Why I Don’t Focus Stack.
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This week I'm talking a little about focus stacking, and why I don't do it, but also I capture a photo I've wanted here at home in Snowdonia, Wales for years!
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0:00 Some random focusing stacking chat
4:05 a photo I've wanted for years
Sorry guys, so the title is a reference to the fact I’ve wanted to shoot those goalposts for years. Can’t actually remember if I said that in the video… muppet! Here’s the print too: www.jamespopsys.com/store/leftandlost
Always use a Lens Hood ! (44 years of experience !).
Oh you shutting on Sony-Leica, that is very nice! I am also shutting Pentax-Leica 👍
There’s something about your photos that is very recognizable. It’s almost like a dreamy way the highlights are exposed/roll off. Quite pleasing to the eye.
He has his presets nailed down pretty good it looks like.
He doesn’t underexpose his images like most people do, as simple as that! Many, many photographers allow a bright sky to influence the exposure to the extent that virtually everything else is actually underexposed this often includes the main subject and other areas of interest!
@@antonoat yes I’ve noticed that as well! The skies don’t seem to suffer from the typical blown out look though. Maybe because there is usually cloud, atmosphere, or he’s recovering a bit of the highlights…?
O my goodness, a video not talking about gear. What a novelty 😊. Thanks James. Stay safe 🇦🇺
I wasn't sure whether this was "Finally! I found the perfect camera that I have been searching for...." OR "Finally! I made a video without having to cut to office, or falling over, or the camera falling over" OR EVEN... "Finally! The Human Nature book is finished"..... NOPE..... this is James.... it's "FINALLY! I can shoot these rusty goal posts!" :) Love you mate!
I may not be interested in the subject matter, but I always enjoy your talking about it. Carry on! 👍🥂
How can you make a photo of a goalpost, on an overgrown football pitch, in thick mist, look so good? If I took the exact same photo it'd look decidedly average at best! Talent, I guess! 😁😁
you allowing us into your mind of behind the scenes is so helpful as a new photographer, i really appreciate this kind of content
A video about what paper types to use when printing landscapes might be fun. Never really thought much about that but I will need a new printer soon and hope to get one that I can print photos with.
what a set of absoulutly georgous photos... just beautiful... LOVE LOVE LOVE
What a beautiful landscape! Wonderful. Best regards, Kai the bee filmer
good video very fun watching through it all
You are correct, there's nothing quite like being in the woods during a rain. Also, the goal post photo is amazing ❤
Textures and colors in the field / post image are super cool!
Always keep your eye on the goal.
Those shots of the dilapidated goals would stellar in black and white.
That weather station is a classic example of human nature isn't it 😊 I have an attraction to that sort of stuff as well, I recently cam across an old tennis court it was gold 😊
It’s interesting to me that I found that I have never tried focus stacking. I sometimes shoot using hyper focal distance. But for the most part, I like using the focus falloff as part of the composition. It’s certainly a nice surprise to see your video as an alternative to how many other KZhead channels present their techniques.
😂😂😂😂😂😂 that slippery rock, I still have tears laughing.
Great video and photos 👍🙂
really glad i ordered a specific print before your change to your store, but i can totally see the reasoning behind you making this change. i think it also helps make each print a little more special!
I love a lice path picture. An idea of travelling, to or from. A bit of distant fade off kinda helps with the mood (in my mind). Lovely moody conditions help too. Thanks James.
Nice video, that pitch looks like it is best suited to long ball tactics!
Thumbs up James, as usual. Safe travels. I have never found the need for focus stacking. Not sure I'm missing anything. As with others I'm more likely to use exposure bracketing from time to time. Cheers, the one handed southpaw.
Absolutely beautiful to me living in the high desert.
Might need to grab a mini matte box for these rainy conditions
Thanks for thinking out loud - it always makes me laugh.
informative video.
If Ted Lasso was a photographer then he'd be you! Love your videos keep them coming 👍
Most of my focus stacking is done for promo shots. For example I just did a pumpkin festival where I took the picture to look like it was from within an audience of pumpkins looking out on the festival. Other than those types of situations, I very rarely use the technique. I’ve seen many amazing artistic ways of using it though. Great video!
Great video, James! I actually enjoy having out of focus areas in my image to creatively lead the viewer to my main subject. I had a question. What do you do to your greens? Whenever I travel, I struggle editing images with a lot of green. Yours look beautiful!
If I remember right James went over that in the video called "Leica vs Sony. Pointless.". I tried to link but can't for some reason....
