A sojourn underwater (seahorse macros)

[Willy wombat]

Be gentle - It was my first time underwater with my new kit...

I have some improving to do as my familiarity with this set up improves. Enjoy
Steve

[Chaase]

Nothing to be gentle about, excellent photos. Geat colour and detail, esp under it's kneck etc.
I have not been on a night dive for years, I am guessing these were taken under a pier?

Cheers
Bruce

[Killakoala]

Beautiful and remarkable images. What I really like about these images is how close you have gotten to the subject.

[ATJ]

Steve,

All three are great shots. They all have a lot of detail but for some reason they look soft, which I can't explain and I can't even suggest what you could do to change it.

What lens were you using and what lighting? It looks like they might have benefited from two strobes to make the shadows less harsh.

Nevertheless, they are fantastic shots for your first time with the new rig.

[Willy wombat]

Thanks all for the encouragement.

These were at Mornington pier in Port Phillip Bay

@ATJ - I would love two strobes but sadly am limited by funds at present

The kit at present is D200 in aquatica housing
105VR macro housed with flat port
Shooting in manual mode (trying to keep shutter at 1/160 or 1/200 and playing with the apperture from F14 - to F22
Using the YS-110 strobe in TTL mode.

They could be a little soft but they are fairly extreme macros so DOF is limited. Hopefully I can get better results when I master the auto focus

Cheers
Steve

[ATJ]

Steve,

The great thing about a 105mm macro behind a flat port is that you have a good working distance from the port to the subject which makes lighting much easier. You have much more flexibility where you put the strobe(s) so that you can light from effectively in front (by putting the strobe next to the port) or from an angle, limited only by the length and capability of the arms.

The bad thing about a 105mm macro behind a flat port is that you have a large working distance between the port and the subject if the visibility is poor. This means that even for macro shots you may end up passing through a lot of water with particles that will both obscure the image (and make it less sharp) and reflect light from the strobe.

I'm guessing that the viz under Mornington Pier would not be all that good and if not, this may impact the sharpness of the photos. Sometimes pushing the contrast can help.

After thinking about it, I think that the apparent softness may come from the shadows which which dark, are sort of soft at the edges.

[Willy wombat]

Yes ATJ - the vis was absolutely shocking 2-3m. Im off to Indonesia in two weeks so im hoping for better (and warmer) conditions then!

This weekend I hope to try out my 10.5mm in the dome port

Just looking for a good place (hopfully not the local pool)

[markjd]

Amazing photos It's very cool that the bay has this kind of life in it. Thanks for sharing