What’s Up?
I left home at 6:15am Sunday morning and drove to Tiger Creek Preserve in search of some new wildflowers to photograph. I hiked a total of two miles with my macro gear. It was hot and still and started off with some fog and clouds but the sun came out at about 8am … There were lots of flowers close to the parking lot but I wanted to do some exploring and since the flowers I was seeing were the same as I have been working with at Indian Lake Estates, I continued on in search of “better subjects.” Not. I did find and photograph one tiny, white, low-growing flower that was new-to-me. I walked through a variety of beautiful habitats, saw a zillion dragonflies and many amazing spider webs, but did not make any images.
Near the end of my long hot walk, I stopped to photograph some orange-colored milkweed flowers. On the way to Publix I stopped at the Ridge Audubon Center near Crooked Lake to do some scouting. I need to return there soon on an early morning before the sun gets too high and the breeze picks up to photograph the blooming Florida Greeneyes, a beautiful species that I have been on the lookout for.
I have struggled getting my swims in between the thunderstorms.
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Click on the screen capture to enlarge. Image #1: 161 images of the same blossom … |
161 Images of a Single Blossom: Why?
Looking at the Photo Mechanic screen capture above, you would probably think that I was nuts. Is it really necessary to create so many images of the same flower? The answer to that question is an absolute yes! After enlarging the screen cap, you can see that I began with one image design and then moved the tripod a bit to come up with a better one: 35 of the first version, and 126 of the second version.
It is obvious that I varied my exposures usually shooting as many as nine different exposures in a single sequence. I do that for two reasons:
1- to be guaranteed winding up with a perfect exposure as determined by RawDigger.
2- to learn more about RawDigger.
In addition, though I am able to focus incredibly accurately, I am not always sure as to exactly where to focus. So if there are two possible choices, I will shoot an exposure sequence of each. Then comes the main subject of this blog post- depth-of-field. I am pretty sure that I created sequences of this single blossom at f/2.8, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, and f/22. And possibly at f/4 and f/16 as well.
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This image was created on the morning of 17 JULY 2020 in our butterfly garden at Indian Lake Estates. I used the Induro GIT 404L/FlexShooter Pro-mounted Venus Optics Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro APO Lens for Sony E and the 61MP monster, the Sony Alpha a7R IV Mirrorless Digital camera body ISO 400: 1/15 sec. at f/? (probably f/2.8) in Manual mode. The exposure was confirmed as perfect by RawDigger from a series of bracketed images. AWB at 7:20am early on a still, partly cloudy morning. Manual focus using the combination of Manual Focus Toggle and Focus Magnifier tips from the SONY e-guide along with the 2-second timer. Plamped in place to combat the breeze. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version. Image #2: Bloodberry aka Rouge Plant, Pigeon Berry, Turkey Berry, Baby Peppers (Rivina humilis) blossom |
On Depth-of-Field at Very High Magnification (2X) …
The minimum focusing distance of the Venus Optics Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro APO Lens for Sony E is 9.7 inches. Here are the total depth-of-field numbers at 10 inches, just about twice life-size:
At f/2.8: 0.02 inches. In other words, next to nothing.
At f/8 that jumps to 0.05 inches, still pretty close to next to nothing.
At f/22 we get up to 0.13 inches, a bit more than 1/8 inch.
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This image was created on the morning of 17 JULY 2020 in our butterfly garden at Indian Lake Estates. I used the Induro GIT 404L/FlexShooter Pro-mounted Venus Optics Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro APO Lens for Sony E and the 61MP monster, the Sony Alpha a7R IV Mirrorless Digital camera body ISO 800: 1/8 sec. at f/? (probably f/8) in Manual mode. The exposure was confirmed as perfect by RawDigger from a series of bracketed images. AWB at 7:20am early on a still, partly cloudy morning. Manual focus using the combination of Manual Focus Toggle and Focus Magnifier tips from the SONY e-guide along with the 2-second timer. Plamped in place to combat the breeze. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version. Image #3: Bloodberry aka Rouge Plant, Pigeon Berry, Turkey Berry, Baby Peppers (Rivina humilis) blossom — Medium depth-of-field |
On Depth-of-Field at High Magnification (1X) …
Working at about 14 inches, the magnification is 1X. Note what happens to the total depth-of-field:
At f/2.8: 0.04 inches. In other words, still pretty close to next to nothing.
