This last weekend, I was on a 2 day trip on the Conception to the Channel Islands. I decided to practice exclusively wide angle since I need the practice, especially when the water isn't crystal clear. This image had hellacious backscatter. I worked with the healing tool to remove the more egregious problems, but the final image still has a lot. The effect, though is interesting. Just as film grain can evoke a gritty realistic feel to an image, the backscatter makes this image look like an oil painting. What do you think?
The subject matter deserves some explanation. I witnessed a very rare event. On the backside of Santa Cruz, I found a juvenile Mola Mola that was the plaything of a band of Sealions. The Sealions tormented the poor thing and had chewed away his pectoral fins so that he was literally dead-in-the-water. The Mola was still alive, but not for much longer. The sealions didn't seem interested in eating it, just playing with it like cats play with mice.
As usual, click on the image for more details.
