5D Mk IV – EF100mm Macro – Einstein 640W Strobes – 1/125, f/22, ISO 50

Another fun shoot. Actually the post processing, while not taking long, was real fun. So what is it I actually took a picture of? This image is kind of an optical illusion – maybe like Oscar Reutersvärd‘s optical illusion or even an impossible cube. I took the subject matter and placed it about 45 degrees to the lens. I had a snoot on the right shooting light on the subject. I had a light to the left shooting on the white background. I also had a third light shooting down. The lens was set about 12 inches away.

The image below with color was going to be the Photo of the Day but I made a last minute change. The photo is a focus stacked image – 5 shots. I stacked the Photo of the Day in Lightroom and I think it did a great job. I applied minimal post processing but I think it really pops. It’s interesting to note this is not a black and white photo, but it sure looks it.

In contrast, the photo below was stacked in Photoshop, and I then pulled the completed .psd file into Lightroom where I first applied a radial filter to the middle then adjusted the temp and tint to get the orange – green effect. I then added a second radial filter the same as the first filter, but this time I inverted it so I was adjusting the outside area. That’s where I adjusted the temp and tint for the blueish effect. Not much else was done to the image.

However, I felt the original image was a better representation of what I was trying to accomplish. I think it better represents an optical illusion. So what was it? Is it a bunch of cubes, or a hive, or some other weird thing? It’s actually a 40 degree honeycomb grid (click the link to see it) that I use with a reflector for my Einstein lights. Ha Ha.