another molasses reef report, tuesday, 3/28/17, pics,,,,,

[timg]

TimG, you continue to outdo yourself! These images are just great. The octopus shots are simply stunning

Thank you CajunDiva.

 

[timg]

love the powerful colors in this set of images...thanks as always for sharing....

Thank you iamrushman.

 

[Hoag]

Timg,

I have a quick question. Many of us are aspiring photographers looking for ways to hone our skills. Is there any way that you could include some basic exposure info (ISO, Shutter Spd, f-stop) associated with your images. That would help those of us hoping to improve establish a starting point for when we take pictures.

Thanks

 

[seadweller]

Great Octopus shots !

 

[timg]

Timg,

I have a quick question. Many of us are aspiring photographers looking for ways to hone our skills. Is there any way that you could include some basic exposure info (ISO, Shutter Spd, f-stop) associated with your images. That would help those of us hoping to improve establish a starting point for when we take pictures.

Thanks

There is an extensive section here on SB for photography: Underwater Photography I would begin there. Find the sections that relate to your equipment (camera, strobes, housing), and start reading and asking questions.

If your diving skills are not top-notch, you will not be a good photographer. Simple as that.

I shoot everything on Manual, setting my own exposures. I do not shoot on Auto/TTL, etc. (or teach it).
I use a Nikon D300 (I do not think they make them anymore) camera in a Seacam housing with Ikelite 160 strobes.
I shoot either 200 or 400 ISO.
For the 17-55mm lens I use the most, the sweet spot is shutter speed of 1/200 to 1/250, f8
For darker subjects (french angelfish), open 1/2 to 1 f-stop
For shooting upwards into the sun go to 1/320 shutter speed and adjust aperture accordingly. Sometimes I end up as open as 5.6, depending on what I want to light with the strobes in the bottom of the image.
When shooting in to a light background or sandy bottom (stingray in the sand, for example), close aperture 1 to 2 stops. The sand acts as a reflector and will burn the image at your "normal" settings.
I set my strobes at 1/2 power (left) and 1/4 power (right).
... but all these settings may or (most likely) may not be appropriate for you.
On poor viz days, shoot portraits against busy backgrounds or under ledges - look for coral and sea fans, etc. as backgrounds.
If you think you are close enough to your subject... get closer!

When I have a student, we spend the first part of the first dive with the exposure chart and document the settings. Then we shoot macro/closeup images on simple subjects - sea fan, coral, stationary stuff - green moray eels can be great subjects, for example.

You need to get in the water with your equipment and do some testing and set your own values. Take a slate, write the exposure values down, then go through each image with the slate, and note the best exposures, use that as your guide. You can do this in the pool. When I got the equipment I use now (2009), I went to walmart and bought some blue, green, orange, pink and red toys I could sink in the pool, then I spent hours shooting and logging the exposures. Shoot them on the floor (light background), shoot them against a black background (tiles or grates in the pool). Shoot them in mid-water, shoot them from underneath looking up, etc.

Then, of course, post your shots on SB!

 

[timg]

Great Octopus shots !

Thank you seadweller.

 

[Hoag]

There is an extensive section here on SB for photography: Underwater Photography I would begin there. Find the sections that relate to your equipment (camera, strobes, housing), and start reading and asking questions.

If your diving skills are not top-notch, you will not be a good photographer. Simple as that.

I shoot everything on Manual, setting my own exposures. I do not shoot on Auto/TTL, etc. (or teach it).
I use a Nikon D300 (I do not think they make them anymore) camera in a Seacam housing with Ikelite 160 strobes.
I shoot either 200 or 400 ISO.
For the 17-55mm lens I use the most, the sweet spot is shutter speed of 1/200 to 1/250, f8
For darker subjects (french angelfish), open 1/2 to 1 f-stop
For shooting upwards into the sun go to 1/320 shutter speed and adjust aperture accordingly. Sometimes I end up as open as 5.6, depending on what I want to light with the strobes in the bottom of the image.
When shooting in to a light background or sandy bottom (stingray in the sand, for example), close aperture 1 to 2 stops. The sand acts as a reflector and will burn the image at your "normal" settings.
I set my strobes at 1/2 power (left) and 1/4 power (right).
... but all these settings may or (most likely) may not be appropriate for you.
On poor viz days, shoot portraits against busy backgrounds or under ledges - look for coral and sea fans, etc. as backgrounds.
If you think you are close enough to your subject... get closer!

