Constructive critique Chromodoris elisabethina

Hi All

Looking to further improve my photography. If anyone is interested any constructive crtisism is welcomed.

Dive conditions

16 Meters deep, clear water 15m viz. Slight surge

Subject

The critter was 20mm long, on a flat on a rock at a 90 degree angle to the bottom, so no possibility to get infront of the Nudi. I thought this was the best composition I could select but always room for improvement in this area.

Gear

Canon 5dMK2, 100 macro, 2 x Ikelite DS160's, I used the subsee +10 on this shot but in retrospect the +5 may have been a better option for increased sharpness

Nice shot of a Chromodoris hamiltoni, the lighting and focus are nice, your equipment obviously was well set up and worked well. Yes, the +5 might have been a better choice.

For nudibranchs, the whole body photo from the top is useful in a book; otherwise for showing them at their best, it is often better to shoot them at an angle, from in front, with the camera being almost horizontal to the nudi, so that both rhinophores are in sharp focus, and the gills may be a bit out of focus. Same as photographing a horse or a dog, a frontal, a bit angled photo with the eyes in focus is better than one from the top.

So one can start with casual shots from the top, from each side, then angled from the front, to have a variety of views.

If you can get the nudi as it is 'walking', flapping its notum (veil), raising its head, showing its mouth or feeding, even better.

Nice work, keep it up.

You might enjoy the nudibranch Bible: Nudibranchs & Sea Slugs by Gosliner, Valdes and Behrens 2d ed. New World Publications, www.fishid.com

Thanks Kraken

This one is actually Chromodoris elisabethina, a very common find on the Sunshine coast. I edited my original post to include that due to the location of the critter a frontal shot was not possible. Thanks for the heads up on the book, I will check it out. My dive buddy is Gary Cobb who runs Nudibranch.com.au and the subsequent apps that you also may find enjoyable.

Happy diving

Well Chris, I like to have the rhinophores perfectly detailed and "expressive" in my nudibranch images, it's a bit like the eyes for a human portrait, in this case your nudi is more like eying down, there is no "rhinophore expression" as they've been reduced to circles, feels somehow like you've taken the image from above your subject while you should be most of the time at the same level or even lower.

I am sure the perspective would have been better if you had taken the shot 10 secs before when it was still climbing up on that coral part.

cheers

Thanks Luko

Congrats on your image in the Ocean art competition!

Compositionally, if you can't get the ideal "portrait" of the nudi, as other folks suggest above, I would back out and see if you can't get a wider shot that places the animal in context. Using the rhinophores as eyes, tell a story about where it's going and the environment it's in:

-Jon

Chris,

I think really you need the rhinopores sharper, I shot a few similar ones in Lembeh late last year with my Olympus setup. On this shot looks like focus point is on the bend of the animal and the tips of the rhinopores are not in focus. I think backing off without a diopter would be a good solution, the 100mm macro at min focus should shoot an area 25 x 16mm which I think would be enough, backing off a little will give more DOF as well. Keep the diopters for when you can approach the animal from the right angle and get the rhinopores tack sharp, not every one will be a good position to shoot.