Bog asphodel - stacked

[Kim Pilegaard]

Here is a bog asphodel (Narthecium ossifragum) from a bog in southern Sweden. The picture is the result of a stack of 35 individual pictures, processed with   Helicon Focus. D800 with Micro-Nikkor 105/2.8 AF-S VR on tripod.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

It is a fine picture on its own merits and documents this poisonous plant nicely. However, I wonder why you selected to do a stacking of it? Surely the requirements for depth of field could easily be met by the lens on its own, given the quite low magnification involved? Not intending to detract from your image, just curious as to your reasoning here.

[Kim Pilegaard]

Bjørn,

I have tried several times during the years just using as small an aperture as possible. However, conditions in real life is not always as in theory. Quite often there is a little wind so it is difficult to maintain a sufficiently short exposure time as well as a small aperture, unless I use a flash, which might not give as natural a light. Therefore this year, I tried with stacking, which for me seems to give a more satisfactorily result. But I agree, that stacking is quite laborious and often not necessary.

Another advantage of the stacking method is that with a relatively large aperture (in this case f. 5.6), the background becomes nicer.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Your last point is a good one and it is true there easily can be a conflict between demands of depth of field and sufficient blurring of background. However, there are methods to abate these difficulties and such existed already in the film era but of course are much easier deployed in the digital domain.