Snootie Patootie

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MaxBottomtime

Contributor
Scuba Instructor
Divemaster
Messages
10,403
Reaction score
12,434
Location
Torrance, CA
# of dives
2500 - 4999
I've never tried to use a snoot for macro photography before. I secretly purchased two snoots, one for me and one for Merry without telling her. I planned for us each to get some award-winning photos today but the conditions and learning curve were tougher than expected.

We had twenty feet visibility at the barge off Redondo Beach but I couldn't get light and my subjects. I came away with only two photos that were lit poorly. The rest were black. Because I had snoots and a macro setup, naturally a six foot Giant Sea Bass cruised right past me.

We looked for a site to make a second dive but the plankton was making the water a milky green everywhere. We settled on Kevin's Reef where we found three feet visibility. Merry aborted the dive but I stuck it out hoping to figure out the snoots. I had a little more luck, but the poor vis made it difficult to find subjects and see where my lights were pointing. Back to the drawing board.

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Fiber optic cables that fit over strobes. It allows me to narrow the beam of light and point it in places I couldn't fit a strobe. It was difficult to get them pointed right where I wanted them. Several times I would take a shot with my lens six inches from a subject but the lights were somewhere out of the frame. Other times I got them where I wanted them but they were too bright. I would turn the strobe down only to lose the light again. I'll get better.
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I have to agree with @RyanT! If those are failures, your successes must be in the next issue of Nat Geo. Great shots!
 
Fiber optic cables that fit over strobes.

I assumed they were just simple fittings over the front of the strobe to narrow the light source. These are the coolest things I've seen in a long time! Looking forward to seeing what else comes out of this Max!
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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