Anigozanthos under the macro; focus stacking with Helicon Focus.
Make time to smell the flowers, and take some pictures.
Macro photography facilitates the study of plants through their life cycle.
Depth of field using a macro lens is limited, leading to frustration when you wish more was in focus. Focus stacking is the answer; it takes macro photography to a new level. It is a digital image processing technique that blends multiple images taken at different focus distances into a single image. The stacked image has a greater depth of field. It brings scientific clarity when I am studying rocks or flowers.
My pics tell a story. Photographers have an eye for composition in their art; they understand the importance of light. I don’t have an app for that yet.
I discovered this fascinating plant at my local Palmers Gardenworld Rotorua. It caught my eye despite lacking flowers and the usual bud structures. It could have been an alien from Mars.
Anigozanthos thrive in the harsh fire-prone landscapes of South Western Australia, where they are endemic.
Anigozanthos.
The plant has long flowering stems above ground with tuberous roots below. Roots were food for the Noongar people. I'll study the roots later when I finish with the flowers.
Tubular Belles.
I used a Canon 880D with an EF-S 60 mm macro lens to study the curved tubular buds.
The Shiny Black Ant.
I stacked twenty pictures using Helicon Focus software before editing them in GIMP to produce this photo.
It takes time, and a single ant scurrying around can appear in focus in multiple shots. A plague of ants in the final stack becomes a distracting focus. The ant was in focus in the ninth of 20 shots. It was a hazy outline in the nineteenth but it was edited out during the stacking process.
Macro pushed to the limit.
I need a microscope. Each hair has tiny barbs on the surface. The ant is a wee machine.
A cluster of linear leaves at the plant’s base.
Bud and stem emerging from the base of a leaf.
Two Days Later.
Buds with their emerging stem still appear tethered to the leaf.
Stranger Flowers. Could be the inspiration behind the Demogorgon.
Robust Architecture.
Birds are attracted to these plants by plentiful supplies of nectar. Six tepals with pointed tips ring the flower’s reproductive system. Built to withstand the urgent attention of thirsty bird life, Anigozanthos are well-designed.
Form follows function to perfection, with aesthetics that appeal to humans and birds.
Six anthers positioned to fit the heads of feeding birds like a crown anoint their visitors with pollen. The avian pollen courier service drives pollination.
Anthers splitting in two.
Anthers are attached to the base of each sepal.
Tiny pollen grains on the stigma.
Need a microscope for a closer look. Reminder to self, cut open a bud and have a look inside.
Camera tethered with Helicon Remote.
Helicon Remote options.
Works perfectly.
Helicon Focus: Rendering.
The software is busily merging 20 images, selecting only those parts in focus for the final stacked image.
Helicon Focus, the final stacked image.
The Blue Room.
My box cupboard photographic studio.