Ian Moran Photography

05/06/2026

Blue Tit

05/06/2026

04/06/2026

Goldfinch

01/06/2026

Now bear with me. This was taken with the OM System 50-200mm wide open at 2.8. This gives a lovely creamy background but normally a large portion of those Acer leaves would be out of focus.

So I enabled focus stacking with initial focus on the very front tip of the nearest leaf, pressed the shutter release and watched as each image was taken - 32 in this case in under a second.

These were then stacked in Heliconfocus with the final DNG file processed lightly in DxO PhotoLab 9.8

This could be a very useful technique for butterflies etc where the insect can be isolated from the background. Just need the rain to stop.

30/05/2026

Much more obliging when the sun has gone down

29/05/2026

28/05/2026

A series from this morning, all single shots using a Nikon Z9, Nikon Z 105mm Macro, Cygnustech Diffuser & Nikon Speedlight SB-5000

1/200th sec, F/10, ISO 100 with flash on 16th power

All images processed in LR Classic and since very tight crops were used on some I used the Super Resolution feature in LR. This can make a huge difference in bringing out detail.

The Z9 can use Focus Shift - but blacks out the viewfinder while doing so. Plus the stack must be initiated from the menu and not the shutter button. Not an ideal camera for macro focus stacking.

My OM-1 MK2 is much better in this regard -you can see the stack being built in the viewfinder and can terminate the sequence once focus has moved beyond your subject. Plus it offers in camera focus stacking for up to 15 shots where the final image is rendered as a JPG. You can of course take the RAW ORF files and build your own stack in external software such as Heliconfocus or for more control use Focus Bracketing where up to 999 images can be taken !

Focus stacking aside, sometimes I prefer single shots, less faffing about plus sometimes it just looks better IMO

27/05/2026

Just heard the drumming from a Great Spotted Woodpecker in Finaghy ! They’re getting closer to my garden