My very first....

[Jamdiver]

Well there is a photoshop action that you can download that eliminates backscatter, but I don't like it as it tends to make pics fuzzy.

If you use the clone stamp or healing brush tool in photoshop you can get rid of the white specks in the water, make sure to do this at 100% so you eliminate only the backscatter and not detail in the pic.
Check out photoshop help for these two tools, I've used it clean up pics in the past like this one.

Non software ways of removing backscatter is getting closer to the subject or shooting a subject with 'land' in the background( coral, substance).
Basically the background would tend to absorb the light and not reflect it like shooting straight into water.

Make sense??

 

[clgsamson]

I know it's a regular Canon Corner in here ....

Hijack in process....

ah except for one guy...S80 guy Jam?

 

[Diver Dennis]

I use the healing tool as well. It works very well but it is quite labor intensive.

 

[Diver Dennis]

That second shot is fabulous Jam. No distortion in the sun and great composition.

 

[KidK9]

Excellent shots! Thanks for sharing!

 

[jonix]

ah except for one guy...S80 guy Jam?

quickly read...i thought you we referring to another "C" brand, the one which has no housing

 

[CLA]

Great shots Caloy - you’re really talented! My first pics with the same strobe were all dark (much like the picture of the shark and the divers) but with more backscatter. Actually, most of my pics are still dark and snowy so I hope you don’t mind if I ask you for some tips.

My favorite shots were that of the first anemone and the blue-water trevally and snapper pics. I noticed that you tend to choose lower apertures even for macro. Are these the settings that work best for your camera or is it just a personal preference? Are lower apertures better for blue-water shots? Did you use STTL on all pics including the blue-water pics? If so, did you have to adjust strobe power. The STTL function for blue-water doesn’t work very well for me. In fact, I get better pics using manual white balance.

One of my biggest problems is strobe positioning and aiming. The manual suggested pointing the focus light on the subject. When I do this, my subject is properly lit and brighter but I get a lot of scatter. When I don’t aim it at the subject I get less scatter but my subject or foreground looks underexposed. What technique did you use? It seems to have worked very well.

Jam- even without the strobe your shots look great, especially the second one.


Cathy

 

[iris_ice]

My favorite shots were that of the first anemone and the blue-water trevally and snapper pics.

the glowing anemone is my new computer wallpaper

 

[clgsamson]

Shots on the pelagics? Yes it was in sttl with the ev controller at the nine o'clock position for full flash (from "B" click to the left until pointer reaches 9 o'clock position). Looking at it now, I think it could have used one more f/stop for bluer effect. The strobe was at its highest position and left of the lens port. I just fired and fired. Didn't have time readjust or recompose (some pics were bad), current was strong and as I said I was holding onto a rock with one hand and shooting with the other (left hand!)

Lower apertures? yes for depth. I adjust the ev controller (while on sttl mode) if it is too bright or dark (left or right). I tried everything including positioning of the strobe. Strobe over port when doing macro (strobe is positioned in front and on top of the lens port), When it works, I try to remember it until the next critter. When I get hit by a strong current, its all forgotten.

Its a balancing act Cathy, I don't have all the answers though, I was just plain lucky. I shot that glowing anemone at f3.5 with shutter speed of 200 using a 165mm CFL, on the other hand, it was with a 105 WAL, f5.6 at 125 shutter speed shot on the crinoid.

Example Cathy (worse to something good)

adjusted the strobe power and its position,
At f4.0, 1/125

powered down strobe, same settings
at f4.0, 1/125

powered up strobe, different f stop
at 7.1, 1/125

.

 

[stormrider]

strobe definitely worth it. galing!

is that joy to the right of the pic sitting on top of the rocks?

No, that's Johann aka Stormrider

Nyak!!! I look like a woman??? :05:

Yup, that's me... surveying my realm at Mainit.

As for the shark pic, we spent quite a bit of time down at Mainit looking for that sucker. Viz could've been better (but when does it ever do over there?). Current gave some of us a bit of a workout. Our computers were near deco already. :11:

Caloy's new toy looks really good.

Nice pics, Caloy. Where's my copy of the pics?

Johans