There are a number of stacking applications out there, but what sets Zerene Stacker apart is its ability to align photos.  This is critical for insect photography as most photos are hand held.  This means that the chances that they will perfectly align are practically nil.

Zerene Stacker is extremely easy to use, though it does contain an impressive list of options.  It also contains a very powerful retouching feature that allows one to explain from which image to take different parts of the final image.  This is extremely useful in a number of cases, though with care I have found that it is often not necessary.  Typically I use the retouching feature when I specifically do not want a particular part of the final image to be in focus.  Often this is for artistic reasons.  I want the insect to be in focus but not this part of a leaf, etc.

There’s a common expression that a picture is worth a thousand words, so without further ado I’ll show you what it can do.

The following are three unedited photos of a stink bug I took recently.

As you can see, each of these images has a different part in focus.  The image at the top has only the antenna in focus.  The image in the middle has the face and the front of the body in focus, while the one on the bottom has the top of the shell.

Also note that they are not completely aligned.  In particular the bottom image is quite a bit off.  Nevertheless, I brought all three of these images into Zerene Stacker and then stacked them using PMax.  The following is the result, which also includes some post processing to make the shot a bit more interesting.

As you can see, most of the stink bug is now in focus.  The entire post processing for this photo, including the following, took only a few minutes.

1. 1) Stack the photos using Zerene Stacker.
2. 2) Exposure and slight contrast change in Lightroom.
3. 3) Tonal contrast (to insect only) using Nik Color Efex in Photoshop CS5.
4. 4) Removed dust spots.

This shot would not have been possible to take otherwise – there is simply too much depth of field (the original shots were all taken at f11).

One other small point to note is you can see at the very bottom of the shot that there is a part that looks slightly different.  This effect is an unfortunate side effect that occurs when Zerene Stacker aligns the photos.  To combat this issue you need to try to take the shots as aligned as possible.  Also, make sure that no important visual elements are on the edges.  Usually, I just crop this part out but if I feel it is important I will just use content aware fill in CS5 – which does a good job with these.

Of course, it can still be tricky to get several workable shots that can then be combined with Zerene Stacker.  One must pay particular attention to the parts of the insect in the shot.  As one moves in closer or farther to focus on a nearer or further part of the insect, very often part of the insect will leave the frame.  The trick is to still keep the same parts of the insect in the frame while changing the area of focus.

This technique is even more important at higher magnifications.  Due to diffraction at high magnifications, if you need a very high quality shot you will need to stop down quite a bit.  On a 5D2, the MP-E 65 does show diffraction at 5x at f11.  This can be noticed on an 8×10 shot, though not enough to overly detract from the shot.  If one needs to crop the shot though or create larger prints, then the lens will need to be stopped down to f5.6.  At this aperture, the DOF is miniscule and focus stacking is a necessity.

For these reasons, I believe Zerene Stacker is an essential tool for any serious insect photographer.

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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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In truth, sand dollars look quite a bit different when they are still alive.

These two sand dollars were found at Kopachuk State Park, where it’s literally impossible to not find a sand dollar.  They can be found in the thousands there and in places it is difficult to walk without stepping on one.

This one appears to be Echinarachnius parma, or the Common Sand Dollar.  Interestingly, sand dollars are either female or male – just like other animals and insects.  Even more interestingly, sand dollars are one of the first creatures found to use cloning as a means for self defense.  The sand dollar will deliberately break of parts of itself that are small enough for predators to not bother them.

Taking a look at the sand dollars on the beach, it was very clear upon looking at them that they are truly living – as it appeared something was moving on them.  Of course I had to take a closer look.

All over each sand dollar are thousands of miniscule spines.  These spines direct food to the mouth of the sand dollar.

This is what the spines look like close to 5x.  They are constantly moving and give the sand dollar a ‘glistening’ look.

Here you can actually see that the sand dollar actually has water over it – as the spines barely touch above the thin layer of water that covers the sand dollar.  Without this water the sand dollar would likely dry up and die – becoming one of the white sand dollars we know them as.

Finally, we found some smaller sand dollars.  These ones looked like babies and were found hidden near several much larger sand dollars.

Sand dollars are found throughout the world and are very common.  Still, in just a short time at a beach I learned a lot about an animal I ordinarily do not pay much attention to.