The algorithm presented your stacking video to me yesterday! 😄
Great video, and the Sony Leica camera does a really good job 😁
nice composition with your elements for me I do actively follow rules of composition I follow my gut and compose in a way that feels RIGHT I may try some different compositions to make sure it have the one I like the most. excellent see you next week
Come to South Africa James! We would love to have you.
I think selling just one print is a great idea, having just one image seems a little more exclusive. One small detail I would change, make it known how many copies will be made and how many are sold. Make the images kind of like collectibles with one seasonal image being sold every month so you can kind of build your James Popsys calendar. I'd like that, because I already looked through your store and couldn't decide between all the available images
Gorgeous, keep up with showing more about your 'Human Nature' progress - idea process, fails, culling, editing, ...
Another cool video dude. I always so look forward to your stuff. Thank you! I reckon if you haven’t already you could do a damn good video on outdoor clothing/footwear. I’d defo watch it. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Finally! 😂❤😊
Nice
To infinity and beyond! The times it would be useful to focus stack would be when shooting very low down and wanting everything in focus to infinity. The sort of view a snake gets, although supposedly, they are very short sighted. Photos like that are always a talking point too and stimulate the mind.
Wonder if you would be able to make a video about printing during this glorious weather we are having at the moment
since you mentioned printing on different papers, would you mind making a video about your workflow there? papers, softproofing, printer? that'd be amazing!
I focus stack a lot, because I often shoot scenes with great depth of field with a wide-angle lens. For someone who mostly hand-holds at about 40mm, I can understand never doing it. Just today I experimented with a wider aperture like F/6.3 to blur out my background a bit and draw focus to my subject. I can't wait to process the images.
I can‘t follow your statement. The wider your lens is the less you need to focus stack.
@@wallystellmacher6794 that's generally true. But when your focal range goes from 2 feet away to 50 or more, even F/16 won't get that all in focus. So I stop up to F/11 and take 3 to 5 exposures.
Completely get what you say about Focus Stacking - I've used it myself in the past quite a bit (Exposure Bracketing is my go to), but haven't for a while now... the Control ring on Canon RF lenses can be used as a great "tool" to work out, what you're getting in focus before the shot gets taken, makes life so much easier to judge whether stacking is required.
Or you could use the DOF preview button…….
@sagetheowlfatfeathery2083 You could but its not the same as what I'm talking about On a Canon RP I can autofocus (doesn't matter how) - If I then slightly adjust the focus wheel on the lens, it puts the Camera in to MF mode, you need to have the MF Peaking Settings turned on, but it then highlights in whatever colour I've selected, the areas of the Image are in focus. Once I know that, I re-focus back in AF. So far as I can see the; DOF Preview (the RP doesn't have one on Camera, so you have to assign a button in the settings), doesn't seem as useful?
@@neilstevensphotography Ah, I have an R6. Just press the DOF button, then you can zoom in on the image in the viewfinder and see what’s what. DOF button used to be pretty useless on a DSLR because the image went so dark in the viewfinder you couldn’t see a thing, but of course that’s not the case with mirrorless. Your method is probably better, but sounds a bit of a faff to a lazy-arse like me.
for your flora pics, which inkjet paper would you recommend?
James, did you do the voice over for that “just ask and Aussie” Cadbury ad? If not, it sound just like you!
Your photography and personality is so different from any other photographer that I follow. I love your devotion to taking pics including man made objects. I'm from the states so my question is what is the size in inches of an A4 print? A3?
can you please make a video about how to print your work?
How does one compensate for focus breathing in a lens when focus stacking?
tempted to start a petition for james to include noah in videos more often
I never do focus stacking, HDR or "photoshopping" or any other manipulating with software. I never use zoom lenses !
I think one of the key concepts of this, and many, videos was captured in a phrase that went by fairly quickly: “. . . discuss it with yourself infinitely.” I suspect that is a common occurrence for most of us, but I need to debate that internally, or not, maybe.
Lovely video as always mate! Serious question; doesn't your beard get caught on the zipper of your jacket when you're out in cold weather? Mine does.. constantly.. it hurts.. I hate it! Makes me want to stay indoors. Very counter-productive. Anyhoo, great stuff, Cheers
Talk about the gear! 😂
Can you focus stack and blend in Lightroom ?
Where are the trousers from mate? 🤔
What is that depth of field calculator app you’re using?
I know that trail! I doubt you needed to be careful of mountain bikes on a day like that!
It would have looked even better with a battered old leather ball between the posts (slightly off centre, of course).
You're so unintentionally funny lol
Question… do you have a view on the google pixel phone allowing mixing and matching heads?
