Belize newbie pic

[scubaPT]

Well, I have been lurking around here for quite awhile gathering info and enjoying all the great pics. I finally decided to purchase a camera. After hearing about all the great deals on Ebay, I began searching. It must have been my lucky day as I was able to get an Oly c5000 refurb thru Olympus and then found a new housing with torn box being sold. I was able to get both for under $400.00. It was like winning the lottery. Just what my wife needed, me with another addiction on top of scuba.
We recently returned from a cruise to the Western Carib. I was able to get dives in at Cozumel and Belize, and was finally able to test out my new toy in salt water. Everything worked great except trying to get the fish to be still. Got a lot of fish butts and quite a few blurry photos. There is just too much down there to see and take pics of.
I would appreciate any feedback on my pics

 

[Gilligan]

1. Try using Manual White Balance on all your non-strobe pics which involves calibrating your White Balance off a dive slate underwater.
2. Use the M Mode of the A/S/M choices instead of P. The fully auto mode does not give the best results underwater. Having full control over your F stops and shutter speeds will yield better results.
3. Try taking the camera off "full time auto focus" as the lens is constantly searching to focus. Use the method of pushing the shutter 1/2 way down to focus then all the way down to take the photo.
4. Stay within 3 feet (2 if possible) on internal strobe shots.

Learn all the functions of your camera so you can push those housing buttons like greased lightning to photograph whatever presents itself.

 

[Dee]

I fully agree with Gilligan!

 

[H2Andy]

some very nice framing and composition!

i need to work on my colors too

 

[alcina]

Looks like you saw some fabulous formations!

Agree with all above - most especially get out of auto mode as it looks like your camera is overexposing things. Underwater it is better to slightly underexpose than overexpose. I found starting with f4 and 1/100 was a good foundation to build from.

Get close, get closer and shoot until your fingers bleed is the mantra to remember

I haven't done the white balance thing yet, but have seen some of Dee's and Gilligan's and it sure looks worth it to learn!

Looking forward to seeing more!

 

[scubaPT]

Thanks everyone for the replies and suggestions. I will get to try them out next month in Panama City. The reef system in Belize, Turneffe Atoll, was beautiful. I did take quite a few reef shots, so my colors did not really stand out since I am using internal strobe. On the few times I did get close enough the colors did really pop out.

 

[hueyatl1]

Try taking some night pictures or before sunrise. The built-in strobe can do very well when it does not have to compete with other light sources. Always the widest angle possible. It gives the greatest depth-of-field. Here is a link to some picture I have taken with the same camera that have been run through Photoshop Elements:

http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/20596

 

[showboat]

Sounds like you had fun, I was in Belize in June as well. I also just got the C-5050 camera and have lots to learn as well.

Check out my web page below that I put together from Belize

 

[PapaBob]

I cannot speak for the camera because I do not use one. Internal strobes are not the best for UW photography I fear. Regardless, I loaded your pic into photoshop and the Red, Green, and Blue (RGB) color channels each have clear and useable information in them. This means you can do some dusting up with good software. Others will tell you, I am sure, that this is no substitute for adequate light (read good strobe) and a good white balance setting. Here is my attempt at kicking up your pic a notch with a channels adjustment and a curves tweak. The last attachment combines your original pic with the first retouch.


---Bob