View allAll Photos Tagged focusstacking
Female jumping spider (evarcha arcuata) looking into the lens. Focus stack of 10 images at 2x magnification.
Plant family: Apiaceae (Umbellifers)
Most likely structure: Dried seed heads (compound umbels), probably from a wild carrot–type plant (e.g., Daucus carota, Queen Anne’s lace) or a close relative.
Confidence
Family level: High (~90%)
Exact species: Low–moderate (~40%) — multiple species in this family produce nearly identical dried seed clusters.
What you’re seeing (structure + morphology)
1) Overall architecture
Dense cluster of small, teardrop-shaped seeds/fruits attached to branching stems
Originally formed a compound umbel (umbrella-like flower head)
Now collapsed inward after drying
➡️ In this family, all flower stalks radiate from a single point, like umbrella ribs
2) Individual units (important)
Each “seed” is actually a dry fruit (schizocarp) that splits into two halves
Shape:
Oval to elongated
Slightly ribbed or textured
Often with fine striping or mottling
Color:
Amber → reddish-brown → dark brown (age-dependent)
➡️ Apiaceae fruits commonly occur in paired structures with ridges
3) Umbel collapse pattern
The cluster has a curled, nest-like contraction
This is typical of wild carrot (Queen Anne’s lace) seed heads, which:
Fold inward as they dry
Sometimes detach and tumble for dispersal
4) Fine details visible in your image
Thin, wiry pedicels (seed stalks)
Some residual dried floral parts (styles)
Slight gloss/translucency in the seed coat (common in fresh-dried material)
No hooks/spines → rules out bur-producing relatives like Torilis
Botanical summary
Type: Dried fruiting inflorescence
Family trait: Compound umbels (umbrella-shaped flower clusters)
Function: Seed dispersal via wind, gravity, and movement
Pollen covered Opisthoncus mordax (Biting Jumping Spider) on a daisy petal.
Hand-held 14 image focus stack on a Nikon D850.
Please enjoy and have a great day. ☺️
Species ID and location:
Opisthoncus mordax (Biting Jumping Spider). Adult male.
Victoria Point, QLD Australia.
Saturday, 4th July 2026.
Camera info:
Nikon D850,
AF-S Micro Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G VR lens,
Godox V86Oiii(N) flash,
Cygnustech diffuser,
Neewer LED panel as focus lamp.
Camera settings:
All images @
ISO 31,
f/22,
1/250,
Flash @ 1/2 power.
Manual focus @ MFD.
- 35mm folding camera.
- 5cm f/3.5 Xenar serial number: 1456950 made Nov. 1938.
9 shot focus stack with Nikon Z6, Nikkor Z 40/2 and CombineZP used for stacking.
A spider scrum of baby orb web spiders on a vertical shed wall- Araneus diadematus. Focus stacked from 4 pics
see www.flickr.com/photos/lordv/142614824/
www.flickr.com/photos/lordv/142614826/
for what happened next
This was taken from Waitts Mount park in Malden, Massachusetts, just north of Boston. It's a focus stack, with 30 frames blended into one with Photoshop.
the same fruit in last october:
www.flickr.com/photos/wolfgang-kynast/39368773011
Now the fruit is open and ready to sent the seeds into the wide world.
Fruit width ~25mm / 1"
Focus stack
This appears to be rough precious opal, most likely Ethiopian hydrophane opal from the Welo/Wollo area, shown as a close-up pile of uncut pieces with attached host matrix. Confidence: moderate. The strongest visual clues are the translucent to milky body, irregular rough fragments, attached pale/tan matrix, and the strong play-of-color flashing blue, green, orange, red, and violet across many pieces. Ethiopian opal is well known for this kind of hydrophane, play-of-color rough.
Description
The image shows a dense assortment of raw opal fragments ranging from milky white to pale blue, lavender, and translucent honey tones. Many pieces retain rough, chalky or rocky host material on their surfaces. The most striking feature is the vivid internal iridescence—broad flashes and patches of spectral color that shift across the stones, especially blues, greens, purples, and orange-red fire. Opal is a hydrated silica mineraloid rather than a true crystalline mineral, and precious opal displays this color effect because of its internal structure. Ethiopian hydrophane opal can also change appearance when it absorbs water, sometimes altering transparency and color intensity.
Closest alternatives / look-alikes
Less likely possibilities are:
Australian rough precious opal: also shows play-of-color, but this image looks more like the translucent hydrophane-type rough commonly associated with Ethiopian material.
Common opal or opalite glass: unlikely, because the image shows genuine-looking irregular play-of-color and natural matrix attachment rather than a uniform man-made glow.
Just some macro fun with an orchid I have in a flower pot.
My first attempt with focus stacking using Zerene Stacker.
Tried several times using Adobe Photoshop CS5 with completely useless results. Downloaded Zerene Stacker (trial) and it worked flawlessly on the first attempt. Go figure :-)
Not completely sure whether I'd prefer to have more light from the top, but I really like the dramatic light from the bottom. :-)
Strobist info:
Key: naked SB-800 with grid, directly below subject
Fill: SB-800, shoot-through umbrella, 45 degrees above subject, camera left
Testaufnahmen mit LED-Fotolampe - danke an das "Kamisori Harnisch" Team für die scharfen (!) Objekte - Verbandskasten lag bereit!
Test shots with LED photo lamp - thanks to the "Kamisori Harnisch" team for lending the sharp (!) objects - first aid kit was ready!
Eschscholzia californica.
While many wild California Poppy plants are without flowers in late fall into early winter, we have a few plants that have come up in pots in which other plants grow and they are flowering actively in late December. This one was drooping with the weight of the rain.
As it is raining outside I thought I would have a go at macro. This bee had unfortunately passed away outside on the path.
Focus stack of 36 images taken with Canon 6D, Canon MP-E 65 and MR-14EX flash. Mounted on Manfrotto 454 focus rail and taken using remote switch. Processed with Zerene Stacker (DMap). No retouching done.
Low resolution (small JPeg) images used, not full size RAW processed images - so should be able to improve detail in the future. Not sure if I have the patience for this type of photography anymore though!
I must have missed a point in my photo stacking because 'Canon' on the camera isn't as sharp as it should be.
© Anvilcloud Photography
Focus stacking generally gives great results - with a tripod. Not having a tripod I thought I'd give it a try. I set the camera on manual focus and swayed my body in and out. This didn't come out too bad because it was in the middle of the frame. Moving away from center produced ghosting (17 images). Probably f/5.6 and half the images would have been better. Fewer images equal fewer processing issues to resolve.