MY PROCESS
I use a technique originally developed in the 1970s, known as focus stacking, to produce my detailed botanical images.
Using a Canon EOS 5DS R camera and a specialised macro lens, I capture a sequence of photographs to create my final image. Because a macro lens has a razor-thin depth of field, individual frames only capture a tiny slice of the subject in focus.
To overcome this, I mount the camera on a tripod with a programmed macro rail, shifting the camera forward in increments, sometimes just a single millimetre between shots. I then use software to merge the sharpest elements from each image into one deep-focus photograph. Because the output photograph produced by the software isn’t always perfect, I can spend hours manually refining the final image to correct artifacts or errors. The result though is worth it.