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My goal with this shot was to emphasize the legs coming right out at you – as if they harvestman were about to grab you.  I created several versions of this shot, but this one I like the best – with the body of the harvestman just visible behind. 

For those not familiar with our friend the harvestman, they are not spiders.  They are arachnids, but are in the order Opiliones while spiders are in the order Araneae.  Of course, for the squeamish that isn’t very important.  Most people know the harvestman by the common name “daddy long legs".

In this shot, I tried to emphasize more the geometry of the harvestman.  I spent some time trying to get the legs at the correct angle to form a triangle with the two upper corners.  This is the closest I got.  This particular shot is also a focus stack of two images.  The image wasn’t taken as a panorama – but was cropped to remove some distracting elements from the picture.

This shot is a bit closer to my everyday shots of harvestmen.  I wasn’t too crazy initially with the lighting of this shot as it is one case where I would have preferred to use a tripod and a long exposure to get rid of the black background caused by the flash.  However in this case I warmed up to the lighting as I like the emphasis on the right foot.  There’s actually a very small drop at the end of it that I think is rather cool.

In the future I plan to continue to experiment with harvestmen – coming up with even more original shots.  I hope this will become a common experiment with critters that I have already photographed quite a bit – such as spiders and pill bugs.

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It then occurred to me that the answer was quite obvious.  First, by switching to my 7D instead of my 5D2 I reached an effective magnification (compared to my 5D2) of 8x.  Second, I was curious if my 1.4x extender would work with the MP-E 65 – so I fit it on to give me an effective magnification of 11x.  I decided to ignore the inevitable diffraction and try it out.

After trying it out on the carpet, I decided to find a real subject so I went outside with my contraption.  I quickly found a fly that was temporarily willing to be a still subject – or at least up to 3x when it flew away.

I quickly noticed a number of things about the combo.  For one thing, while hand shooting at 5x is a challenge, when it comes to 11x things take quite a different turn.  Not only is it incredibly difficult getting something to stay still in the viewfinder, but the viewfinder is even darker than usual.  For the first time in awhile I was forced to use the lamps on my MT-24EX just to focus.  While normally the viewfinder is dark at higher magnifications, I can see barely enough to be able to focus.  This wasn’t the case here.  Also, I noticed that the image on the viewfinder itself looked much ‘noisier’.  This was a bit of a surprise and took getting used to.  I’m not sure if it is an effect of the 7D or the 1.4x extender, but the viewfinder quality was definitely worse.

After playing around with the fly I decided to look for a smaller subject.  Aphids on our rose bushes have always proven a challenge.  While they keep relatively still, they are quite small.

For comparison sake, here is an aphid taken at 5x with the 5D2 on the same day.

And here’s a different aphid – even smaller than this one on a different leaf at 11x.

While I was very pleased with the result, there are obvious drawbacks.  FIrst, image quality suffers – which one would expect.  I am honestly not sure how much of this was due to the increased diffraction inherent in the small sensor of the 7D and how much was caused by the 1.4x extender.  I will have to try the extender some time on the 5D2 to get a better idea.

Diffraction, at least, can be combated.  For instance I can take multiple shots at a lower aperture and focus stack them.  I may try this some time with this combo to see what type of quality I can get, but on this particular day I did not have much time.

While I will not go through the lengths to post the 100% crops here (this is not a review blog) I did compare the crops from the 5D2 and the 7D/1.4x combo and it looks like they are roughly equivalent.  In other words, about the same detail is visible from a 5D2 image at 5x blown up to the equivalent size compared to the 7D + 1.4x.  Still, at first sight the 7D + 1.4x certainly looks more impressive!

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It isn’t difficult to find mites whenever taking macro shots.  They are everywhere and you really just have to turn over a leaf that is decaying on the ground to find one.  Photographing one, though.  Well that’s a different story.

Complicating getting a good photo of one of these little buggers are two things.

1) They are extremely small.  The shot above was taken at 5x – and even then I cropped it.

2) They move rather quickly and do not sit still

About a week ago, though, after not finding much anything else to photograph that day, I decided to take my chances.

I spent a good twenty minutes tracking this little mite as it wandered across this leaf.  Most of my shots were blurry – it isn’t easy tracking something at 5x – but unlike past attempts I kept at it and got some decent ones.

