Another gallery !!! Lembeh and RA

Hi all,

I'm pretty new here and want to introduce myself. I'm Alex, now shooting a Canon EOS 400D with 2xZ240s.

I wonder if some of you pros might want to give me some feedback on some photos from a trip last month to Lembeh and RA on the Odyssea liveaboard..

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alextattersal...417782146/show/

Any feedback would be very welcome...

Very, very nice. Your gallery is technically and artistically superb. I'd like to see a few more w/a mixed in but that's just my bias.

Very nice! Generally very nicely lit. What lens for the macro stuff?

Some absolute crackers in there. I love the filter-feeding porcelain crab. Must get out there some day....

I'd like to see a few more w/a mixed in but that's just my bias.

Don't listen to him! If anything you need more macro......

Don't listen to him! If anything you need more macro......

WOW! I may not qualify as an old pro, but I'm old and know what I like. Great lighting technique!

Very nice. What lens did you use for the macro stuff??

You don't need to be a pro to know your seeing stunning artistic pictures

Alex, you've got alot of great stuff! Many memorable shots, like the dual ribbon eels. you do need more w/a, some of your w/a shots are really good.

Thanks guys.. that's the kind of ego-rubbing I need Much appreciated!!

Almost all the macro shots were taken with 60mm.. the closer ones with a Nexus woody on top....

The WA are all with the FUJI 900 and INON Fisheye lens...

You've got some beautiful stuff there, Alex! Great lighting, and unusually good depth of field on the macro stuff. Very impressive.

My only suggestion (and it's a very minor one) is that some of the photos could be enhanced by doing some cropping and rotating (e.g., some of the subjects are vertical in a horizontal frame, and they look a bit crammed in there); some of them might look better at a bit of an angle, rather than straight up and down. But that's only a handful of shots, and overall, I'm REALLY impressed with your work!

Excellent stuff, Alex.

Trying to give a helpful critique - as you are already doing a damn good job - lighting-wise you sometimes seem to have the lighting coming from the top a bit too much (so the top of the critter is better lit than the front - which is what is facing the camera). This also means that you often light the background reef as well as the foreground - which lessens subject separation and image impact. Notice how much more impact your black background shots have? You can get the same impact from reefy backgrounds with careful lighting.

I also think that there are too many shots in the gallery and a bit too much repetition. People look to photographers to edit their images - we want to see your best shot - not the 4 versions of it.

Best to leave people wanting more than not making it to the end of your gallery. If possible try to include more variety of shots in there. Black background after black background critter shot looses their impact. From time to time try some long exposures to burn in some blue backgrounds. Variety is the spice...

Anyway, I hope you look at your pictures and pat yourself on the back on a job well done. And please take my comments as constructive. I spent most of yesterday having my images critiqued by another photographer. It is always a useful process.

Excellent stuff.

Alex

Thanks very much for that Alex, nicely constructive... food for thought for sure!! Got a bit carried away adding shots to the gallery...

I always have a dilemma on that one. If you want to show people the range of subjects you have images of - then you need lots of pictures online. But put up too many and people can see the excellent ones for the standard good ones.

The best solution I can think of - is to have a small and diverse best of portfolio, and then a much larger selection for those really keen to see more.

The other problem I have is that image age quickly especially when people can see them online. Then when you finally get them published everyone says they are old. I was told yesterday that one of my images has really done the rounds, yet was taken in June and has never been published... I haven't put any images on my website from my last 5 trips - so I have something fresh in reserve when I am asked...

Web galleries are a bloody pain.

Alex

Your images are amazing. I'm especially impressed with the sharp focus and depth of field you are getting on some of your macro shots... not easy to do with critters that size! Congratulations!

Have to say, I have also been told to pick the best ONE photo of a species to show. I have trouble "pruning".

What settings were you using to get such great depth of field?

Fletcher

Hi there.. mainly f22 on the Canon 400D with a 60mm macro and woody...

wow!

these are really good.

and they make me feel i took the right decision with my 60mm and closeup lens. cant wait to try it out and post here

greets, serge

row two, third from right !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am still stunned by that image. Dang! Intellectually i know its macro, but it speaks volumes as a 2010 image. There is the awesome sense of depth established by the foreground and background lobes left out of focus. The dominant movement is not planar (e.g diagonal). Instead it leads the eye through 3D. Then there is the precise application of DOF, placed exactly where it counts. The histogram must be dramatically bimodal, but creamy textures and fine textures keep the image far away from being stark or bland. There is the beautiful tension between 3D and 2D. Between the capture of a sculpture and the proud velvet plane in the lower left, upon which the goby is resting. These haikus are extra ordinary. The killer, i think, is the precise pose of the fish. The fish occupies less than 1/100 of the image, yet that specific frontage gives that tiny element 50% of the byline. Not to mention its placement at a snickering offset form "rule of thirds". Wow. Old school uwp was: find an colorful exotic creature, toss in a modicum of composition, and take a portrait. Content, not artistry, made great shots. Here, I'm not sure what either species is (of course there are probably hundreds or thousands of species in your photo), nor am i left wanting to know. Sorry for deconstructing such a naturally beautiful and unpretentious image. It is one hell of an inspiring shot in my book - transcending all genre. A lifetime keeper. I'd love to see in 16:9, framed.

Well.. thank you very much n de d!! Not sure I know exactly what all that means but it sounds very nice I can send you a copy if you like it that much

well deserved, and i do, it is awesome. i'd window mat it, which would steal about 1/16th of an inch from the edges, and which would partially obscure your copyright signature. maybe up a bit and to the left? paypal okay?