30 October 2017, Canberra, ACT
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These images were taken during a Canberra Photographic Society event at the Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra. You were supposed to use a single focal length – that’s OK, I was using a prime anyway – and when I got there I found there were five themes you were supposed to follow. I wasn’t much interested in the themes though so I only gave cursory attention to them. What I was more interested in was attaining maximum image quality using focus stacking where necessary. In other words, this is where you take multiple images of the same subject at different points of focus and combine them later in processing. nine of these images are focus-stacked.
Click for larger images.
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Grevillea shuttleworthiana subsp. canarina.
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Anigozanthos manglesii (red and green kangaroo paw).
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Telopea Speciocissima (New South Wales Waratah).
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Wattlebird in Grevillea,
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Grevillea.
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Rock Garden Waterfall,
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Gymea Lilies.
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Water Dragon.
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Melaleuca Styphelioides (Prickly Paperbark).
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Green butterfly on probably a Melaleuca.
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Ducklings.
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Isopogom.
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Callistemon.
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Water dragons.
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Banksia.
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Cyathea Australis.
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Australian Hibiscus, I think..
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Murray Foote 
Wow Murray, once again I envy your travels.
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This is not so far. It’s the local Botanical Gardens, about a kilometre away.
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Spectacular beauty!
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Thanks very much! There are lots of spectacular native plants here!
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Absolutely gorgeous collection Murray! All worthy of framing! Hard to choose a favourite but I’ll go with “Grevillea” … I guess it was quite a challenge to focus-stack the Water Dragon eh? I’ve never done focus-stacking – too impatient to use a tripod – but I’m willing to change to get the quality you’ve achieved.
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Thanks very much Michael!
The shot of the single water dragon wasn’t focus stacked though the one with two of them was. The single one was just sitting there very still and I sat down beside him to take the photo so I could have focus stacked it.
Hand held focus stacking is possible with my Nikon cameras and Sigma 180mm f2.8 macro lens (which I used for all of these). You simply work out where you want the focus to start and end and turn the focusing ring round between those points while on continuous shutter release. A monopod is usually easier, though. I would have used a monopod for these shots rather than a tripod and using this technique.
With my Fuji camera and macro lens this isn’t possible, though because it doesn’t refocus during continuous shutter operation. I also find the lighter camera and lens more difficult to hold still hand-held or on a monopod.
For focus stacking software, the main options are Photoshop, Helicon Focus and Zerene Stacker. You’re going to start off with Photoshop, assuming you have it, because the other two cost money, but I have come to prefer Zerene Stacker.
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Wow! Thanks for the advice Murray! I’ll have to do some experimenting.
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[…] are monochrome conversions from the following posts: Australian National Botanic Gardens, Architecture Workshop with Geoff Comfort and Mount […]
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[…] Australian National Botanical Gardens […]
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Hi nice reading your ppost
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Hi! .. and thanks very much!
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