A Stack of Three
As promised, the results of an afternoon experiment in the studio - actually a two-fold one, which makes no scientific sense but it is my studio after all...
The trial lens is one of the new Tokina 35mm f:2.8 Macro in Nikon fitting - they are also in stock for Canon. Extremely well finished and smooth operation, but did it do the job? Well, the job was trying to record three planes of focus for a table-top model photography shot. The table was 900mm wide so there was more depth than the average lens could cope with. To top that, the main subject had to be right down the front and loom out toward the viewer.
The macro aspect of this lens was the key to the foreground shot - it focusses closer for that focal length than anything in my lens collection. Everything else with a 35mm point was restricted to at least50cm away from the film plane - the Tokina went right up to the subject with the front ring of the lens - practically touched it.
Of course, even with this close focussing, DOF is critical, and the trick here is to choose an aperture of at least f:16 and focus 1/3 along the length of the car model. Of course everything is on a sturdy tripod and there is a cable release to eliminate camera movement.
At this point in previous photos I would have been trying for f:25 and accepting that the second and third plane of focus on the set were going to be out of focus. This time I deliberately left the setup as is for a second and third shot but in each one I subtracted one more of the photo elements - so I had three files - one of the front car in focus, one of the second car in focus, and one of the background buildings in focus.
In my computer I open the files in Photoshop Elements 6 - it is old and crude but then so am I...and in the foreground file I selected around the car ad erased the backdrop. Then with the second one I erased the background but left other items untouched. The final file - the backdrop one - needed no erasures as it was destined to be the bottom of the pile when I assembled the picture. Some people do not realise that the PE6 program will stack files in register if you are careful when you drag them up from the project bin. Then you can locate them on the top right corner, command the computer to make them 250.2% size, and they fall into place.
Result? Three planes manually stacked to allow for three points of interest and all in focus. Now all I need to do is add some rain and a couple of wet hot rodders and my picture is complete.
Oh, and just to let you see what it will do with more light but no stacking.
Tokina? great lens.
The trial lens is one of the new Tokina 35mm f:2.8 Macro in Nikon fitting - they are also in stock for Canon. Extremely well finished and smooth operation, but did it do the job? Well, the job was trying to record three planes of focus for a table-top model photography shot. The table was 900mm wide so there was more depth than the average lens could cope with. To top that, the main subject had to be right down the front and loom out toward the viewer.
The macro aspect of this lens was the key to the foreground shot - it focusses closer for that focal length than anything in my lens collection. Everything else with a 35mm point was restricted to at least50cm away from the film plane - the Tokina went right up to the subject with the front ring of the lens - practically touched it.
Of course, even with this close focussing, DOF is critical, and the trick here is to choose an aperture of at least f:16 and focus 1/3 along the length of the car model. Of course everything is on a sturdy tripod and there is a cable release to eliminate camera movement.
At this point in previous photos I would have been trying for f:25 and accepting that the second and third plane of focus on the set were going to be out of focus. This time I deliberately left the setup as is for a second and third shot but in each one I subtracted one more of the photo elements - so I had three files - one of the front car in focus, one of the second car in focus, and one of the background buildings in focus.
In my computer I open the files in Photoshop Elements 6 - it is old and crude but then so am I...and in the foreground file I selected around the car ad erased the backdrop. Then with the second one I erased the background but left other items untouched. The final file - the backdrop one - needed no erasures as it was destined to be the bottom of the pile when I assembled the picture. Some people do not realise that the PE6 program will stack files in register if you are careful when you drag them up from the project bin. Then you can locate them on the top right corner, command the computer to make them 250.2% size, and they fall into place.
Tokina? great lens.
posted by Unknown at
11:17 PM
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