MikeVeitch 0 Posted July 5, 2005 So i have been stuck shooting mostly video over the last few weeks but had a chance to take out the still yesterday and decided to bring the 105mm. Found a cooperative eel but i have taken a lot of eel photos over the years and thought i would see just how close i could get, well this is pretty close! very minimal DOF when it is pushed out to the limit you will see....i just love minimal DOF. Some people think it ruins a picture and that the eyes should be in focus. Personally i don't think its so necessary. Anyone else want to post some really limited DOF shots that work well? Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
frogmansub 0 Posted July 5, 2005 The eyes are definitely not in focus ! That's breaking the rules... and I love it ! You must have been pretty close. Did you get bit any bite marks on the lens port ? JP Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alex_Mustard 0 Posted July 5, 2005 Hi Mike, I also think that minimal DOF isn't used enough by UW photographers. It is definitely an area in which full frame photographers have an advantage over cropped sensor DSLRs and compact cameras. Like your shot. Uses the effect well. Alex Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shark8matt 0 Posted July 5, 2005 I have always liked this shot simply because only the head is in focus - down to the cirri above the eyes. This was shot in Galapagos with a Sony DSC-F717 in an Ike housing. (F/2.0) regards... - MP Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chilipino 0 Posted July 6, 2005 This one isn't nearly extreme as your moray shot (which is AWESOME, IMO), but here's one of a little (~1.5" long) corraline sculpin bookended by red algae in the front and an orange bat star in the rear. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeVeitch 0 Posted July 6, 2005 Thanks for the comments guys. Shockingly no bite marks on port but he/she was definitely curious and giving it a good sniff. Mike and Matt, nice examples as well. Both very cool looking fish. I especially like the sharp focus on the eyes of that sculpin. And of course neither is a fish id shot and that always makes for a more interesting photo. Surely others have some interesting shots of different uses of DOF? Bring em on Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kelpthrasher 0 Posted July 6, 2005 Sometimes your DOF is restricted by the conditions in which you are shooting. I wanted to get an ambient light shot of this Hilton's Aeolid in about 20ft of water. Because the water was quite surgy, I needed good shutter speed to keep the shot from blurring. I also knew that I would end up with a fairly shallow DOF; I focused on the orange band on its right rhinosphore and hoped for the best. This is the result. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chilipino 0 Posted July 6, 2005 Here's another of a Hermissenda Crassicornis. I wanted to blurr the rhinophores for a more extreme close-up feel. I'm not sure if that's the exact effect I got, however. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Merlinos 0 Posted July 7, 2005 I think it's the best way to make ur photo stronger...... and as I'm still shooting film (yes....yes....I'm working on it!!!) I tries quite often limited DOF, but it's very difficult to master the effect!! especially whith film !!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
herbko 0 Posted July 7, 2005 Since I was posting this on the macro thread, I thought I put it here as well. Canon 100mm macro, 1.4x TC , +2 diopter. Set to F/6.3 effictive aperture F/9. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chilipino 0 Posted July 7, 2005 Herb, that's one kick *ss shot! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
randapex 0 Posted July 7, 2005 I love Herb's shot as well. Here's a couple attempts: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CeeDave 0 Posted July 7, 2005 ... It is definitely an area in which full frame photographers have an advantage over cropped sensor DSLRs and compact cameras. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Um, why do you think that is, Alex...I know you have good reasons, and'd like to understand. Thanks, Chris Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeVeitch 0 Posted July 8, 2005 Great examples everyone. I really think the use of a nice tight DOF really makes a great bang to a macro photo. It makes the viewer really concentrate on the most important area of the photo and creates a stunning composition. I rarely put the 60mm on anymore and am shooting a ton of 105mm with different close up filters...pain in the butt on auto focus though...have to get that manual ring one of these days.. As for Alex's comment, i am not sure i agree. The cropped sensor on most digitals makes those long lenses longer and therefore makes the DOF even smaller. The ability to take many shots and save money on developing also allows people to try more options like close up filters without worrying about wasting too many shots on something that might not work (at least thats what i am doing) Rand: what is that fish? So ugly its cute.... Mike Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
randapex 0 Posted July 8, 2005 Mike, you've been gone too long. Very common in BC, not sure if it's a young Blackeyed goby or maybe a blackspot. Not too up on the Gobies names here. This one is from Barkley Sound. Rand Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeVeitch 0 Posted July 8, 2005 Ahh yes Rand you are correct, you see i have a small problem, if i enter water colder than 28C(80F) my brain instantly freezes and my memory turns to mush... Not even my D70 and new housing convinced me to enter those cold waters at home last year.... tested it in the bathtub instead! I'm getting the shivers just talking about it! And people give me a hard time about wearing my 7mm here, i keep telling them its all about keeping my mind sharp, no one believes it.. Ahh, confessions of a warm water wuss B) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Giles 1 Posted July 8, 2005 These are two of my fave shots .. i love taking piccies like this as Alex will attest to. Anyway I am showing 2 shots as the first is taken with an Olympus 3040 and the second with my Canon D60 ... It's how i started becoming familiar with the D60 underwater was to try techniques I already knew to work. I much prefer the greater effect I can get with the D60. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tom_Kline 143 Posted July 8, 2005 I was down south in B.C just over a month ago diving in Barkley Sound for some warm-water diving . It is all relative. It was 55 to 61 F, which is not very cold for a dry suit. Not cold at all. I have seen numerous much colder divers in the tropics, mainly due to using wetsuits and loss of direct sunlight (night, cloudy and rainy etc). There were lots of black-eyed gobies, or goby-wons (re. obi-won), as I jokingly refered to them. Here is a pair of shots done with an RS (still on film), Velvia, and a single SS200. Note less DOF but focus on pectoral and dorsal in closer shot, that was as close as I could get to a goby-won with the 50, before they would spook. Tom Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tom_Kline 143 Posted July 8, 2005 Red-lined the attachment space, here is the other shot. Tom Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest segal3 Posted July 8, 2005 Crisp minimalism in the Solomons... Took more than a single shot to get it just right... ~Matt Segal Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CeeDave 0 Posted July 8, 2005 I love the lighting, as well as the focus, in Rand's shots -- and the bizarreness and high-contrast pattern combined with limited DOF in Matts. Really gets me thinking. I am not in the same league, but I am going to play anyway. I'm just beginning to shoot macro underwater (soon to add the 105), but I like this little fellow that I already posted: And, okay, above water ... but the spider and web are, I think, nice examples of what I'd like to do with this DOF thing. Cheers, Chris Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikeVeitch 0 Posted July 9, 2005 Nice examples everyone, Matt i love how you got so much detail on the face of the pipefish, Chris for a self proclaimed beginner you have some fantastic examples, i love how the back ground is blurred out on the Damsel, and the spider is a beauty. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Matetes 0 Posted July 9, 2005 My contribution.... from my analogic times F-100, Nikon 105mm and .... honestly, I don't remember the settings. Cheers Matetes Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
