halimi 0 Posted January 21, 2008 Hello, This is my first posting of a picture here at WP and I'm really looking for lots of constructive criticism from you guys and girls here. The Denise's Pygmy Seahorse picture was taken at Angel's Window in Lembeh Straits during my last trip in December. The seahorse was a tad soft and was selectively sharpened in Photoshop. Some colour correction done as well. F/16 @ 1/250sec., ISO200, spot-metering, auto-WB. Nikon D70 + Nikkor 105mm Micro VR lense in Ikelite casing. 1 x Ikelite DS-125 strobe on TTL. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yahsemtough 0 Posted January 21, 2008 Very nice capture and welcome to Wetpixel. A couple of points that I see... IMHO The sharpening looks a little heavy on my screen, maybe back that down just a little bit. Compositionally it is always nice to get some good eye contact with the subject. Maybe a little more of an angle towards your viewer, very difficult to accomplish with this subject. Also if possible try some different angles for the shot. Shoot from both sides of the subject if the surroundings allow it. What you may find is you can get a black background which could give the shot a different look and help the subject also stand out more. Good job on a tough subject. Was this the one at about 90 feet? Cheers Todd Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
halimi 0 Posted January 21, 2008 (edited) Thanks a lot Todd. Yes, I do agree that it would be better to get the seahorse to face the camera a bit. Unfortunately, this was at 25 meters depth and I was diving on air so could not stay and wait for too long. Actually, a few times the seahorse even looked away, most likely due to my strobe I was hoping to be able to get a good, dark background on the subject but it didn't happen. I also didn't want to cause more distress to the little fella. Will keep your comments in mind the next time I do macro shots Edited January 21, 2008 by halimi Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jlyle 8 Posted January 21, 2008 Those d*mned pygmies! They are so small, DOF is so narrow, you can't find them in the viewfinder when looking through a macro lens, they look away... Those d*mned pygmies! Several years ago, a picture of one of these little guys would win any u/w photo contest it was entered in. The pygmy seahorses were thought to be rare. Nowadays, they seem to be everywhere and images are a dime-a-dozen. In one recent contest, the judges blatantly stated that they eliminated all pictures of pygmy seahorses from their consideration. There's a lot to be said for "rare." Rare or not, they are a b*tch to photograph. Those d*mned pygmies! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
halimi 0 Posted January 25, 2008 I agree. It was difficult for me to take this picture. My 105mm micro lens had a tough time to focus on the small seahorse. Many times the focus went to the sea-fan and not at the critter. The picture above was the best I could manage out of maybe 15 shots. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomR1 5 Posted February 15, 2008 I never did get one to face the camera. On my screen the sharpening looks a bit much. I would crop this image more. Tom Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
