Wreck Shark Shootout 2017

[stuartv]

I participated in the 2017 Wreck Shark Shootout, out of Olympus Dive Center, in Morehead City, NC, the first week of June. I finally got through editing all my photos and have uploaded the ones I think are halfway decent. If anybody wants to check them out, they are here:

WSS2017 by Stuart Vernon

All photos were shot with an Olympus OM-D E-M10+Olympus 14-42 kit lens, in a Meikon housing, with a Meikon wet wide angle lens and 2 x Inon Z240 strobes. Almost all were shot in Manual mode, with 1/30, f/8. Then edited in Lightroom.

A few of my favorites:

 

[kensuf]

Nice shots.

 

[Skeptic14]

Nice shots, first one is very cool, several excellent sand tiger shots. Any reason you went with the low shutter speed for most shots?

 

[stuartv]

I set the aperture to get the depth of field that I wanted. Then I took test shots and dialed the shutter speed in to get the background water color that I wanted. Too fast and the water is black. Too slow and it's white. From there, I start with ISO on the lowest setting and take some more test shots of something at the right distance, to get my strobe settings where I want. Dial up the ISO (and readjust shutter speed) if necessary.

It might sound complicated and time-consuming, but I didn't find it to be so and this was really was one of my first dive trips to really try and get good photos, and definitely my very first time shooting in full Manual.

I was really trying to find good settings for shooting close subjects in wide angle (i.e. with strobes). I really should have adjusted my settings for when I was shooting stuff further away, where the subject was only illuminated by ambient light. But, despite my deficiencies as a photographer, I am pretty happy with some of the shots I got. Lucky, really, but I'll take it!

 

[Skeptic14]

A slower shutter can sometimes affect sharpness, however your shots came out very well, so I was just curious why you were choosing that speed. Sounds like it was deep dives in low ambient?

 

[stuartv]

Shallowest dive was 85. Deepest was 120. Most of them had viz around 30' or less.

I was relying on the strobes to freeze my subject and keep it sharp. Mostly, I think it worked out fairly well.

 

[stuartv]

I should note that my camera has 3-axis image stabilization and that was probably a key ingredient in the mix, too.

 

[Nasser]

Nice work! Love the first black and white one in particular.

 

[Joneill]

I should note that my camera has 3-axis image stabilization and that was probably a key ingredient in the mix, too.

That helps - but it is really the strobes that are freezing the action as image stabiliation won't help with moving subjects. Nice shots, BTW!

 

[stuartv]

That helps - but it is really the strobes that are freezing the action as image stabiliation won't help with moving subjects. Nice shots, BTW!

Right. I was just thinking of shots like that B&W at the top, and the fish in the background of some of the photos. I think those were all shot at 1/30. The strobes wouldn't have been in play. I think the IS is the the only reason those shots "worked".