|
Post by exoticimports on Mar 4, 2021 8:08:31 GMT -8
|
|
kkarns
Junior Member
Posts: 33
|
Post by kkarns on Mar 4, 2021 13:18:18 GMT -8
My iPhone sure can't come close to that! Amazing today's imaging technology.
|
|
|
Post by trehopr1 on Mar 4, 2021 22:11:30 GMT -8
I have no idea how they do that but, those images have clarity and depth on an un-imagined scale !
|
|
|
Post by Adam Cotton on Mar 5, 2021 0:21:23 GMT -8
Presumably they use something called 'stacking'. I am not a photographer but think this involves taking multiple photos of the same image with focus slightly different for each photo, then they are all put together digitally.
Perhaps someone here who knows more about this can explain here, or correct me if I am incorrect.
Adam.
|
|
|
Post by alandmor on Mar 5, 2021 9:30:45 GMT -8
The photos are amazing and the specimens are beautifully prepared. However, I find the composition of several specimens at different angles, often overlapping each other in one image to be a bit cluttered. Just me I guess.
|
|
|
Post by nomihoudai on Mar 5, 2021 9:50:49 GMT -8
Thank you for sharing.
The pictures definitely combine a multitude of techniques - focus stacking - proper lightning - extensive post processing. Beetle elytra like to reflect strong flashes and turn white. You need a good setup with lightning diffusers. Getting the colors right is not easy.
Even more amazing than the pictures themselves is the amount of pictures shown.
|
|
|
Post by bandrow on Mar 5, 2021 18:30:38 GMT -8
Greetings,
I have seen examples from this gallery, but never knew it was so extensive. It is truly impressive work. I have used the software known as 'automontage' or 'stacking' at work, and it can do amazing things. As Adam said, it allows one to take images of a specimen in layers - the number of which can be controlled by the photographer. Then a 'stitching' program stacks the layers one on top of another selecting the clearest pixels in each layer and adding them to the composite image file, while discarding unclear pixels. The end result is amazing clarity with total depth of field.
For a specimen a couple of millimeters in thickness, I often shoot between 10-15 layers. In larger beetles, one may need up to 75-80 layers. A separate software package controls the camera on a rack, shooting an image, moving the camera an imperceptible amount and shooting again - repeating as many times as the chosen number of layers requires.
It's a really cool process and how the stitching works is beyond me. But then, I still barely understand how a vinyl phonograph record contains such intricate sound...!
Cheers! Bandrow
|
|
|
Post by tv on Mar 25, 2021 10:32:25 GMT -8
Many of those photos, particularly the ones that have an angle or profile view, are composed of several hundred images each. Even if you just do 5 images per mm of thickness, you're looking at beetles that are often greater than 60-70 mm wide for the span of the legs. If you don't take enough images, you end up with blurry bands through the image. I've done some angled photos like this and it takes a lot of photographs to get the legs both near and far in focus. Additionally if you look at the zoomed in images, you can see where the photographer has gone in and digitally cut out the outline of the specimen from the background. Based on the time and effort to do the all the photos and editing, they probably spend a minimum of 1 hour per image (for a single angle of a single beetle) but it could be closer to 3 or 4 hours. That's just a ridiculous amount of time, but clearly worth it for spectacular images like these.
If you're interested in trying out the technique, you can do it with a regular DLSR and a $30-$50 manual tripod mount. There are several different software (I use Zerene Stacker) that can effectively stack the images afterwards.
|
|
|
Post by matiki on Mar 21, 2022 12:01:42 GMT -8
They look lovely
|
|