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Great shots!
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Very awesome!!!
ficklefins
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Are you running T5s on that tank? Your blues are spectacular!
gonewild34
Active Member
very nice joe what is the name of that chalice
sailfish
Active Member
Thanks Guys!
The chalice is a no name I got from a local he has had for years.
FikleFins I do not run any supplementation I do run 20k 400w Helios bulbs. I got these zoas from Crazy ricks and they have held there blue for months now unlike many other blues I have purchased in the past. I think I have wasted $200 on wild blue colonies that turn gray after a month. I do have a wild colony of blue palys that are nice as well as a samll frag of the tiny blue tubs zoas. The Tubs are nice but very small polyps.
Joe
The chalice is a no name I got from a local he has had for years.
FikleFins I do not run any supplementation I do run 20k 400w Helios bulbs. I got these zoas from Crazy ricks and they have held there blue for months now unlike many other blues I have purchased in the past. I think I have wasted $200 on wild blue colonies that turn gray after a month. I do have a wild colony of blue palys that are nice as well as a samll frag of the tiny blue tubs zoas. The Tubs are nice but very small polyps.
Joe
Joe, you're right in the ballgame with these, particularly the last grouping. Assuming you're shooting RAW, when you make Levels adjustments, try opening up the mid range using the mid-range slider. Then try opening your shadows a bit more using the shadow/highlight tool. The images lean toward the dark side and just need to be brightened up a bit.
Also, it looks like they could stand a bit more sharpness. If you're not sharpening, add it to your processing. If you're sharpening, more will help. If you have Photoshop CS3 or 4, use Smart Sharpening with your radius at 1 and the setting at Lens Blur. Start at 150.
On this one, you are a stop underexposed, which is OK. Since the colony is generally a fairly narrow color range, you probably could have gone with a shot at what the camera meter said was the proper exposure. Either way, it works.
I did an auto levels adjustment and then opened the mid-range a bit with the mid-range levels slider. I then opened shadows by 10 units and brought down highlights by 10 units and added 15 units of midtone contrast. Sharpening was 150. This opens up the polyps so we can see some details and brings out the sharpening in the skirts. You'll get better results working with the RAW file.
You're making terrific progress. Keep working at it.
Gary
Also, it looks like they could stand a bit more sharpness. If you're not sharpening, add it to your processing. If you're sharpening, more will help. If you have Photoshop CS3 or 4, use Smart Sharpening with your radius at 1 and the setting at Lens Blur. Start at 150.
On this one, you are a stop underexposed, which is OK. Since the colony is generally a fairly narrow color range, you probably could have gone with a shot at what the camera meter said was the proper exposure. Either way, it works.
I did an auto levels adjustment and then opened the mid-range a bit with the mid-range levels slider. I then opened shadows by 10 units and brought down highlights by 10 units and added 15 units of midtone contrast. Sharpening was 150. This opens up the polyps so we can see some details and brings out the sharpening in the skirts. You'll get better results working with the RAW file.
You're making terrific progress. Keep working at it.
Gary
sailfish
Active Member
Yes I am shooting and editing in raw but have not gotten the sharping down. I want more but seems to be to much or not enough. I feel I am getting better each time.
I do have a question for you should I use manual or aperture priority? It seems sometimes in manual that I have to be like 5 stops below normal exposer to get some bright enough. I know part of the reason is my aperture is set so high (22) but feel like I must be doing something else wrong am I?
Thanks for the tips Gary!
I do have a question for you should I use manual or aperture priority? It seems sometimes in manual that I have to be like 5 stops below normal exposer to get some bright enough. I know part of the reason is my aperture is set so high (22) but feel like I must be doing something else wrong am I?
Thanks for the tips Gary!
I usually use ISO 400 and shoot in manual. The f/22 aperture is OK for these types of shots. Set your aperture at f/22 and push your shutter button half way down to get a meter reading. Then adjust your shutter speed so the meter needle is at +1. Take a picture at that setting, i.e., one stop overexposed. Then adjust the shutter to a meter reading of zero and take that photo. Then -1 for a third photo. That will give you a bracket of three images. Choose the one that is the best exposure of the three.
Make sure exposure compensation is at zero and spot or center-weighted metering. This will make sure your meter is reading the exposure for the corals, not something in the background.
Gary
Make sure exposure compensation is at zero and spot or center-weighted metering. This will make sure your meter is reading the exposure for the corals, not something in the background.
Gary
sailfish
Active Member
I was doing what you suggested but sometimes the picture is still to dark so I would go as far as 3 to 4 stops below what the meter says to get them to be bright enough. Not these pictures necessarily but others. I short the pictures above with an ISO of ether 400 or 100.
I will have to read up on the exposure compensation and spot or center weighted metering.
Thanks Joe
I will have to read up on the exposure compensation and spot or center weighted metering.
Thanks Joe
Iso 100 manual with a tripod... Use a remote to trigger the shutter! F 14 top down, F 22 thru glass or more... Really depends on the shape of the coral you are shooting and the angle of the shot. Find what works for you and go with it.
Gparr and Junior are good guys to follow on this board, they shoot some awesome pics!
Are you shooting a canon? What lens and body?
When you are accomplished at shooting and processing sharp pics try some focus stacking programs like Helicon focus (30 days free) for fun! Shoot in manual focus with lots of small focus adjustments then compile the images with the program.
Gparr and Junior are good guys to follow on this board, they shoot some awesome pics!
Are you shooting a canon? What lens and body?
When you are accomplished at shooting and processing sharp pics try some focus stacking programs like Helicon focus (30 days free) for fun! Shoot in manual focus with lots of small focus adjustments then compile the images with the program.
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