JACK LARSON PHOTOGRAPHY
Lichen On Twigs
Posted by john4jack (Corvallis, Oregon, United States) on 2 March 2009 in Plant & Nature and Portfolio.
The twigs were tiny and the light was low, which didn't make for the easiest macro work.
For this particular photograph, I used PSCS4's new "Focus Blending." You take several shots, bringing different parts of the image into focus in each shot. Then PSCS4 automatically selects only the parts of each shot that are most in focus, and blends the shots into one sharp image. If there is part of the image that is not sharp, that is because you did not have that part sharp in any of your shots. It's not perfect, but it is amazing!
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.
-Martin Luther King Jr.
Linerberry from Sumner, Christchurch, New Zealand
great images over the weekend:-)
This is so incredible...nature is just so beautiful in the most varied of ways:-) Gorgeous colours!!!
2 Mar 2009 5:55am
@Linerberry: Thank you.
Cricket-Tammy from United States
You did a great job on this one too. These colors are so alive. Such beauty in nature.
2 Mar 2009 6:02am
Jeff from Honolulu, United States
What will those clever folks at Photoshop think of next? Whatever it is, I'm sure you'll put it to expert use as you have in this photo. The details and colors are wonderful.
2 Mar 2009 6:33am
Nicholas from Shah Alam, Malaysia
Interesting feature for macro photographers. Love the high contrast here :)
2 Mar 2009 6:45am
Mathilde from Fontainebleau, France
Un branchage étrange et coloré! I love the texture magnifique! Image! Superbe!
2 Mar 2009 7:05am
Suzanne from Huntington Bch, California, United States
Wow...I'm impressed. Fascinating looking plant.
2 Mar 2009 7:06am
Anna.C from LA ROCHELLE, France
great work ! rich textures and colours, perfect sharpness and DOF
2 Mar 2009 9:48am
zahai from Berlin, Germany
What can i say... perfect. Awesome capture, i love it :)
2 Mar 2009 10:53am
Lydie et Roland from BESANCON, France
WOW ! Really beautiful... Colors, composition, light, DOF....
2 Mar 2009 11:19am
dogilicious from Millerstown, PA, United States
Excellent. A great capture of a very cool element of nature. The lens seems very interesting.
2 Mar 2009 11:33am
zOOm from Paris, France
Great textures and patterns for who loves macro photography. Colors are simply gorgeous.
2 Mar 2009 12:13pm
Evelyne Dubos from Le Mans, France
Love the high contrasted colours and their harmony between the suject and the background. lovely macro Jack !!
2 Mar 2009 12:31pm
Christmanimages from Collegeville, United States
Love the colors john4jack. The Focus blending tool you mentioned sounds very interesting!
2 Mar 2009 1:24pm
@Lee: And, as you know, you can't do this with CS2; I'm sorry.
Don from spokane, United States
The blending works amazingly well. A fine image to begin with but the processing, no doubt, contributed heavily to the outcome. Nice photographic and technical work.
2 Mar 2009 2:32pm
@Don: This was my first venture into this capability of CS4. It really blew me away. And it is so easy! (but you have to have a tripod for your shots)
Ajay from Pune, India
I think the lighting has come out to be perfect. And the macro is also very impressive. Of course, I see some hard work there.
2 Mar 2009 2:50pm
Monique from Koh Samui, Thailand
Great job and I like the composition with the second twig in the background which creates a great depth. You can do almost the same in CS3 but it takes a lot more work aligning the layers and erasing the parts you don't need. I'm still a bit reluctant trying CS4 ...
2 Mar 2009 3:23pm
@Monique: It's a piece of cake.
dan from Paris, France
With the macro, we can admire the smallest details of the nature.
2 Mar 2009 3:26pm
Hema Iyer from Bangalore, India
Amazing shot. The colors are fantastic. And thanks for sharing the Blending method with us. I did not know about this and am happy I am learning so much here. Thanks very much, Jack.
2 Mar 2009 3:46pm
Barbara from Florida, United States
Wow, like a beautiful and colorful bouqet. Very impressive how this program works with just the focused parts of the image. The warmth of color is my favorite. Well done.
2 Mar 2009 4:18pm
willow from Chelsea, United States
Wow! The colors are warm and rich and I love the focusing technique - I hadn't heard of that one before. Thanks for the info!
2 Mar 2009 4:53pm
@willow: Important! You need to run "Auto-Align" before you run "Auto-Blend." That often is not mentioned. My first attempt looked like a disaster. So I called Adobe Tech Support; they clued me in.
vu@granby - Wolfgang from Granby, Québec, Canada
An excellent close-up, doesn't get any better than this! The sharpness of the foreground over the superb bokeh of the background, bravo!
