26 replies to this topic

[Nakedwithoutcamera]

There's only 1 more competition in this category and I'm currently in 3rd place separated from the leader by only 2 points!

I'm not sure which way the nudi should be facing, and also if the red background is too distracting.





I can enter 3 more in this category and when I find the ones I want to enter and fix them up, I'll be asking for more opinions. I tied for first place last year in Beginners category for Pictorial and came in 3rd for Beginner in Nature. I missed the first nature competition so was 4 images short of the 1st and 2nd place winners. If I could come in first this year, (I'm in Advanced group now) that would be SWEET! Any help would be most appreciatated.

[jlyle]

First off, it's not a nudibranch, it's a flatworm. Personally, I like the left-facing image better. The red background makes the image more interesting.

[Steve Williams]

Howdy,
Thats a tough image to expose properly. Is this your above water camera club? If they are picky they may find fault with the lack of detail in the black areas and complain about the upper white area being washed out. (Our land lubber friends are always doing that) You might want to try cropping it a little to lessen this sort of blah areas in the corners.
Is the edge of the aft fringe of the flatworm really blue or is that some chromatic aberration showing up? Do you think your judges would mark you down for that?

How much processing is allowed in the competition? Can you play with it in Photoshop?

Steve

[Scubamoose]

Hi there!
Personally I like more the one facing left.

And Steve, the fringe shows white on my screen, sure that You'r screen is calibrated

Cheers
Scubamoose

[ralphy]

Hi there!
Personally I like more the one facing left.

And Steve, the fringe shows white on my screen, sure that You'r screen is calibrated

Cheers
Scubamoose

I can see blue on the fringing in the second pic, bottom left.

Q for the OP; what is the category?


R

[Scubamoose]

I can see blue on the fringing in the second pic, bottom left.

Waahhh... ques it's my screen then

But I think the red isn't a problem on this pic. Maybe as Steve pointed out the upper white area being washed out, or that the picture is taken a little bit from a bird view angle and lack's 3D dimension...??

Cheers,
Scubamoose

[Nakedwithoutcamera]

Yes, it's an above water camera club and judges generally don't appreciate uw critters. Except the last judge. I scored on 3 uw shots in the last Nature competition.

The category is Nature so that means "no hand of man" can be visible. I can clean up stuff and fix hot spots and stuff, but you can't manipulate like putting the flat worm (thanks Jim ) on a different background.

So now I'm wondering about the lack of detail in the black. I don't even remember it having detail. Does anyone have a better image that will show me just how much mine really does suck?

I found this image online while searching for a better image that I think is the same flatworm (though I'm sure someone will correct me). Is this a good image? Doesn't look like there is detail in the black on this one so I'm not sure if getting detail in the black is a deal breaker or not. Also, thanks for noticing the hot spot in the corner. Totally didn't see that.

Edited by Nakedwithoutcamera, 18 December 2008 - 06:25 AM.

[Steve Williams]

Hey Moose if you save a copy of the pic and zoom in on the white fringe I'll bet you see a blue edge to it. .

Sorry to confuse you with my "Lack of detail" comment. In the photo sites I visit and talking to my photography friends they are always talking about getting detail in the shadows. I'm just quessing that the judges in your club wouldn't know that the flatworm was in reality just like you captured it (not underexposed) and they could mark you down due to their lack of knowledge of the subject. I was remembering your comments in the past about how the judges in your club sometimes don't appreciate the underwater images you've submitted. It sound like with your great scores this year your winning them over.

Good luck!
Steve

[Nakedwithoutcamera]

Hey Moose if you save a copy of the pic and zoom in on the white fringe I'll bet you see a blue edge to it.

I sure don't see it. I've been looking and looking...I guess I'm blind.

I'm just quessing that the judges in your club wouldn't know that the flatworm was in reality just like you captured it (not underexposed) and they could mark you down due to their lack of knowledge of the subject. I was remembering your comments in the past about how the judges in your club sometimes don't appreciate the underwater images you've submitted.

You're probably right about that.

It sound like with your great scores this year your winning them over.

Yeah. I had a great competition in November. I guess I lucked out with an open minded judge. I try to think of titles that convey the subject so they'll understand. like "hammerhead at 80 feet" or something like that.

Good luck!
Steve

thanks.

[Scubamoose]

Hey Moose if you save a copy of the pic and zoom in on the white fringe I'll bet you see a blue edge to it. .

Nope... still seems white to me But luckly this really isn't very important...

Godspeed Nakedwithoutcamera and be sure to keep us posted about the outcome

Scubamoose

[Steve Williams]

You guys really don't see the blue fringe?


I'd say that maybe I'm loosing it but that's already a foregone conclusion.

Steve

[Scubamoose]

You guys really don't see the blue fringe?

Ou yeah...
Well I don't consider myself as poor-eyesighted, but Steve, You could be a brainsurgeon!!
There really is a blue line with thickness one micrometer (or less)
Cheers
Scubamoose

[ce4jesus]

Yeah its there but I think that's there on almost every white on dark background if you look in the shadier areas. I just tend to think that flatworms generally aren't that sexy even for topsiders. Sometimes an unusually colored nudi or a super macro might win the day. Fish pics ala nemo usually go a long ways. Just my two cents.

[Nakedwithoutcamera]

You're probably right Gary. I'm letting my love for them cloud my judgment. However, this nudi did score an 8 out of a possible 9 last month. Maybe it was a fluke. I'll look for some nemo shots. I do have a really cool moray looking straight at the camera with his mouth open, too.

[Nakedwithoutcamera]

You guys really don't see the blue fringe?

Well, when you put it like that...

[ce4jesus]

No fluke. I like that shot a lot more than the flat worm. Some nudi's are just stars

[Nakedwithoutcamera]

How about these for my landlubber camera club Nature competition? I added a bird from Galapagos for the judge who I know is a big bird freak.

[Steve Williams]

Oh Ellen, if we pick the wrong one then you'll blame us, too much pressure. I have to tell you though that all three U/W shots look great to me. No matter how it turns out, you get my vote for club champion, hands down. (The anemone fish with the great negative space is a superb image)

Good luck,
Steve

[tdpriest]

I'd definitely go with the anemone-fish. I'm not sure about the moray, but the box-fish is very appealing, too. Have you got anything big or imposing, like a shark? Your bird is a bit static, and I'm not sure about that in competition with another photographer who has a bird in flight, or more obviously behaving.

Of course, there's no credit for the technical difficulties of exposure, framing and strobe illumination underwater, but what about an image with dramatic lighting?

Good luck!

Tim



PS If worms impress, you have some very enlightened judges!

[Nakedwithoutcamera]

Gee. Thanks for the compliments on the anemone fish. I always had my doubts about that shot. There are so many that I've seen that are so much better that I really kind of just passed over that shot every time I looked at it. Unfortunately, I don't have any really good shark shots, or nice wide angles. But I'll keep looking. Thanks for the suggestions. And no, Steve, I will not blame anyone for my crappy showing.

Maybe I just have too many close ups. You're right about the frigate. But he is kind of rare. Not too many people enter frigates. And he was so far away and hidden in the trees. It was the best shot I could get from the path in Galapagos. But judges don't really care about that stuff, do they?

Thanks again for your feedback. It really helps tremendously.