The Hardest Photo you've taken in Year 2004

[waisj]

Hi all,

Lets share the hardest photo we've taken in year 2004

Here's mine




Besides being minuscule, this little bugger was really hard to photograph coz it was white when i first saw it i knew i had to underexpose by at least 2/3 's of a stop, strobe placement was also an issue as i didn't wan't to light the dreary background. Further more, with stacked lenses, i was only 2-3 cm from the little guy, complicating lighting techniques more. (it was funny, as my strobes were pointing outwards and upwards. One of the guys that were looking at me take the picture, asked me later what was i doin, aiming my strobes upwards&outwards.

Though not stunning, this is the shot that i'm very proud of, in Yr 2004, it is a shot which i wanted to achieve; i came, i saw, i planned, and i executed. A total of 2 shot were taken on this subject. This is the first one which worked.

Please share some of yours !!!

Cheers

[lovells19]

I would say this is the hardest shot for 2004, been trying to shoot this star shrimp since the day i got my macro lens. the background is always too white and the subject not properly exposed. can't point the strobe at it as it'll over exposed the white part of the cushion star, so i have to use the edge of the strobe, which is not sufficient enough to light up the subject. this one still abit under exposed but its the best i've got for this subject :P

any tips on dark subject on bright background?

[siaoon]

hey..!! u 2 nvr show us these 2 pics b4 wor.. hoho..

think its really quite a task to capture well balanced exposure for white/black subject...

for me.. think 1 me rather under exposed the surrounding for the white subject.. (like making the whole surrounding to be black??) and over exposing the background to be totally white for the black subject..?? dunno can work this way anot..

or.. possible to add more diffuser on the strobe so that the light wont be so piercing on the overall?

* all above are juz me "discussing army on paper".. my stoopid theory lah..

[kthan]

Siaoon, photoshop adjustments aside, Over-exposure is usually quite unpleasing on the eye, hence we try not to do that, be it subject or background.

Hence u hear of people illuminating the subject using the bottom of a beam instead, so as not to over-exposre white sand.

And that is also why Lembeh is such a revered critter site - the sand is black. there is almost no-way to over-expose black. Black is black! I guess there is never too much or too little black, unlike the whites.

My toughest shot is that of the mating mandarins. My ideal is a head-on shot on the pair. As u know, they mate during dusk. Low light, and my camera has problem focusing. When I turn on the focusing light, they will shy away and there goes my head-on shot. Furthermore, they aren't that big in size so "searching" for them thru the viewfinder is a challenge too. Plus u hv to be pretty still in 24 degree water!



This is the best I could do in that short window of opportunity.

[siaoon]

Originally Posted by kthan Siaoon, photoshop adjustments aside, Over-exposure is usually quite unpleasing on the eye, hence we try not to do that, be it subject or background. Hence u hear of people illuminating the subject using the bottom of a beam instead, so as not to over-exposre white sand.

ok points noted.. hmm icic.. wellwell.. was juz thinking of those ppl taking studio shots with white gowns etc... or doing still life with white arylic..
some of those shots are done with overexposure to blend the white into the back ground or wat.. so hence my idea on the overexposure part.. hee..
guess it may be too unrealistic to try that underwater..

[waisj]

Originally Posted by lovells19 I would say this is the hardest shot for 2004, been trying to shoot this star shrimp since the day i got my macro lens. the background is always too white and the subject not properly exposed. can't point the strobe at it as it'll over exposed the white part of the cushion star, so i have to use the edge of the strobe, which is not sufficient enough to light up the subject. this one still abit under exposed but its the best i've got for this subject :P any tips on dark subject on bright background?

Very interesting ..... As for me, my star shrimp shots are ok i guess, they are not over exposed, as long as my strobes are not too close. ( i'll normally position in inwards facing 45 degrees to the Lens, in fact just beside the lens, was wondering why is your DS 50 causing constant overexposures?

Did you use FEC?I don't remember having backgrounds that are too white for my Sea star shrimp shots.

[waisj]

Originally Posted by siaoon hey..!! u 2 nvr show us these 2 pics b4 wor.. hoho.. think its really quite a task to capture well balanced exposure for white/black subject... for me.. think 1 me rather under exposed the surrounding for the white subject.. (like making the whole surrounding to be black??) and over exposing the background to be totally white for the black subject..?? dunno can work this way anot.. or.. possible to add more diffuser on the strobe so that the light wont be so piercing on the overall? * all above are juz me "discussing army on paper".. my stoopid theory lah..

Actually black subjects are even harder to shoot at times... the camera gets fooled into thinking that there is not enough power since it is "supposedly" trying to properly expose a black subject.

I have taken some shots of a Black Frog fish in Lembeh, it completely screwed my camera's TTL, i ended up with properly exposed blacks.. but overexposed backgrounds.

The worst thing is that you can't even make out where are the eyes.

Black/ White subjects apart, reflective subjects are hard to shoot as well. Either it is not enough or too much strobe power. Worst when the background exposure is important

[lovells19]

Originally Posted by waisj Very interesting ..... As for me, my star shrimp shots are ok i guess, they are not over exposed, as long as my strobes are not too close. ( i'll normally position in inwards facing 45 degrees to the Lens, in fact just beside the lens, was wondering why is your DS 50 causing constant overexposures? Did you use FEC?I don't remember having backgrounds that are too white for my Sea star shrimp shots.

Whats A FEC? this shot was taken using the TTL, and SPOT metering, guess the Camera thought it was a very dark photo, i have tried shooting other subject such as a black or dark green nudi branch. the hard part is to get them to be properly exposed without over exposing the background.

hopefully with the MV controller it'll be better

i hate white sand

[lightning]

Seems like there is trend for underwater photography here! Wow... Interesting!

