Maldives Manta

[DTan]

Relooked at my slides and i saw this pic which i've never 'seen' before (amazing how your eye talks to your brain)

I don't know how i scanned it cuz it seems like it's a very small pic now. Although i did increase the constrast. It might be too much for some but there is a certain draw to this photo for me that i find extremely attractive.

Please share your thoughts on how u like/dislike/hate it and critiques always welcome.



*tried rescanning. so i suppose the picture is bigger now.

[siaoon]

hey... looks not bad!! maybe juz reduce the contrast a bit..
think a little too much lah..
possible to rescan it again...?? think this pic worth the effort to reappear here again in bigger size..

[DTan]

my goodness i'm going crazy. i really don't know the picture becomes so small. Moderators help.

Siaoon, just want to know if this type of picture works (with the contrast) if not why?
wanna know cuz i can't help but relook this pic everytime (since i've spotted it). I like the grains too.

[kng]

THREE mantas in ONE single frame???

Amazing! DTan, go get this slide professionally scanned at the highest possible resolution, and I'll help you PS it... can be a stunning 8R poster..

[DTan]

ok it is bigger now but it's not sharp at all..

[kng]

Hmm... hard to tell if the blurness is caused by the scanning or is the slide inherently OOF. Does it look sharp under your loupe?

I suspect that yr scanner settings sa-lah... It shldn't look so overly contrasty and the colour looks artificial.

[DTan]

kng, i am trying to "professionally" scan it at 2820dpi (i hate numbers) but it's not working. how about i email u the file and u do your magics. xiexieni

actually there are 4 but i cropped one away cuz it didn't smile at the camera so i was angry with it and i chopped it away

[JaGr]

gosh. i'm going to maldives in feb, hope the mantas will be home!

[DTan]

it's my skills that SA LAH. constrast cuz i was "playing" with it and i liked what i saw. haha... i'd try scanning it away some hours later. if i remember correctly, it was sharp under loupe. (but i've always had a problem with my memory anyway)
anyway it's sharp on my monitor but after i upload to photobucket it turns out like this (blur) so could it be the resizing that causes the blurness?

[kng]

Originally Posted by JaGr gosh. i'm going to maldives in feb, hope the mantas will be home!

Oh you will definitely see mantas at the south ari atoll dive site called Rangali Maldivaru in Feb. Pls post some pix when you are back!!

[JaGr]

ok i try. my wide angle photography sucks so far, maybe it'll be much easier with the visibility in maldives. my ys-25dx not very strong.

[kng]

Originally Posted by JaGr ok i try. my wide angle photography sucks so far, maybe it'll be much easier with the visibility in maldives. my ys-25dx not very strong.

Actually, it will be quite unlikely that you'll get good vis in maldives, if you go to the pelagics dive sites. Lotsa plankton in water - pea soup!

[JaGr]

=( i was expecting like 30m visibility. guess i better not get my hopes up too high! think we OT already hehehehe

[DTan]

thread starter doesn't mind ot as long as u tell me if the picture u like or not?! hahaha...

with mantas so huge in maldives, vis bad doesn't matter. actually the best sighting were during boat ride back to LOB. so don't remove wetsuit. be prepared to jump in once DM shouts manta manta. (i almost jumped in without snorkel)

[JaGr]

lol ya its really a cool pic, the mantas look somewhat majestic/mysterious. not good enough to critique yet! heehee

how was the visibility when you saw the mantas? and what depth were they at. Is it necessary to use external strobe, any WAL? Which site. I'll be on LOB 7 full days so hope I can chances to grab a good pic.

[DTan]

i've got terrible memory so i cannot remember vis but according to logbk it says GOOD (and i'm not good with numbers so cannot quantify what's good in terms of numbers)

The mantas were at "Paradise Manta Point, North Male Atoll" at the manta cleaning point. Should be about 15-20m (sorry cannot remember lah)

Strobe? haha.. that u have to ask the masters. As u can tell from my pic, strobe DIDN'T help (or i could have turned it off.. ). Too far away to hit the mantas. If have WAL, put it on.

I'm not good enough to critique as well but i shoot my mouth off so feel free to share what u think. Thanks.

[siaoon]

Originally Posted by DTan Siaoon, just want to know if this type of picture works (with the contrast) if not why? wanna know cuz i can't help but relook this pic everytime (since i've spotted it). I like the grains too.

ya.. i like the silhoutted manta.. but think its too bluish.. and hence become too artifical for me.. slight a slight tweak by our PS master shld be gd..

cant wait to see the end result... nice shot!!
3 mantas!!!! hoho..

[philshots]

Originally Posted by DTan Relooked at my slides and i saw this pic which i've never 'seen' before (amazing how your eye talks to your brain) I don't know how i scanned it cuz it seems like it's a very small pic now. Although i did increase the constrast. It might be too much for some but there is a certain draw to this photo for me that i find extremely attractive. Please share your thoughts on how u like/dislike/hate it and critiques always welcome. *tried rescanning. so i suppose the picture is bigger now.

Hi DTan,

Overall, the colours aside, I think this is a very artistic and well captured shot. The range of blues go from bright highlight to dark blue - indicating depth in some deep ocean (cropped) with part of the sun light shinning above. Its like another fish taking a photo of their own kind at the beginning/ end of day. I find the position of the 3 fishes is just right; they seems to be diving deep after a tiring swim .

[lovells19]

very nice! hehe

[kng]

Comments please... is this better? Not blue enough?

I realised that there are FOUR mantas... WOW!