Photography Challenge: Depth of Field

Mineral Matters #436

One of the banes of macro photography is the issue of a narrow depth of field. That is, how much of the image is in focus. In the distant past, (film) macro photography was take a single shot, then wait until the film was developed to see what you had in focus.

These days, a combination of digital photography plus image stacking means that you get to see the result straight away, and you can choose how much of the image is in focus. That decision can be based on how much detail you want versus artistic merit versus other aspects.

As an example, the photos below are both from a stack of 70 images. The first one is comprised of a narrow band of just ten images, and the second is all 70.

So why did I choose to create the first one? First of all, the focus of the image is the individual crystal of jarosite. This photo isolates and highlights it. Secondly, a couple of the crystals at the edge of the cavity are broken, so they are no longer in view. Thirdly, artistic merit. To me it is an aesthetic image.

So what does the second photo bring? Well, you get to see the whole cavity. This can be particularly important where there are multiple mineral species present, as you get to see the relationship between them, and perhaps even the paragenesis (which formed first). It is also a good representation of what you actually see through the microscope.

By clicking on a photo, you can explore each one in more detail.

I like both. Which do you prefer? Add your comment below.

Below: Jarosite, Old Boolcoomata Station, Olary Province, South Australia. Width of view 3mm. Stack of 10 images.

Below: Jarosite, Old Boolcoomata Station, Olary Province, South Australia. Width of view 3mm. Stack of 70 images.