RRRad

I think the DX-1G looks interesting and I'm thinking about carrying it together with my film SLR. Here is part of my blog post on the topic:

So what intrigues me about the DX-1G is that it looks promising as a second underwater camera that plugs some of the functionality gaps I have with my film SLR. So the question is why on earth would I not switch to a digital SLR housing.

You can read the full post here.

I love Mathieu's shot. Gorgeous animal.

But here is the thing... if I showed Mathieu's shot in one of my slideshows I know I'd be pulling out my laser pointer. I'd wait a bit, then you would hear one person whisper to another "look over there, see the eye?".

Good Hairy Frogfish shots are hard. Good artistic shots like Mathieu's are adored by other underwater photographers and fans of frogfish. My shot gets an immediate reaction from children (Eeeeeewwwwww!!!!!) but  I'm not happy with the image I captured compared to what I saw with my own eyes.

Why is that? Is it a depth of field thing with small critters with gobbly gook hanging off of them? Is it really good camouflage?

Oh boy, I didn't expect another species name to pop up. Well, with my untrained eye, Jeff's shots of Octopus siamensis and the various shots of Octopus mototi look like the same species.

I'm going with "Octopus siamensis or mototi" until we hopefully find something that describes the difference between the two.

Well they are are beautiful and very unique animals and I feel privileged to have seen one regardless of what we call it.

Sometimes a few quick and easy photoshop techniques can make a big difference. I spent about 30 seconds on your crab shot and did the following:

1) Levels: while holding Alt key, moved black slider to right slightly, and white slider to the left (without losing too much info... that is where the Alt key helps)

2) Saturation: increased to 15

3) Unsharp Mask: (local) Amount: 10, Radius: 20 - this brings out larger areas (10/50 for fullsize image)

4) Unsharp Mask: Amount: 80, Radius: 0.5 - more at the pixel level (80/1 for fullsize image)

It might be a bit oversharpened but it does pop more now I think.

 381092237_9f80aae6d7_RRRad.jpg   85.04K   117 downloads

I found the following short video clips, all from Lembeh Strait:

http://www.oceanfoot...1ae0405b5c9a0b3

I think the octopus in Okuma's shot is the same as what we see in the footage (and the same as what I saw... sorry, I haven't scanned my slides yet or I'd post it). The one I saw was quite relaxed and did not display the distinctive striped pattern shown in some of the videos. The following says the armspan reaches 50cm, which is about the size I remembered seeing, and some individuals have two ocelli on each side (the one in my image(s) has two, just checked):

http://www.environme...ent.pl?id=77080

I'd be willing to bet a drink or two that it is Octopus mototi or a very close facsimile. Mind you, I'd probably be happier losing the bet than winning :-)