This particular image is a focus stack from two images.  I have been working a bit more with focus stacking using Zerene stacker and find it very useful – in particular for someone like me who does not have a lot of time.

Dandelion seeds can actually be rather tricky to photograph.  I usually find that more than 1:1 magnification is required so I use my MP-E 65 anywhere from 1:1 to 2:1.  Generally the seeds do not stay still so a flash is required.  It can be quite tricky though getting the seed in your viewfinder and in focus as they tend to sway quite a bit in the wind – causing the seed to come in and out of my viewfinder.

This swaying further complicates getting a good set of images for a focus stack.  The only way I have found to combat this so far is by taking a number of images.  After taking a good number of shots, I am able to evaluate them right on the camera so the majority of the shots never see Lightroom.

The above shot was taken closer to 1:1 so you can see the magnification difference.  It also suffered from extreme swaying and due to the number of seeds involved I was not able to take a set that worked well enough for focus stacking.  Still, I rather like the shot though my wife says I needed to ‘add’ one more seed to make it an odd number.

Using flash with dandelion seeds can also be a bit tricky.  The problem is the dandelion makes up only a small part of the image so the camera will often overexpose through the flashes.  This tends to cause the seed to be blown out.  The best way to compensate for this is to dial the flash back.  I often dial my MT-24EX back between –1 1/3 to –2.

This image I liked better as I was creating it than I like the final product.  The image I wanted was successfully executed – doing a multiple image focus stack so all of the seeds are in focus.  However in this case I believe the seed head is exceptionally ugly and really distracts from the shot.  The seed head looks rather old and stale.  Still, I think it is an idea worth exploring more – perhaps with a full head of seeds.

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Recently I have been playing with the 180L when I have the chance – looking for new subjects.  In the next few days I’ll discuss other things I found, but in the meantime here’s some more dandelion seed pictures for the day.  I would be curious to hear opinions on which one (if any) you like best.

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This picture was taken entirely by him, with his father only helping him to hold the rather heavy Canon 180L lens.  Still, I think it is rather impressive that at this age (a few months short of five) he is using the rule of thirds already.

Here’s another shot that he took the same day.  I rather like the thought with this one.  Thought it was a bit out of focus it’s very interesting that out of all things a four year old would try to frame the shot this way.  I know that he intentionally framed it this way because he rejected an earlier attempt that was off and retook the shot.

In other shots he attempted to be a bit more artistic.  I’m not sure what the story is behind this shot, but he was very determined to get it right.

What I found even funnier was later on when I was taking photos of them.  Eitan stopped in his bike and asked that I take a picture of him in this pose.

Is this a future photography great in the making?!

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This image is part of a ‘geometry in nature’ series that I am working on, though I doubt it will end up in the final collection.  It came out as I expected, but I haven’t been able to make the yellow stronger and I think the shot is missing some ‘oomph’ in general.

Soon after that my patience was rewarded with a small beetle.

After spending some time going through my insect books, I can with confidence say that I have no idea what type of beetle this is.  The large eyes and markings on its back should make it conspicuous, but I didn’t find anything that looked like it in my books.  As there are a tremendous number of beetle species, it’s possible I will need a specialist book to identify it.

A short time after the beetle I got my first fly of the year (as Tom would say “CHECK”).  Obviously I have seen other flies this year, but this is the first one that was still enough to let me get a good shot.  I hope to have some better shots as things get warmer and I have more opportunities to shoot flies.

Interestingly some of my coworkers found this shot interesting for the drab colors – almost like a black and white image.  I may play with this image a bit in the future to see what I can do with it.  I haven’t spent much time figuring out what type of fly this is, but given the number of families and species I suspect it won’t be easy to figure it out.

Finally I found this interesting bug.

This is the leaf that I found it on originally.  I then tried to use it with my flower experiment but it didn’t want a part of that.  I’m still not exactly sure what this is, but given the antennas, back, and eyes I suspect it is a type of fly.  From my insect book it looks similar to a xylophagid fly, but there are a number of differences in the pictures I have seen.

So in terms of photography it was a successful day, but in terms of figuring out what I photographed I have some work remaining.

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