You guys learn diving first then move to photography or learn diving because of underwater photography?

Also what are some of the equipments needed?

[Kit]

I haven't taken it yet.....

[WhyZzzzzz]

Originally Posted by lightning Seems like there is trend for underwater photography here! Wow... Interesting! You guys learn diving first then move to photography or learn diving because of underwater photography? Also what are some of the equipments needed?

err.... OT abit.... but anyway, some learn diving first then get interested in UW photography...and some learn diving because of UW photography...... end of OT ....

[lightning]

What are some of the equipment needed? How much will be the investment?
Cos I have a full set of diving equipment at home which I can get from my sis. Now just need to learn diving, and also learn till I am able to do night dive?

Have been thinking about doing this for a long time but hardly able to find both time and money. So need advice from expert!

Cheers

[beivied]

Originally Posted by lightning What are some of the equipment needed? How much will be the investment? Cos I have a full set of diving equipment at home which I can get from my sis. Now just need to learn diving, and also learn till I am able to do night dive? Have been thinking about doing this for a long time but hardly able to find both time and money. So need advice from expert! Cheers

hi lightning, nice to see your interest in underwater photography, and hope you can learn a lot more on this forum with the kind (sometimes rowdy, sometimes crappy ) folks around... but you are OTing on this thread liao. You can browse around the subforum as this has been pretty extensively discussed before, and post your questions on a NEW thread if you have further questions to ask.

[waisj]

Originally Posted by lovells19 Whats A FEC? this shot was taken using the TTL, and SPOT metering, guess the Camera thought it was a very dark photo, i have tried shooting other subject such as a black or dark green nudi branch. the hard part is to get them to be properly exposed without over exposing the background. hopefully with the MV controller it'll be better i hate white sand

Ahhh...... Flash Exposure Compensation, i wouldn't use spot metering for macro shots, unless it is laden with white/black subject/background....

yeah must have fooled the camera in-ttl system. Try spot metering the midtones, that might help, or just use FEC to shoot and review.

I've not had much problem with dark/dark green nembrotha sp. nudibranchs though.... hmm.. might be the slave sensor/ DS50 combo?

[lovells19]

Originally Posted by waisj Ahhh...... Flash Exposure Compensation, i wouldn't use spot metering for macro shots, unless it is laden with white/black subject/background.... yeah must have fooled the camera in-ttl system. Try spot metering the midtones, that might help, or just use FEC to shoot and review. I've not had much problem with dark/dark green nembrotha sp. nudibranchs though.... hmm.. might be the slave sensor/ DS50 combo?

ic ic ic ok next time i try haha
thanks!
the optical cord combi not perfected lol

[kthan]

Lovells, since the digital TTL mimics the camera in-flash, the strobe must be align with the camera flash. Pushing it any further forward (i.e nearer to subject will result in over-exposure)

Moving the strobe is one way to control exposure "manually" with the digital TTL sensor.

Eric

PS: this is what I reckon after shooting with your setup for less than 03 dives. Have u ever tried full manual, slave flash set to 4 (to trigger sensor) for super macro shots? U can move the strobe nearer or further to control output.

[waisj]

Originally Posted by lovells19 ic ic ic ok next time i try haha thanks! the optical cord combi not perfected lol

Ha ha.... The optical cord i did for my friend ages ago is still being used by him... still going strong after a good 200 dives with it, but i did expoxy it ...

Guess the "Cheong" sync cord will work better with the manual controller

Cheers
J

[siaoon]

hmm.. noticed most ppl use spot metering when taking marco..

was thinking again will matrix metering or other kind of metering helps when we shoot a white or black subject? thght those metering will help to evaluate the whole composition, rather than the subject itself?

we use spot metering more for concentrating on juz the subject rite??

correct me pls..

[lovells19]

Originally Posted by kthan Lovells, since the digital TTL mimics the camera in-flash, the strobe must be align with the camera flash. Pushing it any further forward (i.e nearer to subject will result in over-exposure) Moving the strobe is one way to control exposure "manually" with the digital TTL sensor. Eric PS: this is what I reckon after shooting with your setup for less than 03 dives. Have u ever tried full manual, slave flash set to 4 (to trigger sensor) for super macro shots? U can move the strobe nearer or further to control output.

haha i the sync cord got problem so the strobe is firing max all the time. lol then i adjust the stobe position to take the photo.

anyway switched to MANUAL! :P muahahahaha

oh i just found out using slow2 makes it easier to attain the black background

[ScoobaKev]

I've got 3 candidates for toughest image to shoot in 2004!

1. Shot these Pygmy Filefish at Pulau Redang. They're small, fast, well-camouflaged and love to play hide & seek with u/w photographers. Took me a long time just to chase them to a head of soft coral that they were happy to play around. Then, I had to make sure that I got my focus spot-on before shooting. I think I only shot about 5 images of them throughout my 4 day trip.



2. This Anemone Shrimp was shot at a dive site called 2 & 2/3s out in the Great Barrier Reef. It was already towards the end of the dive, so I had little bottom time left. My wife & I came to this head of Anemone & there were at least a dozen shrimp on top. Problem: They're so translucent that focusing became a problem. Had to make sure that I got the eyes in order focus on it and not the anemone. Took about 2 shots only to get this one.



3. I don't even have an image to show for the top prize winner- most difficult to shoot. I spent an entire 40 minute night dive (Barrier Reef) trying to get a bright red Crinoid Shrimp to pose while it was in a feather star. After all the waiting and positioning etc etc... and spending the whole night dive on 1 feather star, I only got 2 very underexposed shots.... Tough!