Coming up for a breath

[Mike Poole]

Going through some old files I thought I'd share one from a couple of years back. This is a juvenile green turtle that was happily feeding on some sea grass and once he realised I wasn't about to eat him decided to let me get nice and close - always love it when a wild animal lets you into their comfort zone. They can stay underwater on one breath for ridiculously long periods, but this one popped up every couple of minutes

I was only snorkelling at the time due to a back injury, so I used a lightweight setup - Olympus EPL-1 with the 14-42 mm lens at 14mm. ISO 200 1/160th f10 with a couple of sea and sea strobes providing the light.

I appreciate its sometimes difficult to give technical advice on subjects you don't know too well, but its all taken on board.

Mike

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Mike - It's a fantastic experience to swim with sea turtles. Nice choice on the dof but I might have been tempted to go for a bit more ss. The head looks a little softer than your other posts. I do like the movement in the flipper though so I guess it is a trade off. Nice to see the sandy bottom and sea grass as a bg, something a bit different.

TFS,
Rachel

[Marc Mol]

Won't comment on the techs here Mike, as my knowledge of underwater photography is minimal, but do like the framing and overall colour and habitat inclusion and can see that the subject is reasonably comfortable with your presence, which is an added bonus.

TFS

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Mike very nice to see a turtle , so well done in getting this shot .
I fully agree with Marc about the techs , as far as i can say i am fine with it .
Only little thing i would suggest is taking out some cyan from the BKG , without loosing the color completely . Maybe it is not working ....... your call you are more experienced with this.

TFS Andreas

[Gregor Bergquist]

Hi Mike

To me a very cool and beautiful picture. Pixel-peeping I would like a bit more detail, but at a distance (or viewing as a thumb) it stands out. Very nice. Glad that you share it.

/Gregor

[Anette Mossbacher]

Hi Mike, love this one and the color as well. Would leave it as it is. It is spot one. Just had this summer the experience to snorkel with those magnificent animals in the Great Barrier Reef and I loved it all the way. Sadly had only a GoPro to take images! Next time I get me a underwater housing for mine big brick.

enjoy your evening

Ciao Anette

[Morkel Erasmus]

Love the colour and proximity here Mike. I agree the head looks a tad soft, but otherwise a lovely image.

[Mike Poole]

Thanks for the comments everyone, good feedback as ever.

I agree the shot may be a tad softer than ideal - I'm going to blame inferior gear for this one

Rachel - unfortunately 1/160th was the fastest flash sync speed available to me with this camera - faster would have been better I agree

Andreas - good call with the cyans, I'll give it a try