Julian Cremona - Extreme Close-Up Photography and Focus Stacking

Fig. 0.1

Portraits of different invertebrates. Left to right, top to bottom: Elephant Hawkmoth, Froghopper, White Ermine Moth, Scorpion-fly, Wasp, Prawn, House Fly, Jumping Spider, Saucer Bug, Tiger Beetle, Mantis Fly, Dolly Fly, Harvestman, Empid Fly, Common Shore Crab, Migrant Hawker, Praying Mantis.

Those early days with the Zenith were a struggle with minimum finance. Film was bought in bulk, cut up and loaded in the darkroom. I learnt at university to process my own, using the zoology departments darkroom at night when no-one else needed it. Most difficult was teaching myself ways of taking close-ups and getting those head shots with no money to buy equipment. Toilet rolls, poster rolls, lenses borrowed from student microscopes and slide projectors as spot lights all were used and developed until I had vaguely presentable images. I gave many people a good deal of enjoyment as they laughed at my methods. Today I would cringe at some of the results and yet the Zenith was a superb learning tool because of the difficulty in getting good results. Every day seemed to be a back-to-the-drawing-board day as I developed the film and went back to try again. Today learning is easier, with near-instant results.

There is staggering beauty in the unseen elements of nature in close-up. I never cease to be amazed as details appear in a focus-stacked image which the unaided eye could not resolve. During my life as a biologist I have learnt and been lucky enough to branch into every area of the natural world, not just terrestrial invertebrates but to extend my collection in directions I never would have thought possible as a young teenager.

Embracing and developing new technologies to achieve this is ongoing. Relatively speaking, the price of equipment has never been lower, and products are more accessible with the Internet. Some new ideas can lead to a dead end and that can make people afraid of trying, concerned about getting it wrong. As has often been the case in history, most of what I have learnt has been through such mistakes. Sometimes I am pleased with particular images but typically I am not and always feel that I need to try again.

The digital vs. film debate still goes on which is better? I suppose it depends on ones viewpoint but I would never return to film, for environmental reasons and because I spent many years in darkrooms breathing in the noxious chemicals. In addition there are the improved methods of capturing close-ups and more advanced ways of learning to improve. I hope that this book will help you develop more quickly than I did. There is no better time than now to create extreme close-ups, and the technology is straightforward. Although it would be great if a student of photography could learn everything in one go, until that becomes possible, the linear fashion of chapters building upon each other is the way this book is written. The contents show the key points; dip in and out to suit yourself. The final chapter is the one that tries to piece it all together by taking specific subject matter and looking from that perspective. The choice of organisms has been made to cover most eventualities.

Today I have a catalogue of many thousands of species, digitally stored on my hard drive, which I have collected over my life. It may not be as spectacular as a museum collection but at least I no longer need to kill species to store them. Focus stacking has been described by many who practise it as only possible when using dead specimens. Unless I find the individual already dead, I rarely use dead material. Unless stated, all photographs were taken of living specimens.

This book is approached from the perspective of a naturalist wanting a record of any organism they find. It is about attaining maximum detail and sharpness. It is a practical guide covering all aspects of how to photograph any terrestrial or aquatic subject in close-up. Where possible, captions give some information about the organism. What sets this book apart, however, is its focus on providing the most concise information available to date on focus stacking, and it will be useful for anyone interested in this topic, whether for macro or any other form of photography, such as landscapes.