Common Dolphin

[Mike Poole]

Just got back from Egypt, so managed to get the camera under the waves again!

I took a trip to a location called 'Sha'ab el erg' just east of Hurghada. There are 3 main sites on the reef, but the only one I was interested in was the 'Dolphin House' site where a pod of wild dolphins live. I got myself a private guide so I could do as I pleased throughout the day and did all 3 dives in a channel by Dolphin House.

First dive I had 2 close passes but the snorkel boats were out in force so the dolphins didn't hang around for more than a few seconds. Second dive I struck out, then on the 3rd dive I insisted on staying in the same area. Unfortunately, the rest of the divers on the boat got wind of what we were up to and kept within sight of me, and when I found 3 dolphins for what turned out to be a superb 15 minute encounter, they were on top of me almost straight away and all decorum went right out of the window, camera and strobes getting knocked about, swimming into my shot without looking where I was and most of my close passes which I'd worked hard for had errant divers in them.

This is one of those shots, and I've had to evict a diver from behind the dolphin.

Great experience, but frustrating to put the work in then lose 80% of the opportunities I should have had - I'm sure plenty on here will have similar stories from somewhere.

Canon 1dx in a Nauticam housing.
Sigma 15mm fisheye
2 x Sea and sea YS-D1 strobes
ISO 400
1/250th f14

Mike

[John Mack]

Too cool a frame here. I love seeing your underwater images.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Mike - Well all of your frustrations certainly don't show in the image. I love dolphins. They really have personality and you have conveyed that well in the image. For me, this is one of your best. The dof works well. You can see detail on the face and the blue bg looks natural. Well done and looking forward to more.

TFS,
Rachel

[William Dickson]

Looking real good Mike. I showed my grandson, and he immediately said 'Deepsea World'. Its a place nearby built into tunnels, under the sea, where you walk through a 'glass tube' to watch the fish. I was there with him earlier this month I love the position of the dolphin, it gives so much depth to the image. Beautiful details and colours throughout. A winner for sure.

Will

[Glenn Pure]

Wonderful frame Mike. I'm impressed by anyone who can take a good photo in those conditions, especially with the other divers pushing in. I like the feel of the dolphin moving out of the darkness and the wonderful gradient of colour to the top left of the frame. The moment of capture is great too showing off the dolphin really well. An excellent result. Always a pleasure to see something different.

[haseeb badar]

Hi Mike -- I agree with Rachel , this is one of your finest which i have seen. Beautifully done. Loved the details and the framing . Beautiful colours as well . Loved it . TFS !

[Andreas Liedmann]

Oooooh Mike great stuff !!!!
Bummer about the colleagues ....
Love the overall look and feel of the image , the turn of the dolphin is great and is adding some dynamic to the frame.
Not sure about the colors ....even if looking realistic i might work on the sand and rocks/corals. Think the dolphin could stand a bit more local contrast and sharpening for making him more pop ?
How does the red sea look like ? I have read that after some years with low tourism the reefs has recovered quite well ....how was your impression ?

TFS Andreas

[Mike Poole]

Oooooh Mike great stuff !!!!
Bummer about the colleagues ....
Love the overall look and feel of the image , the turn of the dolphin is great and is adding some dynamic to the frame.
Not sure about the colors ....even if looking realistic i might work on the sand and rocks/corals. Think the dolphin could stand a bit more local contrast and sharpening for making him more pop ?
How does the red sea look like ? I have read that after some years with low tourism the reefs has recovered quite well ....how was your impression ?

TFS Andreas

Thanks Andreas,

I've tried playing with another version where I've taken some of the colour out of the dolphin and the sand - in fact its where I pretty much started but I left some of the cyan in for a natural look. At this distance, there won't be too much colour in the coral as the depth (about 14 metres) will have robbed most of the natural light and the coral is too far away from the strobes for them to be effective. I might have a further play though to see if I can keep it looking natural.

Its about 4 years since I dived at the same reefs, but I was impressed with the regeneration, so maybe the lower numbers are really helping the coral. It'll be really interesting to get back to Sharm once its accessible again, and the reefs there will have had a few years with very very few divers and that can only be a good thing for the ecosystem, as some of the classics there were starting to look very tired.

Stand by for more underwater shots!

Mike

[Mike Poole]

Oooooh Mike great stuff !!!!
Bummer about the colleagues ....
Love the overall look and feel of the image , the turn of the dolphin is great and is adding some dynamic to the frame.
Not sure about the colors ....even if looking realistic i might work on the sand and rocks/corals. Think the dolphin could stand a bit more local contrast and sharpening for making him more pop ?
How does the red sea look like ? I have read that after some years with low tourism the reefs has recovered quite well ....how was your impression ?

TFS Andreas

Had another play and went a little further with the colours in the BG and took away some cyan from the dolphin, WDYT? The blue has suffered a little from the compression but its not there in the original.



Mike

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Mike looks better to me ....

Here is a version , done very roughly ...just a demo , please do not look too carefully and went bit overboard ......however

Cheers Andreas