Small point: they're merged, not stitched! Never used the feature, but more recent Olympus bodies have an automated focus stacking feature. It's something I keep meaning to try out, but never really see suitable subjects here in the city.
Oh my, a James Popsys video that isn't about gear. I'm glad to see you back from the dark side
Maybe a bit of a different question 😅. What shoes are you wearing?
F16 introduces diffraction in most lenses.
Hi. Do your presets work in photoshop. I never use lightroom.
Gavin Hardcastle is a big stacker.
You know, an airport could make an interesting challenge, as per the Douglas Adams' quote: "It can hardly be a coincidence that no language on earth has ever produced the expression "As pretty as an airport." Airports are ugly. Some are very ugly. Some attain a degree of ugliness that can only be the result of a special effort. This ugliness arises because airports are full of people who are tired, cross, and have just discovered that their luggage has landed in Murmansk (Murmansk airport is the only exception of this otherwise infallible rule), and architects have on the whole tried to reflect this in their designs."
Hello
Right Mr. At 0.23 view does not match the 0.25 as in viewing.. looks like a canvas finish at 0.25. Is that an A.I. Job ?
James does your A7RV also have that error message pop up every time the hot shoe gets wet? Seems like you were fine in this video…
I think you will find he is using a Nikon Hot shoe cover.
It did once, infuriating! Not quite as much as previous versions though seemingly, but definitely not fixed!
That print you are selling is such a beautiful image, and the goal post too! I love the colors, I should get one of your Lightroom presets
cute!
Waiting for the offer of free steak knives with this episode!😜
IMO, more DoF is almost always better---one of the reasons (among many others) I prefer MFT, although I'm not sure I'd push it as far as Group f/64. I'd go with manual focus for a situation like yours with the goals, and unless you really cranked up the sharpness on the grass, it's likely most viewers would tune that out and focus on the goal. There's a similar scene at the elementary school near our house--apparently rarely-used goals (with tattered nets) with woods in the background (but we rarely get significant fog--a rare treat I jump on when it occurs). That said, when I've recorded images of that scene, I've actually thought that having the trees in focus adds to the incongruity of a football pitch (or soccer field, as we Yanks call it) juxtaposed with a more natural setting than one would normally associate with human games (although, I like your more minimalist look with the fog as well). It would be great if I could get a shot with the deer that frequent the area apparently engaged in a match (maybe if I bribe them with carrots)...
How James’ footy carrier ended: see intro
So strange. If you'd taken a knee closer to the goal post, and then included some close up grass, you could have perfectly demonstrated a use of focus stacking.
👀
I don't because I cant be arsed.
Last night I had a dream that I was on a photography shoot with Mr Popsys and he dropped and broke my Sigma 18-35. Don’t worry James I won’t hold it against you.
…it has happened to me right in front of my face And I just cannot hide it Sorry, I’ll show myself the door!
the egg toggles...
First🎉
Gotta say I really don’t like your store strategy. People don’t always have the money to afford things like a print from my favourite photographers, but now they can’t even pick between their different favourite shots when they are able to purchase. Is it that complicated when there are options with different stock levels available? Just trying to give feedback :)
A year or 6 months might be a better term limit if you want to increase rarity and value. Will still be a limited time but have some options available still
James virtually never replies to the comments and your compliments .... probably too busy making great photos somewhere.
I don't focus stack because I like bokeh 😂
And why literally nobody cares whether you do or not
Prints can sellout
1 photo in your print store, and 'never again' uniqueness - what for? That doesn't sound like the best business model TBH, and that one photo gives a feeling as if you're about to go out of business and that's the last of your stock. Anyway nice video and great goalpost photo, nervermind my negativity about your print store.
Typical zoom lens photography that is clearly visible the images are dull , I think that's a shame!
Focus stacking can give a cool effect, but I totally understand not using it much for your style of photography. I mainly shoot macros, so it’s rather essential. It’s strange because focus stacking gives the viewer a more realistic look at the subject, being able to look anywhere and have that in focus, yet the whole concept itself goes against realism because our eyes can only focus on a sliver at one time. So not stacking is also realistic, however it forces the viewer to see the subject the way the photographer intends. It’s because of this, that I think both methods are viable options.
Least favorite KZhead photographer without a doubt
I never understand youtube commenters who come to the channel of a person they dislike and watch a video featuring a person they dislike just so they can leave a pointless comment about how much they dislike a person. What is it, like a 'shouting into the void in the hope of a tiny audience or leaving a pinprick on someone's feelings, because no-one will listen to you in real life' kind of a thing?
you should know@@vermis8344