Feedback on underwater newbie Fuji F11 photos?

[localdivah]

Hi all,

I've been soaking in knowledge for long enough and just put together underwater photos from a recent trip to Cuba. I have a Fuji F11 with a factory housing, no external strobes. In the past, I have had some success in using the simple "Autoimprove" feature in Microsoft's Photo Editor in improving the color and contrast, but didn't want to start changing things around and losing quality until I heard some comments from others.

I know that I can get much more interesting pictures by cropping and zooming more, but to start, I am most interested in suggestions on settings and post-production improvement. Any advice on composition would be appreciated as well.

I've posted the files here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23053053@N00/sets/72057594131304978/

Thanks for your thoughts --
Louie

 

[hvulin]

It's a strange feeling seeing divers grabbing octopuses and other things they find on the bottom, but it's Cuba...

pictures are very nice but to fix the blue ones you only have 2 choices (or maybe only 1):
1. shoot in raw and easily fix it later (don't know if your fuji has raw)
2. use manual white balance and fix the colours right down there... (set it with a white slate)

 

[Allison Finch]

Some nice pics, but I was horrified that you guys killed an octopus. After 30+ years of diving I have grown to love the critters. I hope you learn better dive ecology some day.

 

[localdivah]

Different mindset over there, Allison. To them it's food and something to supplement the relatively limited food availability (can't buy lobster, beef, and many other things you can get here). It was his honor to offer a ceviche made of the meat to me as well as have for his family. How many Hindus come to your country to reprimand you for eating beef?

My intention was to at least get some photo tips, not start a debate on cultural sensitivity. Hvulin -- my camera unfortunately, only captures in jpg. Any way to post process the colors differently? With film, I used to have the developers "push" red and green. Any parallel process with digital?

 

[hvulin]

you can do some postprocessing in photoshop (and similar programs), but what is lost is lost....

Options that you want are Levels, Curves and Color Balance... But be carefull to not overdo it....

 

[havnmonkey]

Yeah animal rights? Nevermind...communism!

I've never been attacked by a headless barracuda... come to think of it, I've never been attacked by a bodiless one either.

Learn how to use your white balance... That is very important if your not using a strobe.

Nice macro/close up shots shots... take more angles of your critters, you've got a digital cam waste some shots to see if a different perspective brings the subject out more. Also, look for color contrast like DSCF1323, the shrimp has a blue tint to it. Just get a little closer and that'll make it pop.

Reef scenes are hard to get right, especially without a strobe. Try shooting horizontally or from slightly below your subject so that the coral heads stick out against the blue ocean.

Get a strobe... it helps.

 

[localdivah]

Yeah animal rights? Nevermind...communism!

I've never been attacked by a headless barracuda... come to think of it, I've never been attacked by a bodiless one either.

Learn how to use your white balance... That is very important if your not using a strobe.

Nice macro/close up shots shots... take more angles of your critters, you've got a digital cam waste some shots to see if a different perspective brings the subject out more. Also, look for color contrast like DSCF1323, the shrimp has a blue tint to it. Just get a little closer and that'll make it pop.

Reef scenes are hard to get right, especially without a strobe. Try shooting horizontally or from slightly below your subject so that the coral heads stick out against the blue ocean.

Get a strobe... it helps.

Havnmonkey -- Could you clarify a bit more on the white balance? What should I be striving for under what conditions? I do notice that flashes/strobes restore color, so I guess my thoughts about changing shutter speed and ISO to be able to take photos without flash may have ended up being counterproductive. Would it be safe to say that if there isn't too much particle in the water, I should actually try to fire the flash?

I have been resistant to getting a strobe to avoid having photography dominate my dive. If I use a powerful dive light at an angle to illuminate the subject, is that a potential solution?

Hrvoje -- someone suggested I take a look at a series of steps that would substitute to negate some of the blues that dominate most underwater photos. They're listed here: http://www.gadling.com/2005/02/11/how-to-editing-underwater-photos/ Is this similar to what you are suggesting? The difference between the pre and post -processed shots is significant and I would love to be able to get that sort of results.

For the record, btw, the barracuda head was already in the water with a lot of other Cuban flotsam -- just figured that was about as close as I'd ever want to get to those teeth so I'd have some fun

 

[havnmonkey]

"For the record, btw, the barracuda head was already in the water with a lot of other Cuban flotsam -- just figured that was about as close as I'd ever want to get to those teeth so I'd have some fun"
-- I would've done the same thing...

First, I suggest the "Master Guide for Underwater Digital Photography" it's a well written guide that gives you all the advice you need to get some keepers. Local Library or Amazon for under $30. It's very simple and straight forward, not too long either-- about 100 color photo pages.

Second, even if you don't want photography to take control of your dive; you might as well use your camera to it's potential.

White Balance: The camera can normally decide what color it is looking at; however, U/W it has a very hard time. So, you must find the manual WB setting and then "calibrate" it.???? The control is usually on the back of the Cam., mostly near the arrow/ toggle select buttons. Once your in it show you usually cloudy, sunny, flash, tungsten, flourescent, and usually two manual settings.

Say your on a shallow dive, 40 ft, in Grand Cayman with lots of light. You won't need a flash because there's plenty of light. However, the RED part of the light spectrum cannot penetrate deeper than 10-15 ft. So the reef doesn't appear as colorful as it really is... You can help this by bringing a white plastic card, 4" x 4" or bigger, and when you hit the Manual W/B selection aim at the white card and press "set" or whatever selects it. Now the camera "knows" what is what at a particular depth= more vibrant, colorful pictures!!!

 

[localdivah]

Thanks for that -- just discovered that. I had always assumed that WB was related to the exposure compensation.

How often should WB be recalibrated? Is it a matter of depth, given that the red and green (andyellow) ranges of the visible spectrum are gradually stripped out the deeper you get? Or does it matter more with how bright a day it is? Ie, if you stay at the same depth, but move from one location with direct overhead light to one with overhead cover, does WB need to be recalibrated?

 

[havnmonkey]

Usually only at different depths, unless VIZ changes. every ten-twenty feet or so. Also try those photoshop techniques if you have PS, PS elements is about $150. Don't get to wrapped up in it, though. if you just want better take home pics for fun use W/B and learn to use Manual U/W settings.