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White-faced Meadowhawk 2
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White-faced Meadowhawk 2

by Jim Zablotny

Gallery: Macro & Close-upPosted August 8, 2014213 views10 comments
I took Mark and Sandy's critiques and rebuilt the stack with additional images. The tiff file is amazing and the eye facets were present and the facial sensory setae were defined. The tip of the tail is sharp too. I then selectively sharpened the image with Topaz In Focus and along with a masking layer, I was able to bring out more detail on the head, body hairs, and clear up the wings a bit. I finished off the processing with Levels and Topaz Detail. Its not perfect, but I like the result so far. I do need to shoot with more available ambient light for additional sharpness. That's for this weekend. K5 IIs, 300mm DA* f4, 40mm extension (ISO 200, f11-f18, .5 to 2 sec, 21 image stack Pmax)....................Jim

Comments

10 comments
Comment posted by scott lanz on August 8, 2014 at 10:12 PM
Yes, even better, Jim. Not just in the head and eye, but in the torso, legs and near lower wing. :toast:
Registered on November 14, 2003, 840 Posts, 12902 Comments
Comment posted by Soubhik Patranabis on August 8, 2014 at 11:13 PM
Great detail - beautiful shot.
Registered on January 25, 2010, 54 Posts, 610 Comments
Comment posted by Bill Leggett on August 9, 2014 at 10:46 AM
That's a pretty impressive focus stack, Jim, although I've never tried it myself. Nice work.
Registered on July 21, 2004, 706 Posts, 3233 Comments
Comment posted by Mark Seaver on August 9, 2014 at 12:42 PM
This is so much improved that I can see the sharpness difference in the thumbs! Looks great, Jim, and I admire your "courage" in shooting deep stacks hand held.
Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments
Comment posted by Ramamohan Pai on August 9, 2014 at 5:33 PM
Big improvement from your previous capture, Jim. Face certainly looks much sharper but tail less so but acceptably sharp. Very nice work considering the long shutter speeds you had to use.
Registered on November 1, 2003, 550 Posts, 9037 Comments
Comment posted by Ian Wolfenden on August 10, 2014 at 10:02 AM
Remarkable to have got this stack, Jim, and the sharpness is definitely improved over the first image. A very tiny nit might be whether the brightness of the head and thorax might come down a touch, given the paleness of the bg. Whatever, this is good work !!
Registered on May 18, 2007, 1108 Posts, 7647 Comments
Comment posted by Albert Darmo on August 13, 2014 at 10:12 PM
Hi Jim :wavey: Ian echoed my thoughts perfectly.. Excellent work :toast:


Albert Darmo
Canada
Registered on November 25, 2008, 1386 Posts, 11978 Comments
Comment posted by Howard Cheek on August 15, 2014 at 9:12 AM
Very nice Jim, excellent post processing :toast: :toast:
Registered on July 24, 2008, 1201 Posts, 10758 Comments
Comment posted by Jim Zablotny on August 17, 2014 at 9:18 PM
Thank you :wavey:.....................................Jim
Registered on January 17, 2004, 705 Posts, 3594 Comments
Comment posted by SandyRichardsBrown on August 25, 2014 at 12:53 PM
Glad it worked - this is terrific!
Great colors, perfect DOF and good processing to render every bit in focus.
Congrats on the WP!
Sandy
Registered on November 24, 2003, 3937 Posts, 12909 Comments