argue it here. It is the human mind that is impressed and it is the
photo that presents that impression. Enough said.
Outdoors
I am not much for studio work when it comes to stacking photos. I
am an “outdoor” photographer most of the time. I have a studio and
I do use it, but mostly when it is too windy or cold to be outside.
And I don’t tend to microphotography, to ultra-close-up shots of any
kind. I know how to stack lenses but I don’t enjoy that level of
magnification. I am all about creating images of complete mini-
worlds, micro-landscapes – dioramas... outdoors if possible.
Equipment for Focus Stacking
I give the impression (so I have been told) of being an equipment
hound and having money to burn on lenses and what-not. This is
actually not true. What I am is an enthusiast and I seem to always
find a way to get whatever it is I need at the time. To do this I often
have to sell something else, cut back here and there, and you-
name-it. Once I get a lens or something in my mind, it is hard for
me to shake it. Eventually I find a way to get it. “Inquiring Minds
Want to Know” as our
tabloid “The National Enquirer” says.
And I do have a bunch of lenses by this point but most of them
were purchased to find out for myself the difference between the
bias of other photographer’s rants and the facts about a given lens
in my work. I waited years to buy the Zeiss 100m Makro-Planar
because I had surmised that it would not float my boat, but I had to
judge for myself. It is a great lens for many but not great for me. I
have racks of lenses that I had to see for myself if this or that lens
would do the trick, whether it had that “magic” or not. Most don’t.
So now I have a closet full of lenses, not to mention other
equipment. And after all that expense and experimentation, there
are only a few lenses that I actually use and cart around. Reams of
online posts about favorite lenses have been written. Of course I
too have my favorites, chief among them the Cosina- Voigtlander
125mm f/2.5 APO-Lanthar macro lens. I use it all the time and
highly recommend it for close-up and macro work, at least
outdoors. Its only downside is that it is no longer made and thus is
expensive and hard to find.