Day 26 : Balance

The title is quite easily explained. When I'd started underwater photography, I had only one strobe. I've recently added another. This was my first trip out with dual strobes. What a difference! Previously, a picture like this one would be impossible. There would be reflections and the shadows would be very harsh. Now I can illuminate the face of this white-eyed moray nicely. Balanced.

I do not regret waiting so long to add the second strobe. Having only the one strobe taught me a lot about strobe positioning, strobe output, lighting, reflections and backscatter. It prepared me for two.

I must admit to cropping this picture by a good amount. The original picture has the whole eel's cave entrance and quite a bit of the eel. I just thought the picture presented this way really improved it by leaps and bounds. I realised it when I zoomed in on its eyes to check the focus of the picture. And oh yeah! it's in focus! Look at the eyes carefully enough and you can see the lens in the eyes. This isn't even a big eel. Just a baby white-eyed. I try not to crop my pictures if I can help it. This is only the second picture I've cropped since I started.

Day 25 : Sight

I've been away for the last three days. Been diving in pretty crappy conditions. Lousy visibility, strong currents and lots of silt. Still, getting wet is much preferable to staying dry! We did not photograph, let alone see, the two subjects we went to look for. The pygmy and dwarf seahorses.

This is a Lo-Key shot of my mask. I took the picture while I was packing. My mask has a chrome frame and black skirting. So I put it on a black table.

Day 24 : A Lesson in Perseverance

 

A lighter in one hand and camera in the other. How did it go? Exactly as the title says! :) 

Day 23 : Bubbles

My student cancelled last minute on me so I was already at the pool. Might as well get wet and try out the new camera and casing in the water. I've already tested the casing empty, sinking it for an hour or so. Camera goes in this time.

Okay, this is a somewhat a cheat. I have tried this shot before and I did it shortly before I started my project while I was trying to get familiar with using manual settings underwater. Karma quickly kicked in and I didn't get many good shots at all. This was the best of them all. Granted, it's not the easiest and sometimes quite hard on the eyes. It's about impossible to look directly at the LCD screen. I like the way some of the bubbles sparkle and of course, the rays from the sun.

Day 22 : Mini We

We got these little guys last year for our birthdays. Her's in May, mine a month later. So, I kinda knew what to expect come my turn! They didn't quite get it right. Well, actually, they missed by quite a bit. We look nothing like our little doppelgangers. It was quite an amusement to us that the makers stuck a bead of glass in my doll's face to recreate my lip ring. He's also got only one earrring when I have two. But he's a handsome fellow. More so than I am. Happily my wife is a lot better lookin' than her own little mini me.

Day 21 : Inside Looking Up

Perhaps a different and less popular view of the Petronas twin towers. My first shot here with the Canon G12 but assuredly not the last! Expect coming Saturday's picture to be shot with this camera.

Day 20 : Happy New Year

Initially I was intruigued by the sun and how it was reflecting off my car. I did three shots, one with the aperture wide open, one half way and the last turned up all the way which is this one here. Sunshine and patches of colour for everyone. Happy New Year!


First shot below with the aperture wide open.

And now halfway. This is probably the better shot but the main picture shot at f/39 is just so noisy, dramatic and interesting. Truth be told, the main shot is probably the worst of the three shots! My personal favourite is the one just above.