B&W images of a pod of Common Dolphins from South Africa
- Thread starter Marriard
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REII
Contributor
Beautiful pictures. They have different marking from the Dolphin we have here in Florida.
TOM
TOM
Zingtea
Guest
In California most of the wild dolphins you see are common dolphins. Sometimes I wish California were colder,(I know I'm crazy right?justleesa:
) so more orcas would come. They seem to live mostly far south (e.g. Argentina) or far north (e.g. Canada) where they need to use their blubber.There are great things about both environments. In Hawaii you've got colorful reefs, in California you have huge kelp forests. In Hawaii you have humpback whales, in California you have grey whales. They'd probably be my two favorite US states to dive in.
Zingtea
Guest
What?!:11: I snorkeled in the big island this summer! Is Honolulu more polluted?justleesa:
louisianadiver
Contributor
Fabulous shots! Great mood and feel. -Clay
Gorgeous shots. Thank you for sharing.
---Bob
---Bob
Just amazing shots! Especially those of jumping dolphins. What camera/lens did you use to get such a short exposure time with such beautiful colors? Never seen dolphins that close. Maybe it has something to do with me living in Finland and we don't exactly have any dolphins here. Just some very rare visitors.
OP
Marriard
Contributor
Some questions answered:
Topside images are taken with a Nikon D2X with a Nikon 70-200mm VR lens on. They shot themselves are at anywhere between 1/1000 and 1/5000 shutter speed at about f5.6. ISO 100 or 200.
To get this sort of shot, being on the Sardine Run in South Africa helps - there are upwards of 20-30,000 dolphins probably in the area. So find a pod and see if they are being playful - basically motor through and see if they chase, wake ride, jump, or just generally follow you... Once they are excited, it is a matter of getting the boat in the right position and anticipating jumps and getting a quick focus.
This is of course not easy and a million things can go wrong so there are literally hundreds and hundreds of deleted images for one moderately good shot. I have to go back again as there is a number of shots I didn't get (and I am not entirely happy with the ones above either). Moving boat, fast moving, wild and unpredictable animals, quick focus requirements, water splashing everywhere, handheld camera - pretty challenging shots.
For the B&W images - I use a number of different methods. The one that tends to work best and is the first method (Photoshop instructions below) I try is:
1. Change to LAB color space
2. Choose the a channel only
3. Convert to GreyScale (discard color information)
4. Duplicate the background layer
5. Change new layer to Multiply
6. Change Opacity of layer until I like it
7. Flatten image
8. Increase contrast
I also use Craigs Actions plug ins B&W convertor, especially if I want to stay in the RGB color space and add color back into the image at a later date.
Enjoy,
M
Topside images are taken with a Nikon D2X with a Nikon 70-200mm VR lens on. They shot themselves are at anywhere between 1/1000 and 1/5000 shutter speed at about f5.6. ISO 100 or 200.
To get this sort of shot, being on the Sardine Run in South Africa helps - there are upwards of 20-30,000 dolphins probably in the area. So find a pod and see if they are being playful - basically motor through and see if they chase, wake ride, jump, or just generally follow you... Once they are excited, it is a matter of getting the boat in the right position and anticipating jumps and getting a quick focus.
This is of course not easy and a million things can go wrong so there are literally hundreds and hundreds of deleted images for one moderately good shot. I have to go back again as there is a number of shots I didn't get (and I am not entirely happy with the ones above either). Moving boat, fast moving, wild and unpredictable animals, quick focus requirements, water splashing everywhere, handheld camera - pretty challenging shots.
For the B&W images - I use a number of different methods. The one that tends to work best and is the first method (Photoshop instructions below) I try is:
1. Change to LAB color space
2. Choose the a channel only
3. Convert to GreyScale (discard color information)
4. Duplicate the background layer
5. Change new layer to Multiply
6. Change Opacity of layer until I like it
7. Flatten image
8. Increase contrast
I also use Craigs Actions plug ins B&W convertor, especially if I want to stay in the RGB color space and add color back into the image at a later date.
Enjoy,
M
Truely awesome shots.
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