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Thread: Clownfish in green anemone

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    Lifetime Member Mike Poole's Avatar
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    Default Clownfish in green anemone

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    It's always nice to find an anemonenfish in a brightly coloured host, so when I found this green tentacled anemone I had to spend a few minutes playing with its resident.

    I normally pay extra for my own dive guide so I can spend as much time as I want with a given subject, but with this dive operation the price was exorbitant, so I stayed with the main group - apart from this dive, where a divemaster in training needed to log some extra hours and I was only too happy to team up on the condition she would wait around the interesting subjects!

    Canon 7d in a subal housing
    60mm macro
    ISO 100
    1/250th f4.5
    2 x inon z240 strobes

    Thanks for all previous help

    Mike

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    Really a wonderful image, Mike! The anenome and clownfish are wonderfully exposed. Love the composition. And the 2nd clownish in hiding. It does seem a little over exposed.

    But what do I know. Here is a repost with just a curves adjustment and a little more sharpening on the clownfish. Of course, this is your image and your concept of presentation.

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Hi Mike - Another nice underwater image. I really like the comp here and the second clownfish peeking out. The op looks very light and a bit flat to me. Looks like the strob was a bit stronger. I did a rp before I realized Karen had done one. It's along the same lines. I did a lumo mask to the highlights all channels and then another one just to the blue channel. Then I did a curves adjustment pulling down the darks and midtones more than the highlights. Finally I added a little more sharpening. I realize this may have gone too far but it's easier to show the changes and suggested direction by being a little heavy handed sometimes. I think my version also still looks flashed but I'm not sure how to avoid that in this circumstance.

    TFS,
    Rachel

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    Lifetime Member Mike Poole's Avatar
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    Karen / Rachel,

    thanks for your reposts, certainly food for thought.

    It raises an interesting question for me, in that the colours and overall look of the 2 RP's are nicer to view, I'm happy to concede that. However, there are many species of both anemones and anemonefish, and in this instance the colours in the OP, although maybe looking a little washed out are more accurate. So do we go for an accurate rendition or a photograph that looks good but is not reality?

    I'm not trying to put down either of you, so please don't take it the wrong way, it's just something I need to decide on.

    Thanks again for your time and efforts,they are genuinely appreciated

    regards

    Mike

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Poole View Post
    Karen / Rachel,

    thanks for your reposts, certainly food for thought.

    It raises an interesting question for me, in that the colours and overall look of the 2 RP's are nicer to view, I'm happy to concede that. However, there are many species of both anemones and anemonefish, and in this instance the colours in the OP, although maybe looking a little washed out are more accurate. So do we go for an accurate rendition or a photograph that looks good but is not reality?

    I'm not trying to put down either of you, so please don't take it the wrong way, it's just something I need to decide on.

    Thanks again for your time and efforts,they are genuinely appreciated

    regards

    Mike
    Good point. I have seen quite a few varieties of anenome (inlcuding the green variety) and clownfish when diving in Papua New Guinea. At the time I had a manual focus, manual exposure underwater camera but I did have dual strobes. They do certainly vary the color intensity. I found that I had to dial back the flash quite a bit so that I just illuminated the subjects while still conveying the limited light available once you get below about 30'.

    It was this experience I used when viewing this image. I went to your website and you have many excellent underwater images. You were there and know what you are trying to convey in this image. That is, in the end, all that matters.
    Last edited by Karen Pleasant; 07-19-2015 at 05:07 PM.

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    Lifetime Member Rachel Hollander's Avatar
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    Hi Mike - It's a question that every photographer has to resolve for themselves and often it comes in varying degrees, how much contrast, saturation or vibrance to add, whether to clone, whether to flip an image, etc. It's my understanding from doing very limited underwater photography as well as diving that the intensity of the colors also can vary greatly due to the depth of the water and the amount of light. My feeling was just that it looked like a fair amount of artificial light had been introduced which seemed to wash out the scene and my personal recollection of the clownfish I've seen. As Karen said, you were there so would be the best judge.

    Cheers,
    Rachel

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    A lovely composition here, Mike, and some gorgeous colours and textures.
    I hear what you are saying about having been there and trying to stick to the true colours as you remember them. I have often battled for that point here on the forum.
    As a layman when it comes to underwater photography, I would have to say that if I saw the OP and one of the reposts side-by-side in a magazine, I would gravitate to the reposts as they just draw the eye better. It's certainly a fine line...
    Morkel Erasmus

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    Lifetime Member Mike Poole's Avatar
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    Thanks for all the comments, a lot of food for thought to digest

    Mike

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    Hi Mike -- very nice image and i liked both the versions ! you already have got suggestions but one thing i would like to add on your Query
    " It raises an interesting question for me, in that the colours and overall look of the 2 RP's are nicer to view, I'm happy to concede that. However, there are many species of both anemones and anemonefish, and in this instance the colours in the OP, although maybe looking a little washed out are more accurate. So do we go for an accurate rendition or a photograph that looks good but is not reality? "
    I think it depends where or for for what purpose u r going to use the photograph , a magazine might prefer the RP here and a contest might ask for minimal PP version , or u in person would like to highlight different morphs of the specie and use ur OP for that purpose . So nothing can be termed as wrong or right and it rather depends on the use or purpose for which the photograph is going to be used.

    TFS!!

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    Story Sequences Moderator and Wildlife Moderator Gabriela Plesea's Avatar
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    Awesome capture, Mike:)

    Somehow I do prefer the vibrant look of both RP's but I admit I have never done any underwater photography myself and therefore I leave it up to you to decide how far you wish to go with the PP work in terms of colours and vibrance:)

    I love the subject as presented as well as the vegetation around, this is one lovely frame depicting the subject in its environment, well exposed overall although I am not quite sure about the white line behind the eye which looks a tad hot to me...

    I like the composition and the inclusion of the other - less visible - fellow in the background, which adds an element of interest to the whole scene.

    It must be quite an experience seeing and capturing life in such unusual conditions... I know so little about underwater photography and this truly arouses my curiosity...I imagine you as a diver/photographer penetrating the soft scarlet waves and plunging into those still waters beneath, a beautiful scene in front of your eyes, the emerald of the sea, it is all windless and sunless down there and you must have had a desire to possess the unusual landscape and the creatures in it...well, you did great capturing this clownfish among the colourful anemones, a very attractive image and I congratulate you - I find this very refreshing and exciting

    Kind regards,
    Gabriela Plesea

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