learned to use it well. As most of you know, once we learn to use
any one lens well, we can pretty much pick up any other lens and
know how to get the most out of it in short order. Many readers
here could probably write the book or at least a chapter in “Zen and
the Art of Using Lenses.”
Focus stacking, like many techniques, is meant to be used
sparingly. Of course in the beginning I tended to over-stack photos,
putting everything in the frame in sharp focus. This gets old fast
and I began to learn that a little stacking is better than a lot. The
thing about focus stacking that sets it apart from traditional
photography is that with traditional photography there is only one
main point of focus and one plane that it occurs in.
With focus stacking we open up the possibilities where the eye is
drawn to by having much more in focus, so we have a choice
where to look. It is our choice, not the photographers. When we
stack focus we offer the viewer something closer to how our vision
works in real life. In real life, even though the peripheral part of our
vision is blurred, everywhere we look things are in focus. Focus
stacking allows us to look where we want to, not where the
photographer or lens dictates. This may seem like a subtle
difference but I feel it is a main part of the charm of stacked photos.
WHAT LENSES?
I probably have scores of macro and close-up lenses by this time. I
tend to wander through them, using first this one for a while, then
another, and so on. Of course certain lenses are used more often
and become my favorites because they best do something I need
done. I mentioned that the Voigtlander 125mm APO is my very
favorite because, of all the lenses I own, it can do more of
everything I need than the others. I have put together a free e-book
on macro lenses called “Close-up and Macro Photography: A
Primer, Book Two: Macro & Close-up Lenses” and it can be found
here:
In the history of macro photography, perhaps the most popular
lenses are in the range of 90-105mm in length because these
lenses generally give a little more room between your subjects and