The following focus-stacked composite image shows a Stygian Shadowdragon dragonfly (Neurocordulia yamaskanensis) exuvia collected by Freda van den Broek on 10 June 2019 along the St. Croix River in Interstate Park, Polk County, Wisconsin USA.
10 JUN 2019 | Polk County, WI | Stygian Shadowdragon (exuvia)
Related Resources
Tech Tips
This subject was photographed against a pure white background (255, 255, 255) using the “Meet Your Neighbours” (MYN) technique.
24 photos were used to create the composite image, including 23 photos taken using an aperture of f/5.6 and one photo taken at f/16.
If you look closely at the full-size version of the image, then you will notice some areas that indicate the final image is a few layers short of a perfect focus stack. But hey, not bad for a new lens and a manual focus rail that I used for the first time!
Copyright © 2020 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
Tags: BoG Photo Studio, exuvia, Family Corduliidae (Emeralds), Meet Your Neighbours, Neurocordulia yamaskanensis, studio photography, Stygian Shadowdragon dragonfly
walter sanford's photoblog 
April 3, 2020 at 6:21 am |
Wow. Your patience and persistence is impressive, Walter, as is your image. How do you decide how many images you need to shoot when doing a photostack like this?
April 3, 2020 at 7:29 pm |
You’re too kind, Mike! I focused on what I guessed to be the part of the face/head nearest the camera, then attempted to move the focus rail 0.5 mm from front-to-back. I don’t decide how many images to shoot — instead I go where the subject leads. In practice, it’s nearly impossible to move the focus rail exactly 0.5 mm consistently. To compensate, I like to shoot from front-to-back followed by back-to-front. Because I shot the photos at f/5.6, I had to take more photos than my 2009 vintage can process in Photoshop so I stopped at the far point without making a return pass. Good thing, ‘cuz my computer almost froze near the end of creating the focus stack!
April 3, 2020 at 7:32 pm |
Thanks for sharing the “behind the curtains” info.