Lembeh Shots

It's been an age since i've shared any images, sadly there aren't as many as i would have liked from the last 3 months in Lembeh - resort management is taking its toll on my diving.

Here are a couple that i found most pleasing (mostly due to technique and the time it took to shoot them):

this is not a crop!

 

not a crop either

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the rest of the gallery click here:

 

Lembeh Gallery

Nice gallery Simon. What on earth (or in the sea ) is #8? Lovely little seahorse in #11. Cool shot of the eel out and about in #19.

Excellent, Mr B.

Alex

Thanks Simon! I voted for # 38. Super impressive shot.

Steve

great stuff, I want to go back.

Thanks I forgot there was a voting thing on there.

The egg shots were approximately 4mm across the longest edge. I have never sworn so much on a dive, it almost made me start smoking again when i got back from the dive - i was that stressed!

#8 is a murex shell type thingy (that's the technical term)

The nudi eggs were pretty interesting, ive never looked at them that closely before. I'm going to try going to higher magnification, but the DOF is so small it is almost impossible.

With the Eel, i was talking to William Tan and giving him grief about his shots of free swimming eels that very morning, then i saw one on the next dive

Incredible~~I love super macro. Especially when it is done so well.

Simon, what are the chances of a brief description of equipment and maybe technique when you have a spare moment?

Your images are really impressive, I do, however, wonder about the darkness of the super macro images?

Is this a personaltaste or due to the difficulty in lighting the small subjects?

Thanks in advance mate.

Bruce...

Thanks Bruce,

A lot of the stuff i was shooting was dark coloured and an dark, muck substrate. The tiny cardinalfish mouth was tucked under a sponge and was a nightmare to light- but the eggs are lit correctly. I might have to do some laying work on it if i want to publish it, but i personally am happy with it as it is.

The equipment was a D200 with 105AF-S VR lens, 2 2x teleconverters and some dioptres on the front. I think i had 12cm of extension rings on the port. I can take a photo of the rig if you wish as it is still setup. I set the lens to 1:1 an then spend the entire dive looking for tiny stuff in an 'easy to shoot' place. Our housereef is pretty good for this kind of stuff... shallow, no swells and plenty of sandy patches to rest on. Once i got a subject it was usually between 3 and 10 shots to get one in focus and well lit. The rhinophores were moving pretty fast so they took the most attempts. With the eggs in the mouth I only took a couple of shots but it took me about 15minutes to find it in the viewfinder!

With the eggs in the mouth I only took a couple of shots but it took me about 15minutes to find it in the viewfinder!

Great info, Simon. Thanks for sharing. Lucky you didn't have one of the 45 degree viewfinders!

It would be great to see a photo of the rig. For comedy value.

Alex

wow, very nice. I got a free swimming blue ribbon eel in bali...your pics are great. love the very last one, all those little eyes...wow.

Great info, Simon. Thanks for sharing. Lucky you didn't have one of the 45 degree viewfinders!

 

It would be great to see a photo of the rig. For comedy value.

 

Alex

Actually he does have the 45 degree... i tried it the other day, but just with the 70-180.... hated it!!! "where is that damn nudibranch!"

Awesome shots, Si.

Too bad didn't get a chance to dive with you and Mikey... Hopefully next time, so that I can mess up some of your shots.

Actually he does have the 45 degree... i tried it the other day, but just with the 70-180.... hated it!!! "where is that damn nudibranch!"

Hey Mike! Told you, you're getting old... Now, do you believe me?

Hey Mike! Told you, you're getting old... Now, do you believe me?

you are older than me..

Great macro work Simon, the shots are beautiful.

Edvin, don't wind them up before I get there, that's my job! (btw. I'm older than both of you )