Small hairy yellow balls

[tpe]

Just wondering does the subject justify the picture?

tim

 

[Chicago1980]

I really like the picture, but I wonder if it loses something because (most) people won't know what it is a picture of.

 

[tpe]

Hey thanks Chicago, I actually dont know what sort of flower it is, but i think the red bit is the stigma and the antehrs have exploded into pollen clumps coverd in the sticky hairy balls. It was really an experiment to see how much i could get in focus of something pretty small, you can see the hairs on the pollen in the full size one, and just make them out here, but i am trying to get a clear shot with good depth of feild to take some insect portraits, hopefully anyway.

tim

 

[Antarctican]

OMG, the detail you got is just stunning. It does indeed look like a scientific illustration from a textbook.

 

[Fangman]

Excellent macro work - the depth of field is amazing at that magnification.

I just knew Antartican could not resist the title!

 

[perylousdemon]

*gapes* That's an amazing photo! Bravo! I think my brain just melted!

 

[SpaceNut]

Amazing! My eyes just started to water. Great detail & colour. Nice work, thanks for sharing!

 

[abraxas]

Just wondering does the subject justify the picture?

Yes. 'Cause whatever those are, we should know what they look like.

Excellent as always. How'd the stacking work out for you? Anything in our viewing future?

 

[LaFoto]

Yes, any subject does, in fact. And taken like this and in this enormous detail sure justifies your taking a photo of this, no matter how well the viewers understand it at a first glance. A "scientific" photo such as this one would not go without an explanation of what it is, anyway, now would it?

 

[Antarctican]

I just knew Antartican could not resist the title!

layball:


Okay, so I admit that the title piqued my interest, but only because I thought it referred to tennis balls and I was curious to see what picture had been taken of tennis balls. So there. :sillysmi:

 

[The_Traveler]

please tell us something technical about this picture.

 

[abraxas]

That's really small. I'd enjoy seeing a 100% crop of one of the pollen balls.

 

[tpe]

So it looks like sticky yellow balls arn't too difficult to swallow after all?


Abraxas and The_Traveller here is the tech low down as far as i can make out so far...

The stacking is sort of getting there, I am pleased I managed to get this, but dissapointed that it wasnt better because i had to modify a vertical mill to take it, and quite a lot of other fiddly things. The camera was on the sliding bed of the mill and was moved forward about 0.07 mm per shot for 113 different pictures. It was dissapointing because in those 113 pictures every bit was in focus and there are areas where some strange things happen and bits that should be sharp look blurred, the crop has some of the worst bits. You can see where the stigma is next to the pollen that it is unsharp and has some strange effect where it looks like it has been liquified.

100% crop including blurred and liqified problem areas and good pollen area (your wish etc abraxas )

I think that the problem is that when the perspective changes by moving the camera different bits of the subject get revealed from previously being behind something else and the chnge in POV and the software (combineZ) cant figure out what is happening. The effect is worse if you refocus each shot by using the lens focus adjustment. I am not sure yet but i think the only way to get over it is to use a special lens that only takes a picture of exactly the same area no matter how far the subject is away. i,e that you can see a 1 cm area square at 20cm and a 1 cm area square at infinity cm away, as all the light entering the lens is passed in parallel to the sensor, or that you refocus and move the camera at the same time, but i dont know how to work out how far to refocus and move the camera so as the perspective changes cancle each other out?

I hope it is a problem that can be solved without spending millions in equipment, but don't know enough about it yet to be sure.

Antarctican what would be a suitible encore? Please dont say billiards

Thanks spacenut, any time, isn't that the fun of it

Corinna thanks my dear, but you know how it is, kind of dry and not very artistic etc, i am not sure it is fair to expect people to think sciencey things are nice, but for me, even an ugly insect is unfathomably beautiful just for being what it is, and just to see it is, well to see something beautifull .

perylousdemon thanks I will try and get you another one, as soon as the boss gives me some time off.

Fangman thanks, now i know this was just an excuse for you and Antarctican to talk ball games?

tim

 

[Antarctican]

Antarctican what would be a suitible encore? Please dont say billiards

:taped sh:

Fangman thanks, now i know this was just an excuse for you and Antarctican to talk ball games?

Oh do not encourage him, Tim!


Thanks for providing the technical info....very interesting to read it.

 

[abraxas]

The pollen looks just insane in the 100% (thanks). I can see why people sneeze when this stuff gets in their noses.

A mill?- that is cool.

This is just so intense. That's a lot of photos. Can you stack stacks?