI

My father........smoked......died aged just 57 yrs, heart disease. Mother smoked.....died aged 68 .....heart disease. Brothers smoked.....No. 1 died lung cancer, No. 2 died, lung cancer &heart disease......3 has throat cancer and heart disease ...still smokes. sister......smoked....died aged 54 ......Heart disease. First cousin smoked.......died from throat cancer aged 59. I have witnessed far too many if my immediate family and friends suffer greatly as a direct result of smoking.....so detest it. Never smoked in my life............and never will. Smoking should be banned. I'm the number one Grinch about tobacco.

ANNIE and LEE.........You really are a couple of Grinches......( so surprised at you Annie) ................. Being my age......( violins here please) .......is that I remember the wartime Christmases, they were EXACTLY like Lee said he would love........ We had no Dad ( for 6 years) so no real Father Christmas, to buy or stuff a stocking for us......we had a holly branch Christmas Tree with toffee and chocolate papers for its decorations......home made paper chains stuck together with flour paste........very few gifts, those we did get were poorly made, home made or made by German POWS.......definitely no turkey.....perhaps a scrawny cockerel from Gran's chicken hut.......thin watery mince pies.......no Christmas Pud unless it was a home- made affair consisting mainly of soaked bread......NO Central heating......Chilblains.....outside loo......unheated bathroom and bedrooms.....cold Lino floors.......if you look at weather records for the 1940s we had some of the coldest winters ever.....1947 was an all time record, with very deep snow and below zero temperatures for three months from January to March...it ended with severe gales and flooding.......as a nine year old my 6 year old brother and I had to treck two miles to the local Gas Works for one hundredweight of coke ( no coal available) ....we did this weekly as did all our young mates.......Hardly any sweets or chocolate....NO bananas or oranges.....Mam, slaving away for four kids doing her best to make Christmas as good as she could for us..... .I can't go on.......I will depress myself....because it is all so bloody TRUE. The MORAL of this?..........Be thankful because you never know what is around the corner ...... Times could still get tougher for you all. Have a GREAT Christmas and ENJOY it.....even you Lee and Annie ;-) Ancient.....FUJI

RELATIONS

Also.........Our small town has at least 8 charity shops, overflowing with superb Non-Fiction Books........so many folk are using E-Books on iPads and Tablets now.....one of my mates is a professional Artist......since he acquired an iPad, he buys all his books newspapwes and specialist magazines via the iTunes Store: This means that even more proper books will be available second hand: FUJI

Remind me....NEVER.....to go to RUSSIA........I am guessing that Vodka has a lot to do with it? FUJI

You've had the ......HICCOUGHS, FUJI

all done.......Thank You Lee. FUJI

I have just discovered this very apt quote that can equally apply to we photographers. In 1893, the painter Camille Pissarro said, ‘Happy are those who see beauty in modest spots where others see nothing. Everything is beautiful, the whole secret lies in knowing how to interpret it.’ By the way........How do I go about placing the quote so that it permanently appears underneath all my posts please?........ I note that quite a few members have quotes there. FUJI

Please folks......do as old Fuji tells you....... Sit back with a glass of something and listen to this..... ENJOY! FUJI

BOW

ANNE..........you have no taste ;-) FUJI

Got myself a Cryin' Talkin' Livin' Doll Gotta' do my best to please her Livin' Doll ' 'twas on the Juke Box in the harbour side cafe at Wells- Next-The -Sea.......where my good lady and I camped under canvas long- long ago in the mists of time......We used to go into that cafe every lunchtime for tomato and cheese sandwiches and took enough sixpence s to feed the Jukebox. FUJI