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The Holy Grail? Tazzetta cupularis
e6filmuser
Registered Users Posts: 3,378 Major grins
One day in October last year, I had just returned from a shoot at the local cemetery (no foul play involved! 
) when my wife said she had something to show me down the garden.
Just where I walk on my daily search for insects to photograph, so it had a lucky escape, was this cup fungus. The cup was about 20mm a diameter. Some of the images show the shadows of blades of grass, confirming the scale.
This one looks like I tried some creative lighting effect but that was natural.
Kiron 105mm macro, ISO 400 ca 1/40 f11, had-held, mostly in sunlight, hand-held.
There was no sunshine the following morning, and apparently no prospect of any. So I went out to try to create a similar effect with flash. There would be limits to how similar results could be. The sun is a point light source, whereas my flash is huge, compared to the subject. Anyway I used an extension cord from the hot shoe, with the flash aimed +/- horizontally, from below knee level while framing the cup from above. I got lots of burned out highlights in the cup but had as good as I felt I could get. The (undulating) rim of the cup is also more entirely in sharp focus than the sunlit image.
This time (second image) I use ISO 100 and f11, manual flash, hand-held.
Of yes, as I packed up and walked away from the location the sun came out and stayed out most of the morning!
The image was darkened considerably in PS and I increased the contrast.
The third image is from the first session, giving a more conventional image, from the side.
NB Tazzetta is Tarzetta in some books.
Harold
) when my wife said she had something to show me down the garden.Just where I walk on my daily search for insects to photograph, so it had a lucky escape, was this cup fungus. The cup was about 20mm a diameter. Some of the images show the shadows of blades of grass, confirming the scale.
This one looks like I tried some creative lighting effect but that was natural.
Kiron 105mm macro, ISO 400 ca 1/40 f11, had-held, mostly in sunlight, hand-held.
There was no sunshine the following morning, and apparently no prospect of any. So I went out to try to create a similar effect with flash. There would be limits to how similar results could be. The sun is a point light source, whereas my flash is huge, compared to the subject. Anyway I used an extension cord from the hot shoe, with the flash aimed +/- horizontally, from below knee level while framing the cup from above. I got lots of burned out highlights in the cup but had as good as I felt I could get. The (undulating) rim of the cup is also more entirely in sharp focus than the sunlit image.
This time (second image) I use ISO 100 and f11, manual flash, hand-held.
Of yes, as I packed up and walked away from the location the sun came out and stayed out most of the morning!
The image was darkened considerably in PS and I increased the contrast.
The third image is from the first session, giving a more conventional image, from the side.
NB Tazzetta is Tarzetta in some books.
Harold
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Comments
Thanks. That was deliberate. This image is not meant to be naturalistic, but to reproduce the particular effect. Processing took it further in that direction.
Harold
Understood when I saw it. However, maybe same affect can be achieved without blown out hot spots on top left on second image, like the first one? Good one nonetheless.
Fair point but I like the hints of white heat. In other words, I prefer the flash one over the sunlit one. Having set out to match natural light, I produced something with flash which pleased me more than the original. It was only something of the moment and that is probably a dead end. I wouldn't claim to be at all creative but sometimes I follow up chance results with images, just to see where it leads.
Harold
Brian v.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lordv/
http://www.lordv.smugmug.com/
Thanks, Brian. That is the one shot to be representative i.e. naturalistic. The others look a bit flushed!
Harold
moderator - Holy Macro
Goldenorfe’s Flickr Gallery
Goldenorfe photography on Smugmug
Phils Photographic Adventures Blog
Thanks, Phil. To me it looks sugar-coated.
Harold