this post was submitted on 02 Mar 2026
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Photography

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It occurs to me that while, yes, I was doing so in order to illustrate a point I also brought shame to my ancestors with my methodology for posting that picture of a jellybean earlier. Tinkering around for the grins is one thing but the effort was a bit naff, if we're honest, and we can do much better. I had to use a purple bean this time because alas I ate the original subject immediately after publication, and it was the best I could find out of the handful I've got vis-a-vis having the least mangled stamping on it.

So here's what a similar bean looks like if you use the lens the right way around. My aforementioned RF100, in this case. I'm given to understand what with one thing and another this is doubly on brand around here, both for myself but also for the Lemmyverse as a whole.

I took 100 (!) focus bracketed exposures for this one and put them together in Helicon as usual, which looks a bit like this:

Your effective depth of field gets proportionally shorter the closer you or more precisely your objective is to the subject. Linearly? Logarithmically? Hell if I know. In any event, it's staggeringly shallow at this distance and messing with the aperture really doesn't help you much. According to my calipers that bean was only 9.25mm thick.

Being one of the ISO standard colorful objects for this sort of thing, given that I am in possession of a handful of jellybeans I am also required by law at this juncture to provide you the following photograph:

This one was 150 exposures, but I discarded a few off of the end of the stack since no part of the field was in focus. The compilation of that looks like this, if you were wondering.

Yes, I'm being deliberately and maddeningly supercilious, here. Oh, look at me with my $1250 macro lens with which I can just toss off this trifle for the sake of fucking around. Well, yes. It's not like you could really classify what I do around here as much of anything else. But on that note, just wait until you nerds see what I've got on the cooker for later.

Full sizes of both are here and here, respectively. Feel free to use the second one as a wallpaper or something.

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[–] Tempus_Fugit@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

Good stuff!

I just bought a new (used) macro lens, not nearly as nice as yours, and I can't wait to get it out this spring when things start growing. I'm ready to try my hand at focus stacking too.

[–] JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.social 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I guess I'll take some comfort in the idea that someone knows what the hell this post is about, respectfully. Photography and editing stuff, it appears. Right so.

On a different note, I've always been kind of bemused by the folks that love gummy / jelly-type candies. I remember some of my friends gobbling it down even in to... well, middle-age, I guess.

Every once in a while I try some gummy / jelly candies just to check whether I've acquired the right genes in the interim, but it's pretty much always been a "nyet." Something about experiencing a flavorless mouthful of earthworms seems to be the basic problem. Just give me a Lifesaver, eh?

Oh well, can't win 'em all...

[–] GrantUsEyes@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 weeks ago

I saw the og comment, this type of high effort, high quality content is greatly appreciated! o7

[–] phtheven@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Incredible work. The way the dof is applied to the floor on the single bean is confusing my brain though. Is that from a single exposure or is that also built up?

I have gone through somewhat of an emotional journey and I have come to accept the fact that you chose to present us with the freaky green booger on the purple bean.

I do find it interesting that you offer us a wallpaper with a watermark?

[–] dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

Everything in that photo is focus stacked, and that includes the shadow below the bean. It's just resting on an ordinary piece of paper, which has a bit of a texture to it. To be fair, the far background is completely out of focus but there's nothing back there but yet more white paper. And the blemish on the purple bean is a fragment of the shell of a green one that got stuck to it from its time rattling around in the bag.

I watermark everything I post mainly so I can feel that little spark of amusement when I see someone has stolen it and posted it somewhere else.

But this time, because I like you guys, you can have the clean version here:

[–] phtheven@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

Thank you! Appreciate your work mate.