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:
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.
Picked locally.
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This charmingly named flower gets its name from the colorful blankets made by American Indians.
Taken with the best macro lens I have, the 135mm El Nikkor. Leica SL2S, Nikon PB4 bellows, 36 images focus stacked. Helicon Focus really struggled with this one owing to the considerable depth, and I had to do quite a bit of retouching to remove ghosting. The long focus rack of the Nikon bellows works well here. That lens cost me just $65 …. no one wants enlarging lenses today, and it’s cheerfuly ‘repurposed’ here. It delivers an almost etched rendering. Just sent it out for a 24″ x 36″ print on the 44″ 12-ink Canon printer at the local Postal Annex.
Lighting is the key.
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Whereas the southern European painters of the 16th and 17th century typically focused on the adulation of religious figures, northern artists – Germany, Belgium and especially Holland – were more interested in showing property, a secular conviction. Never was this more so than in the 17th century work of the Dutch Masters which typically had a high window light one one side with the other half of the subject in the shade, some light captured from an adjacent white reflecting wall. And whether the subject was possessions, food, flowers or people, much the same lighting approach was used, to great effect.
A fine example is the work of Jan de Heem (1606-1684) who specialized in still life painting. This splendid Vase of Flowers (1660) can be found in the no less splendid National Gallery in Washington, D.C.:
In my image of the Common Ninebark wildflower I have emulated the Dutch lighting approach and while the subject is simpler than de Heem’s complex one, the lighting effect is similarly dramatic:
Leica SL2S, 100mm Macro-Elmar-R at f/11, Bellows-R, three Novatron strobes, ISO 100. Composite of 55 images, focus stacked in Helicon Focus. I prefer a touch of light on the black background to emphasize depth.
I had the local Postal Annex print this on their Canon 12-ink 44″ wide printer in a 24″ x 36″ size for wall display and the results is a knockout. The file I uploaded included the related Adobe sRGB color profile. With this not so little hummer costing over $5,000 and a set of ink cartridges running over $2,000 alone I’m not about to buy one for home use, especially when the print cost me a modest $45, and the color rendering is exactly what I see on my monitor. I would imagine that maintenance of this monster must be an absolute nightmare, what with 12 ink jet nozzles just waiting to clog …. definitely a case of where delegation beats ownership.