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I recently came up with this macro shot and I was curious how to take photos like these where everything is blurred out and extreme macro is in focus. I am assuming there is a lot of post processing involved. If possible, I would be really glad if some can share some expertise on some of the post processing techniques.

Thanks in advance.

Here is the photo: enter image description here

Gaurav Jain
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    Why there's no reflection of the camera/photographer? – Ilmo Euro May 20 '13 at 06:22
  • @IlmoEuro — it may be there, but it would be so extremely out of focus that you can't make anything out at all. While there is a great depth of field in the virtual image (the scene you can see through the droplet), it is millimitre-thin in the real image (everything else). –  May 20 '13 at 09:07
  • I suspect that this picture isn't real at all. The distortion that a spherical lens like the water drop would cause just doesn't look right. It is probably a real picture of a water drop haning from the end of a leaf, then flipped upside down. The supposed refracted image of the background was then composited in later. – Olin Lathrop May 20 '13 at 15:25
  • @OlinLathrop - it's there, but the horizon is "bullseyed". –  May 20 '13 at 18:59
  • @Stan: I don't understand what you are trying to say. A spherical lens would cause something you could call "bullseye" didstortion, but the picture above doesn't exhibit that, or at least not anywhere near enough of that. The concept is imaginative, but the picture is not real. That's not what you'd see if you were to look thru a water drop like that. – Olin Lathrop May 20 '13 at 21:31
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    @OlinLathrop - try it. This isn't the first picture shot like that, and that's what they look like. –  May 20 '13 at 21:54

2 Answers2

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While there is no doubt some post-processing involved, that's not the important part of creating this image. Honestly, it is just an extreme close-up (probably much larger than 1:1, using either extension tubes or a lens like the Canon EF MP-E 65/2.8 1-5X Macro lens) of a water droplet on a leaf.

The water droplet itself is just out of focus, but it is acting as a wide-angle lens on the scene beyond. You may note that the picture is displayed upside-down; the droplet is actually hanging from the leaf, not sitting on top of it.

The only real secrets to this image are imagination, care, a macro lens (or reversed lens), and just maybe a spray bottle full of water (if the dew wasn't cooperating).

  • what about ilumination? Because I tried to do something like this but it was really hard to know where and how use the light. – Leandro Bardelli May 20 '13 at 12:56
  • @Leandro - the plant is somewhat shaded; the lake isn't. There is no visible external lighting (no flash or reflector). –  May 20 '13 at 19:01
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There was an article about this on the Flickr blog recently - no trickery, just careful focusing!

Barn
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