August 2011 POTM winner

[gparr]

Congratulations to Acro76, August 2011 POTM winner, for a landslide victory with a fine photo.

 

[M&M]

Congratulation,great picture.

 

[luisgo]

Very very sharp!! Can you share some of your technics for such a great photo. I am sure is not just the camera and lens.

 

[swannyson7]

Amazing picture.. Congrats!!

 

[Acro76 Verified Sponsor]

Thanks everyone who voted and participated! It's an honor to win with so many great photos this month!

Oh and special thanks to gparr! Got some great tips from ya when you shot some of Cherry Corals tanks!

Here are my photo specs:

Camera and lens: Canon 7d with Canon 100mm Macro

Shooting conditions: Tripod, wired remote shutter release, top down, all pumps off, with mirror lock up enabled (DSLR Mirror Lock-Up – Worth the Effort or Not?)

Technique: This photo is a 10 image stack processed with Helicon Focus. Each shot was at f4.0. In manual focus mode, each shot you slightly change the focus of the lens, bringing different areas of the coral into focus. Then all the images are edited into jpeg format. Then Helicon Focus was used to blend all the images together. The results can vary quite a bit, and corals can move as you are shooting. This photo was my second try at this same Ricordea, the first time I shot it I had just turned the lights on and it puffed up while I was shooting it. If anyone wants to experiment with image stacking, Helicon Focus has a free trial for 30 days.

 

[stylaster]

Congrads, that is one sweet ric and great photo

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Awesome photo! I voted for it! HA!

 

[swannyson7]

Thanks everyone who voted and participated! It's an honor to win with so many great photos this month!

Oh and special thanks to gparr! Got some great tips from ya when you shot some of Cherry Corals tanks!

Here are my photo specs:

Camera and lens: Canon 7d with Canon 100mm Macro

Shooting conditions: Tripod, wired remote shutter release, top down, all pumps off, with mirror lock up enabled (DSLR Mirror Lock-Up – Worth the Effort or Not?)

Technique: This photo is a 10 image stack processed with Helicon Focus. Each shot was at f4.0. In manual focus mode, each shot you slightly change the focus of the lens, bringing different areas of the coral into focus. Then all the images are edited into jpeg format. Then Helicon Focus was used to blend all the images together. The results can vary quite a bit, and corals can move as you are shooting. This photo was my second try at this same Ricordea, the first time I shot it I had just turned the lights on and it puffed up while I was shooting it. If anyone wants to experiment with image stacking, Helicon Focus has a free trial for 30 days.

Thanks for the info about Helicon. I downloaded the program this morning and played around with it a bit, but all of my focus stacks wind up having a ghosted shot around the centered object. Maybe I need to try messing with mirror lock-up to see if it makes a difference...

 

[secretreefer]

Congrats! cool photo and thanks for the information. i'm going to shoot up some zoas tonight and will try mirror lockup and possibly helicon focus.

 

[CJO]

Insane pic! Congrats on your win!!

CJ

 

[GR808]

Congrats!!! that is just too cool...

 

[gws3]

Congratulations. Very sharp.