At f/8 that jumps to 0.11 inches, just a bit less than 1/8 inch.
At f/22 we get up to 0.31 inches, just short of a relatively whopping 1/3 inch.
Thus, if you can keep the flower perfectly still and there is no wind, it seems like a non-brainer to shoot everything at f/22. Or not?
In short, the greater the magnification, the shallower the depth-of-field. And that principle holds true when working with telephoto lenses as well. When photographing flowers, it is difficult to note the effectiveness of your depth-of-field choices on the back of the camera so it is pretty much always best to vary the aperture significantly to give yourself lots of choices once you are viewing the images on your computer.
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This image was created on the morning of 17 JULY 2020 in our butterfly garden at Indian Lake Estates. I used the Induro GIT 404L/FlexShooter Pro-mounted Venus Optics Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro APO Lens for Sony E and the 61MP monster, the Sony Alpha a7R IV Mirrorless Digital camera body ISO 400: 1.3 sec. at f/? (probably f/22) in Manual mode. The exposure was confirmed as perfect by RawDigger from a series of bracketed images. AWB at 7:20am early on a still, partly cloudy morning. Manual focus using the combination of Manual Focus Toggle and Focus Magnifier tips from the SONY e-guide along with the 2-second timer. Plamped in place to combat the breeze. Click on the image to enjoy a larger version. Image #4: Bloodberry aka Rouge Plant, Pigeon Berry, Turkey Berry, Baby Peppers (Rivina humilis) blossom |
Your Call on Depth-of-Field
Please leave a comment ass to which of the three versions of the same blossom you like best. And please let us know why you made your choice.
To sum up, Image #2 was made at the wide open aperture of f/2.8 and thus features the narrowest depth-of-field.
Image #3 was made at a medium aperture, f/8, and thus features what you might call medium depth-of-field.
And Image #4 was made at f/22, the lens’s smallest aperture. It features deep depth-of-field that rendered most of the flower in sharp focus …
As usual, I have a clear favorite and a clear second choice. And I do consider one of the three an artistic failure. I will share my thoughts on these with you here in a few days.
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Typos
In all blog posts and Bulletins, feel free to e-mail or to leave a comment regarding any typos or errors. Just be right :).
Agree totally with David J P. For the very same reasons…..
I like the extra depth of field on image 4.
Regarding the focus stacking, I wanted to emulate the images of Petar Sabol, a Sony ambassador that takes images up to 5x using an expensive device that takes the effort out of focus stacking. It’s a highly configurable focusing rail that moves the lens in tiny increments.
To see how I got on I bought a cheap alternative from Amazon ($30). My initial attempts seem to have worked, though it has many limitations such as needing a shutter release due to introducing instability, and lens creep if the subject is up or down. Unfortuantely recent ill health has prevented further experimentation but it seems a fun area to play in.
I like the blurred leaves and background of the shallow DOF, but I also like having more blooms focused in the deep DOF. The medium DOF is my least favorite, as it delivers neither of the former features. Your previous objections to focus stacking notwithstanding, I’d be tempted to try f2.8 with the blooms stacked, so that the leaves and background are much as in the shallow DOF version. (Once we’re talking 161 images, at least your “too much work” objection to focus stacking comes into question, but I understand you had others.)
Thanks Rob, First off, the Laowa 100mm does not actually focus — you focus by changing the magnification. That is the living definition of focus breathing so as far as I understand it, focus stacking would not be possible …
with love, artie
Artie:. I have been photographing wildflowers a lot recently and am familiar with these issues. I like image #2 best. I love the sharpness in front and the nice OOF parts behind. Then I prefer #4. If you’re going for depth of field, go as far as you can. How do you identify your flowers?
Hi David,
Thanks for the typo; I fixed it and re-crafted your response. LMK If I screwed anything up. I purchased several books and finally found someone knowledgeable who is more than willing to help. We started off well when he asked me if I was THE Arthur Morris. His name is John Bradford and I was lucky to find him. More likely on him soon.
with love, artie
Artie: thanks. Your recraft is fine.