Troporobo

I had the great good fortune to wander into the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney last weekend and discover it has a wonderful exhibit ongoing with 100 large format images from the competition. Among the many stunning images is one by Alex Mustard (gobies on coral) and an amazing portfolio of horseshoe crabs by Laurent Ballesta. As an added bonus, there's also an exhibit on Valerie Taylor that features among other things a good selection of vintage UW photo and video gear, including some very early DIY housings made by Ron Taylor. It will be there until 10 November. If you're in Australia or passing through it's well worth visiting. Wildlife Photographer of the Year at the Australian National Maritime Museum

I’ve learned a lot from the threads on packing camera gear, and now have several solutions that I’m happy with. Thanks to those who have contributed. Now, how about your SCUBA gear? I’m specifically looking for recommendations on the best checked-in container (duffel, hard shell, burlap sack, etc) for a short trip to tropical waters. Just a light wetsuit, fins, boots, back-inflate BCD, regulator, mask, and the usual miscellaneous bits and pieces. Bonus points for solutions that incorporate strobe arms and floats and other durable photo gear. Extra bonus points for rugged durability, portability, and security from the plane to the boat. No need for it to incorporate camera gear or anything for topside as I will always have a separate small carryon trolley and photo backpack. Full disclosure: I haven’t needed to fly to dive for 20 years but am about to start up again. I’m sure this has been covered on ScubaBoard but I like this crowd and feel that traveling photographers are better at optimizing space and weight. TIA

And I am sure that I’ll be there again!

Here are two examples of totally blowing the shot by NOT thinking about negative space. Both are ruined by cutting off parts of the animal or coral due to being obsessed with being as close as possible and getting the eyes in focus. The second shot could have been spectacular with three way symmetry if I’d just backed off a cm. I am still kicking myself for not seeing it at the time.

Great article Tim. I need to constantly remind myself to look for those opportunities.

Ashley, I think you win the abundance of caution sweepstakes. I’ve seen many people with a backup camera body. But three complete bodies and housings may be a record for multiple redundancy. Good on you!

Very nice! I was obsessed with pygmies for years in Anilao, finally got a couple of images I’m happy with. They are challenging to capture and rewarding when you do!

Very well said. For most of our dives I wish for even 5 minutes to work a subject! Unfortunately my dive buddy is not so patient. But then she gets cold and heads up to the boat, so the final 15 minutes or so I’m on my own in shallow water, which often leads to images I like.

Never too late Tim! I’m finding the Intuos far from intuitive after playing around for a couple of evenings. I don’t have a huge sunk cost so will also look into the Loupedeck which I know nothing about. Thanks for the tips, everyone

I’m in the same camp. I shoot mostly macro and so regretted selling my S-2000 almost immediately, although I do like the Z-240 that replaced them. I’m thinking seriously about going back to the smaller form factor. They’d be excellent for CFWA which is my near term project. My only hesitation is about shooting true wide angle reef scenics. I could keep both sets but don’t think I’d want to travel with four strobes. Thoughts?

Now this is interesting. It would be fantastic to see the first dent in the ever expanding subscription economy! However I doubt it will lead to much more than a fine. Feds Sue Adobe for 'Trapping' Customers in Long, Expensive Subscriptions The U.S. government sued Adobe on Monday for allegedly “trapping” customers in its default, most lucrative subscription plan. In a complaint, the Department of Justice (DOJ) writes that Adobe locks customers into a year-long agreement that’s not effectively disclosed as such, and “ambushing” users with hefty hidden fees when they try to cancel. Adobe lawsuit article

Thanks much for the feedback. The Intuos is affordable enough for a what-the-heck trial so I’ve ordered one. I have a big (non UW) project to work for the next couple of weekends so that will let me know if it works for me.

Does anyone here use a Wacom or similar table for editing in Lightroom? I'm curious to try one. What are the pros and cons? Any recommendations for a specific model or must-have features? TIA

I remember reading about this at the time. Such a cool story!

Thanks to you also for a smooth transaction!

SOLD

I don’t know a lot about sensor technology, but in my limited understanding, making the photocells smaller to cram more of the into the same space would have the side effect of making them less sensitive and thus raise the effective ISO and noise. Certainly doing so would be more costly. Maybe someone with more smarts could expound on those points.

Welcome neighbor! I’m on one of the islands to the north of you, although having learned at Edmonds I’m no longer a cold water diver. Still, the Salish Sea is a wonderful place to dive

Still available. Make me an offer!

I’m also on Team m4/3. IQ is good enough for my purposes, recognizing that it’s not in the same league as the best full frame sensors. But the compact size and weight seals the deal for me. It’s brilliant for travel and all day use on land. I shoot wildlife and can hike all day with a 100-400 lens hanging off my shoulder, something with more reach and a lot less pain than its FX equivalent. By the way, the size of the sensor is literally in its name. Making it “bigger” would make it no longer m4/3 and would require a new lens lineup.

This topic arises so often that this list should be pinned to the top of the techniques section. For those beginners with shorter attention spans, online articles can be useful to explain the basics. I found the following sites to contain very useful resources. I’m sure that there are others. http://www.divephotoguide.com/underwater-photography-techniques/ https://www.opticaloceansales.com/underwater-photography-guides/ http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/  http://www.underwaterphotography.com/

Very nice! The music and editing really complemented your sequences. Thanks for sharing.

Great idea, and well executed. I like it!

As they say in certain churches (and UW photography is a religion, no?) “Can I get an AMEN?!” I probably spend more time agonizing over what to keep, before finally accepting that it’s a small proportion, than I do editing. Then it’s very simple adjustments and minor crops. You guys with the import settings, what’s a good starting point for contrast, clarity, and dehaze? Do you do anything up front about saturation or vibrance? I know it’s camera dependent, but . . .

Great shots Chris! You did an excellent job isolating them from the background, which is often so difficult with well camouflaged critters that stay close to their habitat. I’d like to hear something about your lighting technique on these. Also, how big are they?