Advanced Focus Stacking - a step by step guide to slabbing
I was just checking the video to make sure I hadn't missed anything and I had! Can't believe it - must be distracted. No thank you to my stalwart patrons on Patreon and at the website! Thank you so much for supporting me! You are so kind and I am so grateful!
Get a lot of questions about this particular workflow. Slabbing is one of the most useful skills in macro photography, allowing you to maintain much tighter control over the management of individual input images, sub stacks, and sub stack output files. An invaluable technique for deeper stacks and/or more challenging subjects, especially those subjects prone to stacking errors. It isn’t too complicated but there a couple of steps that have to be done right to prevent a zombie apocalypse (glad somebody was actually reading this.
I will do the followup retouching video as soon as I am able to secure a computer adequate for the task. Please let me know if you have any questions.
You can get Zerene Stacker from Zerene Systems - tell Rik that Allan sent you - he won’t know who you are talking about.
Then call Jeff, at Lightglass Optics (www.lightglassoptics.com) and tell him the same thing. Then order your Mitutoyo 5x Plan Apo LWD infinity corrected microscope objective, along with a 10x (have him send that one to me, please).
Before I do the links for the stuff used to take the shots in this video, I have to tell you about two NEW BENDY ARMS from SMALL RIG (sorry for shouting, but this things are so excellent!). The first is just a heavier and stronger version of the old 9”, but the second is a truly amazing bendy arm - it is shortish but it is used mainly by that weird guy who shoots rockets into space every weekend and invented the driverless car (I invented the carless driver though) to hold the booster rockets onto his spaceships (or of it isn’t, it should be). These really are the best of the best.
The 9” arm - amzn.to/3hpWtKt
the clamps - amzn.to/3xtjykT
the brilliant short bendy arm (get 20, at least) - amzn.to/3wpJuwg
You will need to get a Raynox DCR-150, so get a DCR-250 as well, while you are at it. If you don’t have any bellows, buy two sets of cheap extension tubes and these adapters (for you camera mount, of course) and you can be taking superb photographs of wee tiny things by the weekend. Some of these links are affiliate links with Amazon. That means if you get your stuff through my link, I might get a tiny commission (unless you buy a ship), and you don’t have to pay a penny extra.
The Raynox DCR-150 - amzn.to/3hnTcvd
The DCR-250 - amzn.to/2SSgfVg
The tubes - amzn.to/3xoqoYQ
The rings - amzn.to/3wpJUTm
The adapters (go to www.allanwallsphotography.com)
The external drive you are absolutely going to need - This only seems expensive - $250 for 10TB is a steal, and you will fill it up (I have filled up 3x 8TB drives) - amzn.to/3AFbuiP
The black velvet you must use for truly black backgrounds - amzn.to/3wpKzEk
If you are well off, get a faster one than mine
If you are Mr. Bezos, get this one - amzn.to/3yBqMDo
All my photographs were taken using either a Nikon D850
A Nikon D7500, or
An iPhone 12 max
One of the images was taken with the Tamron 90mm macro lens (on sale - great price! amzn.to/3hP5YBX)
If you have a late model iMac Pro 27” 5K with at least the 10-core dual Xeon processors, 64GB of memory, the 12GB GPU, a 6TB SSD, etc. etc., may I have it, please?