When I have a student, we spend the first part of the first dive with the exposure chart and document the settings. Then we shoot macro/closeup images on simple subjects - sea fan, coral, stationary stuff - green moray eels can be great subjects, for example.

You need to get in the water with your equipment and do some testing and set your own values. Take a slate, write the exposure values down, then go through each image with the slate, and note the best exposures, use that as your guide. You can do this in the pool. When I got the equipment I use now (2009), I went to walmart and bought some blue, green, orange, pink and red toys I could sink in the pool, then I spent hours shooting and logging the exposures. Shoot them on the floor (light background), shoot them against a black background (tiles or grates in the pool). Shoot them in mid-water, shoot them from underneath looking up, etc.

Then, of course, post your shots on SB!

Thanks for the info. For the past several years, I had been shooting an Olympus EPL-1 (12 Megapixel Micro 4/3) I typically shoot manual, or if I don't, I will shoot Shutter Priority for wide angle and Aperture Priority for macro. I recently upgraded to a Sony A6000. (So I upgraded from a first gen M4/3 to a current APS-C sensor and from 12 to 24 Mexapixels. ) For the most part, I am pretty happy with my shots, but It seems that I have a lot of "throw aways" for a relatively few "keepers" and I am always willing to accept advice where and when I can get it.

Here are a few of my shots:

The three shots above were taken in TCI.

Here are a couple from the Bahamas (taken with a Canon X-Ti):

 

[timg]

Thanks for the info. For the past several years, I had been shooting an Olympus EPL-1 (12 Megapixel Micro 4/3) I typically shoot manual, or if I don't, I will shoot Shutter Priority for wide angle and Aperture Priority for macro. I recently upgraded to a Sony A6000. (So I upgraded from a first gen M4/3 to a current APS-C sensor and from 12 to 24 Mexapixels. ) For the most part, I am pretty happy with my shots, but It seems that I have a lot of "throw aways" for a relatively few "keepers" and I am always willing to accept advice where and when I can get it.

Looks like you are doing fine to me. Just keep shooting. That is the beauty of digital. You can shoot a ton, and keep a few. Shoot a series, and keep the best one or two shots.

 

[Hoag]

Looks like you are doing fine to me. Just keep shooting. That is the beauty of digital. You can shoot a ton, and keep a few. Shoot a series, and keep the best one or two shots.

Thanks.

 

[Skeptic14]

@Hoag I'm new to uw photography myself so here's my amateur opinion:

All of those shots are nice!

My initial reaction to the 1st shot is the placement of the sponge maybe would have been better in one of the bottom corners with the diver maybe centered, the left side of the image is pretty blank. Also, were you within 1-2 of the sponge, do you shot with a WAL?

2nd shot, the grouper face behind the coral/sea fan is unfortunate but I know how sometimes it seems you just can't get the subject to completely cooperate. It looks like the bottom of the photo was a bit underexposed were you shooting 1 or 2 strobes?

3rd shot, very cool over/under!

4th shot, super nick picking but I wonder if moving to the left to get a more perpendicular shot of the sea fan would have been a little better, great shot and color.

5th shot, I imagine you didn't have lots of time to frame, but I've read that "giving fish room to swim" helps compositions a little.

One thing I've noticed as I've gotten a little better is I've gotten pickier and so shots that the previous year I would have thought were great, now might not make the cull.

Maybe 10% make the first cut and typically I have maybe a handful per dive I really like. Depends on conditions too, days with poor vis and difficulty shooting wide angle limit total shots and keepers.