under water experiments...

[ving]

Cheryl, god bless her, bought me a snorkelling set and a waterproof camera case for valentines day! I have only been snorkelling once before but i was excited to give it a try again... especially since i could take my little nikon under water with me :)

so yesterday we set off for calm waters at windang, south of wollongong and armed with my new gear i chased teh fish around and snapped shots of the river bottom :)

i have alot to learn about doing this as water is not my natural habitat. the fish i chased were well camoflaged and the water wasnt very clear... in the end i needed to fiddle with the pics a bit to show details (just contrast and brightness)

[h0ughy]

its not easy being green???????? I can see a change, kermit the frog!

[ving]

yup, they are very green arent they... they were pretty green before processng them and the water was pretty green too, but not quite as green as shown here...:)

[Mikezoom]

Cool pics Vingster, couple of nice Bream and some Luderick I think?

Next time try playing with your white balance, might help might not but at least your experimenting. :thumbsup:

Mike.B.

[[1ponders]]

Nice ones ving. Maybe take them into PS and reduce the green using curves and see how you go. :thumbsup:

[toetoe]

Good onya ving, it's going to good to have a different range of pictures from you with your new set up. A good start i say :thumbsup: You could practice in the bath couldn't you...:scared:

[ving]

white balance... hmm ok i'll try that next time :)

i could also practice inteh pool :D

[shredder]

Hi Ving,

I believe most underwater photographers use a floodlight / flashlight to light up the water and make it appear clearer than it actually is, ie camera and torch. I dont take this kind of thing myself but a few of my work mates do.

All that said they are good for a first time use. I once had a minolta under water camera and rarely got a clear shot from it.

Cheers

Michael

[ving]

i dont think the fish would have liked being blinded by a flood light... that said tho they might have stayed still :lol:

[acropolite]

I can see it now, the underwater adventures if Ving Custeau... Next step scuba diving, it's argueably cheaper than astronomy and a lot of fun. The flash will help particularly as you get deeper as most colour except blue is filtered out as you go deeper. As Michael said a torch or using a flash will bring back the colours.

[ving]

what!!! you think i am after a replacement to astronomy? :P
no way!

not doing scuba... not interested in going down that road :)
i might have to get a waterproof torch tho... like a head bandy one. or swim in cleaner water... :rolleyes:

[erick]

Forget the fish - photograph the whales :scared:

[erick]

Wasn't too green last time I took shots underwater off Bundy coastline.

Camera - $15 underwater disposable!

[leon]

Now with all those fish in the water, why is it that i cant catch one sometimes. :shrug:

Cheers Leon :thumbsup:

[erick]

You'd need about 50 of those to have a light meal. :sadeyes:

[norm]

Hey Ving,

Don't forget the spear gun next time !:lol:

[ving]

i prefer to shoot with my camera :P

[leon]

It really is a different word under the waters, nearly as good as, Astronomy :whistle:

Cheers Leon :thumbsup:

[ving]

it is indeed leon! the area i was in seemed to be quite plain from teh shore. i was only in about 2m maximum of water and alot less most of the time but it was quite surreal looking at the aquatic life around me :)

[leon]

I've never really done the under water stuff Ving, but it sure has me interested to have a go, if i don't drown that is. :whistle:

Cheers leon :thumbsup:

[erick]

Yes, my photos were under this (attached). As a kid, I spent lots of time on these shores and never knew what wonders were beneath the surface. I snorkel here every chance I get when I visit Bundaberg.

[Muddy Diver]

hi Vingster

Just when you thought this thread was dead eh?

I was just searching and found this one and thought I might be able to shed some (less Green) light on the subject.

You see, colour dissapears very rapidly in water the deeper that you go. The human eye loses Red first at a depth of around 8 metres, then blue then yellow etc. This is the reason why you will see scuba divers entering the water during daylight with torches. The colours only come to light when the torch is shone on the fish/reef etc. You will see this in any underwater film footage, the colour is always in the spotlight and everything else looks green.

I threw in a shot of me with some fishy friends. In this shot there are colours on view even at 12 meters or thereabouts, a flash was used and I was diving in Malta with very clear water on a white sand bottom which helped. Again, this was a disposable camera with an underwater housing.:thumbsup:

[Gargoyle_Steve]

Something I learned a few years ago - if you want a nice bright torch to use underwater for photography you can't do better than visit a dive shop.

Dive torches are specifically very bright with very "full spectrum" light output so as to enhance all colours underwater. Oh yeah, and they're all really really waterproof too.
:P

[TidaLpHasE]

:thumbsup:Awsome shots ving, i love the Bream shot, fantastic stuff and it is in focus well done, the luderick are nice too.

[ving]

hehe!
The thread lives!!!

thanks guys and thanks for the pic muddy... i see what you mean by colours getting washed out