Ok, so I finally got my macro down it seems, technically at least... stopped down all the way to f11 max for my 7070 and tried several different speeds. I thought the photos were all blown out with the strobe... turned out for some reason my LCD brightness was set two clicks high and the lighting ended up just right when I got home to look at'em on the big screen. This had discouraged me from taking more shots, but I was also supposed to be collecting too on that dive, not enought time to shoot!
Anthopleura elegantissima
Nice macro shot.
Lokks like a good lightenning to me and big DOF, maybe even to much.
In order to makes this frame more interest I think you should take the main subject from the center, Maybe to the left bottom corner, that way you'll get the second anemone in the background.
I think this is a great shot, it is lit really nice, the subject really stands out. Some minor corrections in PS will make this even better. 1. Crop out a little of the space on the left making the subject fill the frame a tiny but more. 2. Clone out the upper right corner, the brightness tends to pull your eye there 1st. Nice job overall.
Again, thank you for the input... how's this for a quick clone job? ;-) I like offset flower/anemone shots too.
I think the edited image is gorgeous.
Chris
Excellent!
This is why I like snout attachments on macro strobes. You can really do some unique lighting by fine tuning where your light hits. This is a nice shot too. I have something very similar. Those are beautiful anemones.
I don't know if the 7070 allows you to display a histogram of the photo after you've taken it, but that's definitely the way to go. As you've noticed, trying to judge exposure from the LCD is a hopeless task!
Richard.
Yes, excellent, I totally forgot that I had that feature. I originally turned it off because it got in the way and was kind of annoying. Now I'll be sure to check it out. Do you reccomend the histogram or the blue/red effect? where it blinks blue/red in the areas that are too hot/dark.
Thanks
Wyatt
I've been on the oil rigs, Holly and Grace, off of Ventura and Santa Barbara a few times now for Chamber Days and that sort of thing. Mostly, I was taking scallops, but I have never seen that anemone before. How big in diameter is it?
How did you light it wih your strobe? From directly above, below? I'm not too good yet at telling how to light a subject like this by following the example of others.
Good picture!
I believe it is a normal anemone, but it is "bleached" becuse it has expelled its zooxanthellae (symbiotic "algae").
Cheers
James
Yes, excellent, I totally forgot that I had that feature. I originally turned it off because it got in the way and was kind of annoying. Now I'll be sure to check it out. Do you reccomend the histogram or the blue/red effect? where it blinks blue/red in the areas that are too hot/dark.
The Canon cameras I use just blink white for hot areas; I use both the histogram and the blinking to figure out how well exposed the photo is.
Richard.
I've been on the oil rigs, Holly and Grace, off of Ventura and Santa Barbara a few times now for Chamber Days and that sort of thing. Mostly, I was taking scallops, but I have never seen that anemone before. How big in diameter is it?
How did you light it wih your strobe? From directly above, below? I'm not too good yet at telling how to light a subject like this by following the example of others.
This anemone is small, about the size of a half-dollar coin. I wouldn't call the anemone "bleached" but it has definately given up on photosynthesis as a source of energy. A. elegantissima uses zooxanthellae algae, but typically the deeper you go in California you will find this species with no zooxanthellae. This shot was at ~50 ft on oil rig Eureka. I can't wait to check out the SB oil rigs, never been before, more rockfish from what I understand.
I lit the anemone at an angle to the right, directly above. I never like shooting with the strobe directly on a macro subject, I personally like some shadowing and also to eliminate the background emphasis as much as possible by not lighting as much of it. As Kelpfish mentioned you can use snout attachments on your strobe to just light the subject, I was just using the diffuser on the SB105.
-Wyatt
I love the way the lighting makes the anemone glow. But if you have a chance to re-shoot, I would love to see this anemone on a plain black background.
I love the way the lighting makes the anemone glow. But if you have a chance to re-shoot, I would love to see this anemone on a plain black background.
As would I, anybody know of macro strobe attachments for the Inon D2000W? I'm planning on purchasing one very soon. I know they've got plenty of diffusers, but haven't seen any specific "snout" attachments yet. Guess I could just build one too.
