colinbm Posted February 27, 2023 Share Posted February 27, 2023 Butterfly Iridescent Wing Scale. Unknown species. 100x microscope objective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dabateman Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 Beautiful image Colin. Took a bit to loaad n my phone, that a first I thought it was missing. I like the blue colors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou Jost Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 Very nice. The streaks on the edges of the blue scales may indicate that you have not diffused the light sufficiently, however. Try adding a cylinder of tracing paper around the lens+subject. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinbm Posted February 28, 2023 Author Share Posted February 28, 2023 @dabateman @Lou Jost Thank you. I have been trying some defusers without much success, but will keep trying. The diffusers, tracing paper, thin film PTFE, various thin white plastics, just seem to cut the light & change the exposure time from 100/sec to 10/sec or longer, which has its disadvantages ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou Jost Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 Colin, how are you placing the diffusers? The key is to put the diffusers very close to the subject, rather than on the light source. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinbm Posted February 28, 2023 Author Share Posted February 28, 2023 Just now, Lou Jost said: Colin, how are you placing the diffusers? The key is to put the diffusers very close to the subject, rather than on the light source. Thanks Lou Yes I found out that one early in the experiments. I just make a collar that fits loosely around the objective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou Jost Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 In that case I'm not sure what is causing those streaks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinbm Posted February 28, 2023 Author Share Posted February 28, 2023 @Lou Jost I keep trying. Underexposing seem to have the greatest improvement. I also have a M42 adjustable aperture behind the objective that helps too. But none have eliminated the flare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou Jost Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 Another thing that can help is to use a different stacking algorithm, like DMap in Zerene. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinbm Posted February 28, 2023 Author Share Posted February 28, 2023 @Lou Jost Yes I have both of the Zerene Stacker DMap & PMax I haven't learnt to master the slider in DMAP ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou Jost Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 Try settings near either extreme. They come out differently but it is hard to know in advance which one (or perhaps an intermediate setting) is better. Make sure you have the latest version, since the program was recently updated to make the use of multiple settings easier and faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinbm Posted February 28, 2023 Author Share Posted February 28, 2023 @Lou Jost Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unscenerie Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 I remember photographing a sleepy butterfly on a morning meadow with a macro lens and realizing the wings are made scales. Now (again) I wouldn't have hoped to see an individual scale in its full size. Great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinbm Posted February 28, 2023 Author Share Posted February 28, 2023 Persistence paying off. Thanks @Lou Jost Better light, more diffusion & longer exposure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMC Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 Wow, that looks amazing Colin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinbm Posted February 28, 2023 Author Share Posted February 28, 2023 1 minute ago, JMC said: Wow, that looks amazing Colin. Thank you Jonathan These iridescent scales are very bright & need to be underexposed a lot compared to the pigmented scales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ulf Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 That looks really good Colin. Well done! There are a few streaks left that I think are stacking artefacts. Maybe cheating by editing removing them might be OK? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinbm Posted February 28, 2023 Author Share Posted February 28, 2023 Thanks @ulf Yes & the centre hot spot has gone too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lou Jost Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 That's looking very good now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinbm Posted February 28, 2023 Author Share Posted February 28, 2023 Thank you @Lou Jost Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dabateman Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 Excellent Colin. No side hairs and nice and crisp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrea B. Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 Quite remarkable! The scale appears as though it has been knitted or woven. I want to put this into the Gallery after I get the new Gallery sections in place. Keep up the excellent work, Col. It is fascinating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinbm Posted February 28, 2023 Author Share Posted February 28, 2023 Thanks Andrea & Dave, & thanks to Ulf for giving me the chance to do this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Perrin Posted February 28, 2023 Share Posted February 28, 2023 Wow yep, you look like you have that down now Colin! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinbm Posted February 28, 2023 Author Share Posted February 28, 2023 Thanks Andy, glad you like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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