multiple multiple exposure

[Donald]

40 - 60 exposures each!

[Adam]

Wow, that sure creates a cool effect! What camera were you using?

[betsypdx]

Cool! With the K10D multiple exposure feature??? I haven't played with that, but hadn't imagined it oculd do 40-60 multiple exposures.

[roentarre]

This is so clever. What a interesting approach to photography. These pics are so pro-impressionism!

Love these silouettes and softness within the photos

[codiac2600]

Thats awesome!

[song_hm]

Fantastic idea! Care to share how you do it?

[Donald]

Thanks for kind comments.

Camera ds2, 16-45. Combined in photoshop. I've done this with film, so played around alot in PS to get it to work: laborious but not difficult.

Traditional film multiple multiple exposure requires exposure compensation per log2(x), i.e. 2²=4 shots=2 stops underexposed; 2³=8 shots=3 stops underexposed, etc. Doing this with dslr's creates visible noise, problematic when you stack images, and just difficult to extrapolate with 50 ~ 100 exposures.

Camera - what I do is:

1. Shoot several raw images with proper exposure.
2. Note exposure, switch to manual, jpeg***, AF-C, continuous shoot mode.
3. Shoot continuous for 1 - 2 minutes with slight movements of the camera, sometimes slight zoom in/out.

Photoshop - what I do is:

1. Review jpegs and discard any with real bad fuziness or with central image edge bleed.
2. File new, black background (very important, nothing else works and I've tried)
3a. Drag in all images on top of each other.
3b. Sometimes, slight image alignment to increase central image impact (samples 2 & 4).
4. Adjust opacity by 100%/N images, i.e. 50 images = 2% opacity.
5. At the top add adjustment layer Levels and set input to 156 ~ 128 as required.
6. if 3b creates image border lines, healing brush about 30% opacity to obscure the stacked image seams.

Other techniques such as contributing % image blending average (opacity 100, 50, 33, 25, 20, 17, etc. no black background layer) work really well for about 10 exposures then have diminishing returns, but probably most closely replicates film capture.

Philosophically speaking....
Every flower shot that could be taken already has been and by better photographers than I. New ideas=new techniques=see something in a new light. The flower is still pretty and pink, but the softness, ethereal quality is only matched by nature.