Breaking Rules With Filters

The golden rule for filter photography, if you want strong colours in your images, is to shoot with the light.

Here is an example from a week ago in the Red Sea. I was appearing in an instructional underwater photography video, where I was demonstrating the techniques of filter photography and then showing the resulting images (it will be out later this year). The aim of this shot was to create an image similar to the one we use on the Magic Filter packaging, while being filmed taking it!

Anyway, on recent trips I have been trying to shoot more across the light to create more moody results, something my portfolio needs. When I was in Thailand, earlier in the year, I spent a lot of time quizzing Peter Scoones and was very impressed with how his video (Sony 750 HD-CAM) performed shooting against the light. The key was the controls, which are not dissimilar to a RAW converter.

So when I got to the Red Sea I was keen to shoot more against and across the light, to make more use of shadow textures in my images. These shots definitely don't have the wow colours of shooting with the light, I like the textures and ambience. These reef shots were taken on the same dive as the one above, just shooting in the opposite direction to capture a very different feeling.

Both D2x + 16mmFE, MF.

I also tried similar techniques on the wrecks, where the shadows allowed me to accentuate strong compositional elements.

Both D2x + 10.5mm, MF.

Alex

The other experiment I am really pleased with is this long exposure shot taken in April in Thailand. I have been trying to get a shot like this for ages (sharp reef, movement blurred fish). This was actually taken hand held, but it would have been much easier with a tripod. I think I will try and do some more shots like this with a tripod.

Nikon D2X + 10-17mm FE, MF.

Alex

I'm sorry Alex,

But I have to disagree with you about the WOW factor of the images.

I think that they are 'mucho' WOW...!!

The 'blurring' in the last image appears to be 'just' right, as you can still tell

that the movement is from fish.....and the blues are stunning.

How deep were the pics taken?

Respect,

Bruce...

While I am posting. Perhaps the question I am most commonly asked about filter shots (or all shots, for that matter) is how much are they Photoshopped? And what should they/did they look like on camera?

Certainly with the filter shots they should look on camera just like they do now. Setting white balance is so simple with nearly all cameras. It is no more effort than changing a power setting on your strobe. Adding contrast can improve things in Photoshop, but there should not be much need.

This is one of my most successful filter images. It has been in three books, many magazines, and even won an advertising award thanks to Christian putting it underwater!

Nikon D2X + 12-24mm. MF.

To demonstrate what it looked like on my camera when I took it, I uploaded the NEF back onto the camera. Unfortunately I found photographing the LCD screen more challenging that underwater photography! I need a D3 for that big screen! So the colours are off here, but hopefully you can see from the colour channel graphs that the image looked underwater almost identical to it does above.

Alex

How deep were the pics taken?

All pretty shallow. The Anthias and coral shots were little more than 5m deep. The blurred anthias at about 10m and the wreck shots at about 15m (ribs) and 13m (wreck cave).

Alex

Great stuff Alex. I think the concept of adding shadow for compositional effect has been hugely overlooked underwater. Adding mood, black and white, graphic concepts of negative space etc are all concepts we need to develop more underwater. I see old Peter's dive hood there in that last wreck shot. Send the rascal my best.

I think the concept of adding shadow for compositional effect has been hugely overlooked underwater. Adding mood, black and white, graphic concepts of negative space etc are all concepts we need to develop more underwater.

It has certainly been overlooked by me, exploited much more impressively by others. It is widely used in backgrounds in close focus WA, but not much else.

I see old Peter's dive hood there in that last wreck shot. Send the rascal my best.

Old Peter is stuck editing the latest issue of UWP this week. Should be out on Thursday, as he rang me to invite me down for a medicinal dive on Friday. He needs to get wet after all the slog of making the magazine. I'll unzip his drysuit, a bit, from you! I was looking at Eric's Socorro Video the other day and I think that the photo of you and Peter on the deck really captures a moment.

Alex

Great stuff Alex.

I tried filter shooting across the light last year at Bunaken. Partly because I had no real choice of sites and partly because I wanted to see if it could produce results. On that short trip I did not get the chance to really experiment, but I think the initial results seemed promising.

timo

ps. Kodak Magenta 50cc is showing some real promise for B&W in the Northern Baltic. More on this when I get some proper tripod shots together...

Unreal shots Alex,

Can I trouble you for the shutter speed, aperture and ISO for the first image and the blurred fish image? They just really caught my eye.

Cheers,

Cal

Sensational stuff Alex - Anthony Plummer keeps telling me I need to get some of these filters Alex (he is one of your best slaesmen). Im starting to agree.

I would also be interested in the shutter speeds used in these shots if you could please post them up.

No problems. Here are the settings from the top of the page:

First post:

ISO 200. F8 @ 1/60th.

ISO 200. F11 @ 1/60th.

ISO 200. F9 @ 1/90th.

ISO 200. F8 @ 1/50th.

ISO 200. F8 @ 1/50th

Second post:

ISO 200. F7.1 @ 1/50th.

Third post:

ISO 200. F5.6 @ 1/80th.

(given a bit more time I would have probably traded a bit of shutter speed for aperture here).

Stephen, the trick to getting the most of filters is to appreciate that they are different type of underwater technique. They require a different way of thinking and are only going to work on certain subjects. Once you appreciate this then they are so much easier than strobes to use.

Alex

p.s. And thanks to Anthony!