Making me Crazy

This series is making me a little crazy.  First of all, I’m obsessed with the colors and patterns.

But it’s the picture taking that is making me crazy/frustrated. The only way I can see these colors is to turn the surface of the object at a certain angle. The lens can’t be parallel with the surface or it casts a shadow on the image. The resulting picture is sharp in the middle, but very fuzzy top and bottom.

Any clues how I can get more of the image in focus? I’ve tried smaller aperture and that hasn’t helped. I’m using my 18-55mm lens with 10X magnifier screwed on the front. The camera is 6 inches or closer to the object.

Or you could just tell me you like the shallow depth of field… that it doesn’t bother you at all!

Technical Stuff

Suppose I want three images to become one, like this:

I can create that in 5 minutes or less using MS Publisher. I know it is also possible in Photoshop and I’ve probably even done it there. But here’s the question: will the end product be that much better that I should bother to learn it in Photoshop?

(I will learn it. Eventually. Just feeling lazy today.)