Of course, I have absolutely no idea what species this is.  As there are over 45,000 described species of mites and scientists estimate this makes up about 5% of the total species out there, I’m not going to try very hard to figure it out.  Mites are arachnids – just like spiders.  However, they’re not spiders – but are related.

Another interesting fact is that one of the strongest animals on earth is a mite.  It can carry 1182 times its own weight.  I did a quick search on what that would mean, and it’s roughly equivalent to one of us picking up this boat.  Remind me if I’m ever reincarnated as something extremely small, to not mess with a mite.

Of course, most of us know mites as garden pests or waste bin pests.  I doubt this particular one is of any concern as I found it by a trail near my office.  I strongly suspect that these particular mites have a big part in the decomposition of leaves and creation of soil.  In that respect, they’re probably partners (or predators) of our friend the springtail.

So what are the lessons I learned from my little pal the mite?  Well, for one when faced with a difficult subject – take lots of shots.  Also, just because something is difficult doesn’t mean with some patience it’s not possible.  I had numerous opportunities to photograph these in the past, but didn’t bother to have the patience until now.

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This particular lizard was found in the backyard of a property Nelya was listing.  We all travelled to a small town called Olalla in Kitsap County to take pictures of the listing.  The weather was great, but unfortunately the property was not clean enough to take pictures.  Bummer.

However, since it was a nice day we decided to take photos of the outside at least, and my kids were playing in the backyard when they happened across this little guy (or gal).

This particular lizard is called a Northern Alligator Lizard.  It is one of the very few lizards that actually doesn’t mind our climate and is specific to the left coast.  It ranges up to parts of BC and is considered Canada’s largest lizard.

Although we didn’t bug it enough, this lizard is capable of removing its tail to distract a predator.  Also, they supposedly like to live in groups, so the next time I see one I will be sure to watch out for friends.

Luckily, when I found this little critter I had my full camera bag with me.  Unluckily, I don’t really have a good macro lens for these types of critters.  I do have an MP-E 65, but the magnification is too much for things this large.  I had to think of something and think fast.

It then occurred to me that my TS-E 24 II has pretty decent magnification.  Would it let me get that close?  I threw the lens on my Canon 7D – in order to benefit from the crop factor, and tried it.

Oops.  I need to remember to watch my aperture!  Actually, I kind of liked this shot so I kept it.  The little lizard was very kind to sit still and allowed me to get very close for the shots above.

All in all it was a nice day, despite the fact that we failed in our original task (to photograph the house).  Sometimes some of the more interesting moments in life come where you’re not expecting them.  You just have to make the best of what you have and once in awhile you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

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This shot was taken a few months ago by the ponds outside my office.  I spent some time photographing one stink bug and when I found another on a different leaf – I figured – why not?

They stayed together for about thirty seconds – but this was long enough to get a decent shot.  They didn’t seem too offended by one another – but soon went their separate ways.

Stink bugs are one of my favorite insects to photograph as they are so colorful.

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Still, it was a welcome sight to find some aphids in the wild this weekend while shooting near some ponds that are next to the building where I work.

This one in particular is very colorful, although I am not 100% sure it is an aphid.  It almost looks like a little lobster!  Unfortunately I could not find a good identity for it in my literature or online.  I suspect that it does not venture into our gardens very often and therefore to the vast majority of people is uninteresting.  If anyone has an idea about this one I would be very appreciative.

On future outings I think I will take a guide to Northwest plant life.  Many insects reside/feed on specific types of plants and if I know the type of plant then I may have a better idea about the type of the critter.  Of course, plant identification isn’t easy but I do have a book that covers the native plants in this area fairly well.

Just as I was packing up, I found this one on my camera bag.

This one is much more similar to the standard garden aphids.  I have heard that only the females have wings, in which case that would make this a female.

Well, according to my kids this entry is now over as they want to play a game on the computer so…

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I found a number of these flies on a bank of yellow flowers next to a small stream.  I must admit that even after attempting to look it up, I have no idea what type of fly it is.  At first I thought it was a face fly, but according to what I read face flies are quite a bit bigger than this one.

I rather like this view of it.

Here you can clearly see that the fly is getting pollen all over it.

These photos were taken during my weekly photo shoot at some ponds next to the building where I work.  I was a bit reluctant that day to go out and shoot as I had a lot of work to do and had a lot of meetings that day, but I was quite glad that I did! (and yes I finished my work too)

Sometimes it is very nice to just force yourself to go out there and shoot.

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