andybadger
Neelus murinus- stacked
So, I went back into my friend's cellar at Avalon Vineyard in East Pennard with the thought to photo-stack N. murinus. There's a load of rotten, blackened wood underneath a massive mixing bin in the winery cellar, and the more interesting springtails seem to like it there.
With the Neelidae I've watched, they scamper for a bit, then pause for around a second before starting off again. Ideal for stacking, if you're quick enough... (taking different focused photos of the same, hopefully stationary object before merging them all with software on the computer- Zerene stacker in this case).
What it means, is that there's a good chance of picking out more detail as you can use a higher fstop, with less depth of field. I probably could have gone higher but then there's less of a chance to use the one shots on their own. It's a juggling act.
But, and it's a big but, you also have to be very accurate, lucky and get your different, hand-focused shots all done in under a second of an animal around 0.7mm big that's usually running away from you! In the pitch black of a cellar, with a torch. And this was at around x20 magnification....
As far as I know, this is the first time anyone has managed (or wanted!) to stack N. murinus! But I must say, I'm kind of chuffed with the results. Still not perfect, but it's a learning curve...
As an example of extreme stacking, here's a shot of Megalothorax minimus I took a few weeks ago, which would come up to the top of N. minimus's legs. At only 0.25mm big, again, no-one has been daft enough to attempt to stack one before, either, as far as I know.
www.flickr.com/photos/89396233@N00/8393597176/in/photostream
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Neelus murinus- stacked
So, I went back into my friend's cellar at Avalon Vineyard in East Pennard with the thought to photo-stack N. murinus. There's a load of rotten, blackened wood underneath a massive mixing bin in the winery cellar, and the more interesting springtails seem to like it there.
With the Neelidae I've watched, they scamper for a bit, then pause for around a second before starting off again. Ideal for stacking, if you're quick enough... (taking different focused photos of the same, hopefully stationary object before merging them all with software on the computer- Zerene stacker in this case).
What it means, is that there's a good chance of picking out more detail as you can use a higher fstop, with less depth of field. I probably could have gone higher but then there's less of a chance to use the one shots on their own. It's a juggling act.
But, and it's a big but, you also have to be very accurate, lucky and get your different, hand-focused shots all done in under a second of an animal around 0.7mm big that's usually running away from you! In the pitch black of a cellar, with a torch. And this was at around x20 magnification....
As far as I know, this is the first time anyone has managed (or wanted!) to stack N. murinus! But I must say, I'm kind of chuffed with the results. Still not perfect, but it's a learning curve...
As an example of extreme stacking, here's a shot of Megalothorax minimus I took a few weeks ago, which would come up to the top of N. minimus's legs. At only 0.25mm big, again, no-one has been daft enough to attempt to stack one before, either, as far as I know.
www.flickr.com/photos/89396233@N00/8393597176/in/photostream
VIEW IN LARGE