Spotted on my daily walk.

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Leica SL2-S, 135mm El Nikkor at f/16 on Nikon Bellows PB4, ISO 100, 3 strobes. 49 images focus stacked in Helicon Focus.

Immensely complex.

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The previous version is here.

I moved in closer for this one, using the 80mm El Nikkor f/5.6N, reversed on the Nikon PB4 bellows on the Leica SL2-S with 3 strobes, ISO 100. You get a good sense of just how sharp those thorns really are, and my fingers testify to their effectiveness. 34 images focus stacked in Helicon Focus, which has delivered an exceptional result here.

Prickly Customer.

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I took heavy leather gloves and Felco pruning shears to cut this puppy down and still managed to get injured by the finer-than-hypodermic thorns. The stalk is woody and very hard, precluding my usual technique of inserting a bamboo skewer for mounting in the home studio. I had to resort to a couple of cable ties instead. You can just see the skewer at the base of the stalk.

Talk of a passive defense mechanism. Thorns everywhere. Whoever named this the ‘Cotton’ Thistle had a pretty warped sense of humor.

Here is the plant in its natural habitat, already some 6 feet tall:

As found.

Owing to the considerable depth of the plant I had to expose no fewer than 113 images for focus stacking, spanning the complete 6″ range of movement of the lower rack of the Nikon PB4 bellows.

A remarkable – and dangerous – plant. For a closer look, click here.

Macro – Leica SL2S, 135mm El Nikkor, Nikon PB4 bellows, three strobes, ISO 100 at F/22. 113 images focus stacked in Helicon Focus. Habitat – iPhone 12 Pro Max.

Deposited in my front yard.

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This was formerly the property of a Great Horned Owl – the one with ‘ear’ tufts. The bird can be heard – and occasionally seen – at dusk in my neighborhood.

I used just one strobe to transilluminate the feather from the rear with a reflector next to the lens to confer some front lighting.

Leica SL2S, 135mm El Nikkor at f/16, Nikon PB4 bellows, ISO200, 1 strobe. 9 images focus stacked in Helicon Focus. The ‘floating in air’ effect was obtained by inserting a thin bamboo stick into the base of the feather and subsequently removing it in post. Take a look at the large version, by clicking the image above, and you will see that the El Nikkor enlarging lens does not disappoint.