Yellowfin Barracuda

[Mike Poole]

Not sure if a straight B&W conversion counts as a 'toned' image, but heres one anyway...

I did a few dives last week which immediately had me regretting selling my underwater gear, but the pennies only stretch so far! Still, it had me looking at some old files and this is one of a Yellowfin Barracuda taken in the same area I'd just been (Hurghada in Egypt). These are the smaller brother to the more often photographed Great Barracuda (this one was about 2 ft in length), and normally circle around in schools, but this one had a bit more nerve and came over to check us out.

Probably the hardest part of shooting Barracuda is the reflective nature of their scales, so when they're at an angle like this it's tough to balance the brightness of the head with still getting some light on the tail. Strobe light doesn't travel very far underwater and available light wasn't an option.

A bit tight in frame so I added a sliver more behind him in post.

Canon 7d in a Subal housing
60mm
ISO 200
1/160th f10
2 x inon z240 strobes

Mike

[Andrew McLachlan]

Beautiful and quite effective as a B&W image too...nicely done!!!

[Steve Kaluski]

Works well Mike and I think it does have a place in the Theme.

I think you could afford to loss some off the top and wonder if a little Luminosity masking may help some of the brighter elements here, likewise a tad more select USM?

TFS
Steve

[haseeb badar]

Hi Mike -- Perfect for the theme IMO ! very nicely done and i agree with Steves suggestion on the whites . All in all it is a nice conversion and looks very distinct .

TFS !

[Marc Mol]

Simplicity and framing at it's best here Mike great use of B&W as well with that black BG, agree on the lower jaw highlights reduction.

TFS

[Morkel Erasmus]

Hey Mike. B&W certainly fits the broad "toned" theme.
I like this, quite minimalistic, and agree with improvement suggestions given by Steve.

[keith mitchell]

Noticed the lower jaw after it was pointed out,that apart I would be thrilled to bits to get an underwater shot of this standard,well done Mike.

Keith.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Mike - this has a minimalist but spooky feel to it with the barracuda swimming out of the inky bg. Nice sharpness and I agree about the highlights but an easy fix. I can see a more pano version working as an alternative. Definitely a good theme image.

TFS,
Rachel

[Mike Poole]

Thanks for all the suggestions and comments. I'll take a look at a more pan type of crop.

You're all spot on regarding the lower jaw - unfortunately I don't have the RAW available to me at the moment so I worked this from a jpeg I produced a while back. As I said, they're a really reflective subject to work with, so when I can get the RAW back I'll see if theres anything I can do with it.

Thanks again.

Mike