Critique New potatoes that became old potatoes

[Mike Buckley]

My wife discovered that some leftover new potatoes had become old and had begun sprouting. Rather than throw them away, she saved them and brought them to my attention in case I wanted to photograph them. It was way beyond my ability to turn down such a nice invitation.

Setup
The tabletop is white, glossy acrylic. There were two small continuous-light lamps, one on the front left closer to the scene than the one on the front right. A white reflector was above the scene.

Focus Stacking
Ten focus-bracketed shots at Nikon step size 2 stacked in Helicon Focus at default settings.

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[Palouse]

I think your wife likes you . . . .

 

[Allan]

Good looking spuds. I like the tone you picked.

 

[Bart]

Agreed with the previous post.

Remarkable "3D-effect" as well. the object seem to suspended or floating on top of a really dense liquid.
Great work, Mike!

Not going to plant them, Mike?

 

[Mike Buckley]

Thank you to Nick, Allan and Bart!

the object seem to suspended or floating on top of a really dense liquid.

It's interesting that you see the image that way. For me the slight reflections nicely ground the photos.

Not going to plant them, Mike?

 

[olshroom]

Good photos and interesting

 

[Bart]

It's often about what one sees first, isn't it.
Like with those "dual" images - optical illusions. Often people find it hard to switch back and forth between the two images.

... It's interesting that you see the image that way. For me the slight reflections nicely ground the photos...

 

[Binnur]

Hi Mike. I like them both but if I had to choose I would prefer #1 as I find it better compositionally . Also IMO your lighting is better in #1. Glossy acrylic has really added to the images. I also like the tone you used for the images very much.

 

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Binnur! I also prefer the first image for all the reasons you mentioned.

your lighting is better in #1.

It's interesting that the lighting is exactly the same in both images in that the lights, tabletop and camera are exactly in the same place. However, moving the subjects to slightly different locations in effect changed the lighting, which is a subtle point I don't remember thinking about until making this pair of images.

There was one other very slight change: I had accidentally changed the focal length of the zoom lens after taking the first shot and tried returning it to the same length for the second shot. The camera, which is still a little new to me, wasn't displaying the focal length even in the captured images. So, I guessed and missed it by only 2 mm. After I was done post-processing both images, I learned that changing a particular camera setting would cause it to display additional metadata in the captured images including the focal length. I've now permanently made that change just in the very small chance I have a need again to know the focal length.

 

[McQ]

Terrific photos, Mike. I see them the same way Bart did. A slight 3D effect.
Now I have to go and read up on focus stacking!

 

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, Glenn!

Now I have to go and read up on focus stacking!

Start by reading up on Nikon focus shifting (their term for automated focus bracketing). Then read up on focus stacking, which is the process of using software to merge the bracketed images into one image file.

For your D500, you can either focus bracket manually or you can use external hardware connected to your camera, such as CamRanger, to automatically do the focus bracketing. I think all external devices are controlled using a cell phone (CamRanger definitely works that way).

 

[McQ]

Thanks, Glenn!



Start by reading up on Nikon focus shifting (their term for automated focus bracketing). Then read up on focus stacking, which is the process of using software to merge the bracketed images into one image file.

For your D500, you can either focus bracket manually or you can use external hardware connected to your camera, such as CamRanger, to automatically do the focus bracketing. I think all external devices are controlled using a cell phone (CamRanger definitely works that way).

Will do, Mike. Thanks! It takes your photos to a whole different level. Just fabulous.

 

[Mike Buckley]

I made a macro image of one of the potatoes. It's displayed at https://www.nikoncafe.com/threads/what-a-potato-looks-like-when-it-has-caught-covid-19.323612/

 

[dossy]

Super images, Mike! #1 is my favorite.

 

[Mike Buckley]

A belated thank you to dossy!