Extended depth of field

This is my first attempt at a photomicrography technique known as focus stacking, or extended depth of field. This iridescent beetle was being used by undergradutes for their investigations into naturally occurring nano-structures in our experimental laboratory. I thought it might be interesting to take a look at it under a microscope, so I did just that.

Annoyingly, the camera we had set up to our lab microscope had several dead pixels, so I took the lab's DSLR and mounted it on a tripod and set it up to take shots through the eyepiece, adjusting the focus between shots. I then used the free image manipulation software GIMP to merge three images that were in focus at different heights, producing an extended depth of field.

I didn't realise when I was taking the shots that I didn't quite get the back leg in focus, which annoyed me, but for a first attempt I think it's pretty decent!

Hopefully, I'll do more of these in the future! If you have any requests for subject matter, let me know.