2 Mar 2009 4:54pm
@vu@granby - Wolfgang: Absolutely could not have done it without "Auto-Blend."
EYES WIDE SHUT from United Kingdom
Vibrant and alive, this is superbly observed, Jack. Crystal clarity and intricate detailing handled so well. First class work
2 Mar 2009 4:56pm
@EYES WIDE SHUT: Thanks, Paul!
kerfendal from Paris, France
so much things in this pic, marvellous shapes and colours
2 Mar 2009 5:05pm
Steve Rice from Olympia, United States
Wow! That is totally beautiful. Thanks for that note about CS4; I guess I better upgrade.
2 Mar 2009 5:07pm
Diane Schuller from Hythe, Canada
wow, that is incredibly sharp and beautiful Jack. What a great technique. (I'm going to work at catching up later today -- busy, busy, busy).
2 Mar 2009 5:30pm
Sandrine from Cincinnati, United States
I love this! Perfect! Especially the colors!
2 Mar 2009 5:56pm
PD from Overland Park, Kansas, United States
Great shot! First one I have seen with the focus blending... may have to upgrade from CS3 :)
2 Mar 2009 6:04pm
Mary from PA, United States
Stunning Jack....They are so very colorful! Thanks for sharing.
2 Mar 2009 6:12pm
Momo from Montpellier, France
great image Jack...color is amazing...and thanks for the explanation on the focus stuff in cs4...I've been looking into that a bit lately too...I've got cs3 but it is available as separate programs via other manufacturers...oh, great MLK quote...
2 Mar 2009 6:24pm
Robert Kruh from Slovenia
Oh my, ... amazing details and colours here! Super macro! Congrats!
2 Mar 2009 7:56pm
@Robert Kruh: Thanks, Robert. We need you to join aminus3!!
jim from sebastopol, United States
this is a really great shot. there are so many different lichens growing on this branch! thank you for the quote as well. jim
2 Mar 2009 8:15pm
jamesy from christchurch, New Zealand
Wow It is beautiful great processing it would be interesting to see one of the originals to compare it
2 Mar 2009 8:46pm
@jamesy: Anyone who sends me their email address, I will send you the original files that were Auto-Blended. You will be amazed at what the software can do.
Jen from St. George, United States
Oooh... I love lichen! It's so pretty, all the different colors. I've found it very hard to photograph well, though. This is perfect! I've never seen it on a twig like this. You've captured it very well!
2 Mar 2009 10:28pm
Anita from West Nottingham, United States
This is an excellent image of Oregon in the winter! Beautiful colors. The focus blending is amazing.
2 Mar 2009 11:42pm
JJ from Jersey City, United States
Wonderful colors in this, and that feature in CS4 sounds pretty amazing and handy to have
3 Mar 2009 12:34am
Susan from Fort Lauderdale, FL, United States
geez, i just got cs3, and now you've made me want cs4!!!! this shot is amazing...you did a phenomenal job!!!
i wonder if cs3 does that also? if you know it does, shoot me those shots at iliv4bears [AT] aol [DOT] com, so i can try it out!! and thanks much for that offer!!!
3 Mar 2009 12:49am
Laurie from New Jersey, United States
Impressive. What a fascinating subject. Focus blending sounds interesting.
3 Mar 2009 12:52am
@Laurie: It is interesting, Laurie; and it's also a piece of cake.
amy from Nanaimo, BC, Canada
Ooooohhh!!! It comes with CS4? I know there are some specialty programs out for this but didn't realize it came with CS4 ... I like... I like very much!!! Excellent image, Jack!
3 Mar 2009 3:18am
Michael Rawluk from Williams Lake, BC, Canada
Stunning colours in that lichen. What a beautiful shot.
3 Mar 2009 4:31am
Stephanie from Toronto, Canada
Fantastic colours.
Focus blending... wow! It looks incredible!
3 Mar 2009 7:52pm
@Stephanie: This feature alone is almost worth the upgrade, Stephanie. (I do lots of macro work. This is an easy way to make certain your entire main subject is in focus, but your background is not.)
Alivia from Saint-Etienne, France
cette image est tellement réussie, John, les couleurs, la netteté, ce n'est pas CS4 qui fait tout le travail, vous ne me le ferez pas croire !! en tout bravo.
3 Mar 2009 9:05pm
@Alivia: Oh oui, il est CS4. Plus un peu d'ajustement de courbes.
Toni from Eastern Washington, United States
That is so cool, Jack! And I love your tip about the blending. I have CS4 and didn't know about it - now I'm going to have to play.
4 Mar 2009 6:20am
Chris Parr from Jefferson City, United States
Wonderful detail and stunning bokeh...great!
4 Mar 2009 2:34pm
Nikon D300
1/6 second
F/9.0
ISO 400
225 mm (35mm equiv.)