Monthly Archives: August 2009

Underwater Photography the second try

On a sunny Sunday afternoon I was able to shoot again with Janice. This attempt I tried to learn from all the previous mistakes I had made with the other shoots. I broke out my scuba gear which I felt might be cheating but really help me improve the images and allow me to focus more on the quality and compositions more than running out of breath. Shooting in noon day sun was a blessing that allowed high shutter speed at a relative low ISO setting. Good anti-fog is worth is weight in gold for keeping the mask clear. The Canon G10 and underwater case has been really good so far.  I have encountered only a few minor issues and have found work around for most. Considering the cost is far less than a underwater housing and lens port for a 5D mkII.  It has been a great way to work under water without deep six my wallet. Janice was a real trooper, she kept working with for a few hours, as my technique and skill improved her posing got better and she became more comfortable underwater. Over all I am happy with the results and look forwarded to further improve and extermination with underwater images

Underwater Photography Revisited

Well I took the lessons learned from past attempts to shoot underwater and attain visually pleasing images.

  • A mask with anti-for is your friend.
  • Weight belt is good, even when you over loaded it.
  • Clean & clear pool is wonderful

I pitched the idea to Janice and she was game for a quick experimental shoot. The first problem was the pools underwater light was dead. So I pulled out my mega dive light and tossed it to the bottom of the pool. Until you try to do underwater photography there is no way to compare it to land or studio photography.  The simple act of composing a shot can only take a few seconds, those wonderful models don’t have gills. Difficulty moving to get a shot is compounded by your subject floating and as the photographer. I am happier with these results of the images than the previous attempts. I found issues, the G10 considerable shutter lag and the small sensor and optics combination make getting great shots difficult. I think I can set the camera to shoot in a bust mode and multi shots. This will allow better timing to capture the moment I see in front of the lens. The small sensor effects the properties of optics. Look here for the math.

We plan to do another shoot in the middle of the day to use natural light, check back soon.

Space Shuttle

I was doing the very tourist like thing of photographing the space shuttle. It is really hard to describe the amount of light and sound is created on a launch of the shuttles. I was using the 5D mkII my trusty f2.8f L 24-70 @ 24 sitting on a tripod. I was set up @ a marine on highway 520 on the Indian River. I think I could have done better if I had used a longer shutter time, this was a 20sec. An exposer of 30 or more whould have gotten more of the light trail. Oh well better luck next time.

Surfing Pictures

Hurricane Bill produced some big waves for Brevard County. I when out to 2nd Light and drug out the f 2.8 L 400 mm lens and added a 2x Tele-converter on a Canon 5d MKII. The first thing I can say is the day was over casted and the angle of the sun light presented less than perfect likelihood for get great surfer mag quality images. The main problem was the angle of light, I think switching metering from average to spot I would had a better exposure. The surfer in front of the wave was shaded from the sun on the back side.

Sunset and Storm…

On my way home I stopped and caught a sunset and storm coming in the area. I was using my Canon G10, I over all happy with the camera. If I don’t want the weight or bulkiness of a DSLR, it is in my pocket.

Underwater Photography

Getting a good image in a nice calm studio is hard work. Shooting underwater is another whole other level. I drove up to Blue Springs State Park only to find it over crowed and admission to the park was blocked. Lucky Ponce de Leon Springs State Park was open had reasonable number for people. As we drove into the park a storm broke which closed the sprint to swimming, so we waited. Storm finely passed and the sprint was reopened.

In to the 68 degree water we go. I learn from the last attempt to shoot underwater a mask and weight belt are required to get a better shot. First thing is the mask fogs up complete in under a minute because of the difference between my body temperature and fridged water. As soon as we try to get to the bottom of the spring we kick up a good deal of sand and silt.

The suspended material in the water makes the shot look like crap as well eliminating the use of a strobe. Even time I try to get near the bottom I kick up more sand. Also having a camera in your hands and trying swim is tough. I tried get good shots, but I have to say this attempt to shoot underwater was a learning experience.

In a nutshell I need a lot more time underwater and behind the camera, it is very difficult to get a great image underwater. I going to try a swimming pool next, see what I can do with out the sand and the slit. Maybe get some gills and a heavier weight belt…

You know when the surf is big when…

Hurricane Bill is stirring up the surf in the Atlantic. I was shooting with the big lens at 2nd Light,local name for a surf spot. I got there early but the surf spray created a haze that killed any attempt to get a shot of the uncommon big surf breaking locally. The sun light behind the spray of the top of the waves created a blown out ball of light. I thought I was having a bad day, this guy is having a true bad day…