New Macro Shots

[GreenLincoln]

I was bored today so I thot I'd share more macro shots. Click on the link and use password "greenlincoln". Enjoy!

http://www.photoisland.com/servlet/G...E=greenlincoln

[organicreefer]

thats an awesome pic

[organicreefer]

nice pics greenlincoln,are you a proffesional photographer or what;;

[Reefland]

So how'd you get the black background?

Again, very nice!
Scott

[Reinhold]

I'm interested in some of the technical details: shutter speeds, lighting, type of camera, etc. Are you using PhotoShop or some other program?

[GreenLincoln]

Hi everyone, thanks for all the nice compliments. Taking pics of the tank and developing them to the web is one of my favorite things to do, and it is sooooo much more rewarding when I can share them with other reefers!!!

No I am NOT a professional photographer, he he. My tank sits out in the middle of the room, so it can be photographed from all sides (not so much the ends because I don't scrape the algae much there anymore). But I can shoot from the front or back, and I usually wait until late afternoon so the sun's rays are dimmer in the room. Waiting until sundown is better, but I usually cannot wait that long. My point is that I try to shoot so that the corals will have a background against which to CONTRAST. Otherwise, you end up with a very busy photo instead of the eye being drawn directly to your subject. Waiting until the natural light coming into the tank is dim allows the camera to only absorb the light from the tank (which sometimes can be a little harsh when shooting corals that are at the top of the tank, such as the photo below). I do not use a flash.

The camera I'm using is a Sona Mavica FD-83. It has no macro lens, but I finally figured out that by using 1216X912 pixel adjustment, photos are much more finely detailed (and you can downsize them without loss of quality for web loading). The camera came with ArcSoft Photo Studio 2.0, but just yesterday I downloaded ArcSoft Photo Studio 2000 for free (trial) from http://www.arcsoft.com. The only adjustments I made to photos are to add contrast (which darkens up the background and shadows), to sharpen if needed, and occasionally, I use the "saturation" feature, which makes the photo more intense without changing the original color. This is only needed if the lights from the tank are so bright it washes out the coral's color. And lately, I've started using layers to add my signature, because I guess there are some folks who steal your work off the internet and claim it as their own).

Sorry such a long post ;; , but I hope this helps those of you who have a passion for photographing your corals as I do. Here's another shot I got last night. Have a great Sunday all.