Monday, April 07, 2008

Ellipse



Close
I drink your gravity
Then we spin away and turn
Hungry to collide
Again


(Experimenting with a new photography technique here. Close pictures suffer from a narrow field of focus. By taking multiple shots, each with a slightly different focus, a program can "stack" them into a single, sharper image. Here, the distance between the tip of the leaves and the end of the branch is much too far to both be in focus in a normal shot. It's not perfect, but not bad for the first try.)

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Are you kidding? I think it's spectacular. What a picture!

JaneyV said...

I agree with Aerin, it's a great shot! I've tried to take a few close up shots recently and they've been awful. Automatic focus see!

I love the way the verse reflects the symmetry of the branch. Clever. It's like a picture itself!

Anonymous said...

That picture is beautiful, I can't imagine how stunning the original must be.

Bernita said...

Not bad?
It's brilliant!
Apple?

Aine said...

You are too modest with your photography. Perhaps it comes so naturally to you that you don't appreciate the skill you possess.
:)

The mystery about gravity for me is when or what causes the shift from elliptical orbit to inward spiral. I'm sure you are chuckling at my quest for cosmic merging...
;)

Chris Eldin said...

Very pretty!!!!!

Bev said...

very nice picture -- what program are you using to "stack" the shots in?

Jaye Wells said...

I love the picture. You have such an eye for the little miracles, Jason.

Vesper said...

"I drink your gravity"

Splendid photo and words!

Plus a sure sign of spring... :-)

SzélsőFa said...

I think it's lilac.

My camera has a macro-shot function, but the depth is so low, with macro - you probably know that.

D'you mean it makes a third photo by combining two?
What a great idea.

Anonymous said...

Aerin, thanks. :) I'm looking forward to using this technique much more.

Janey, of course, you can increase the depth of field by shrinking the aperture (but not THAT much), but I didn't want the background to become sharper. This stacking feature allowed me to have my cake and eat it too.

Kat, thanks for the kind words. I'm looking forward to doing more.

Bernita, thanks! (I do tend to focus on the faults.) Szelsofa below is correct. It's a lilac.

Aine, you know me. I tend not to be satisfied with my own work. I was thinking that some elliptical orbits are good, just so the far away doesn't vary widely from the close.

Chris, thanks!

Bev, I haven't tried out the program's full functionality yet. However, you can't beat the price. Free! Drop me an email, and I'll send you a link.

Jaye, what a beautiful way to put it. I'm going to remember that. :)

Vesper, the picture reminded me of a binary star system. There's something almost tangible in the distance.

Szelsofa, lilac is correct!! Excellent eye. Depth of field in macro photography is tough. You can max out the aperture to increase it, but then often end up with a tripod unless it's a bright day. This picture is made up of 5 or 6 individual photos. The program must select the sharp focus region of each. The only downside is that a tripod is a must, I think, to keep the photos nearly identical. Maybe I'll do a post showing the before and after of a forsythia shot.

AngelConradie said...

must make a plan to spend more time on my photogrpahy...

Geraldine said...

You are one creative guy Jason. I love how you are always experimenting with new ideas and themes. The photo is lovely, it speaks of renewal in a very real way. Good luck with the 'tweaking' sometimes that's the best part.

www.mypoeticpath.wordpress.com

Terri said...

Very clever! I like the symmetry of the photo, too.

Miladysa said...

My comment seems to have vanished into the blog ether lol

I love the colours and the clarity. Excellent shot.

Sarah Hina said...

Your interpretation of your own photos is always inspired, Jason, and so it is here. What beautiful clarity, both in picture and words.

You know how to draw out the buds. :)

Kim said...

It's a gorgeous photo, regardless of how you achieved it.

As always, I love your words.

SzélsőFa said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
SzélsőFa said...

I'd love to see those as well. You may email any in-process photos if you think photography does not fit into the range of subjects of your blog, Jason.
And I knew it was lilac because we have one in the garden. And we do have Forsythias as well :)

WH said...

I drink your gravity--whew, what a line. The pic and the poem are ... perfect!

Anonymous said...

Angel, it's definitely worth it.

Geraldine, I can't say enough how liberating it is to be able to experiment here. Anything goes. It's amazing!

Terri, something about that shape draws attention. The diffuse background is also key.

Miladysa, I hate when blogger eats comments!! Thanks for giving it another go and for the kind words. :)

Sarah, I'm just blessed that folks are interested in seeing my little inspirations. Thank you for your part in that.

Kaycie, my mind is swirling with all of the ways I can use this (and yet to be seen) techniques. :)

Szelsofa, since folks are interested, I think I might end the week with a little demonstration of how the techniques works.

Billy, thanks! I like how forthright that line is.

Ello - Ellen Oh said...

Wow that is a fantastic shot! I love the clarity of the picture. Now do it with flowers next time and intoxicate us with some vivid colors!

mermaid said...

you know your own center. you can also see hers. what a beautiful relationship.