close iframe icon
approved icon faithkonidaris avatar
faithkonidaris
Under the Sea
Banner

Under the Sea



behind the lens badge

This beautiful stunning octopus was displaying its size and beauty.

This beautiful stunning octopus was displaying its size and beauty.
Read less
cameraCanon EOS 7D Mark II

settings Aperture f/4 ISO 3200 Shutter 1/200 Focal Length 24/1 

upload_dateMar, 2016

Views

10614

Likes

Awards

Zenith Award
Creative Winter Award
Curator's Selection
Top Shot Award 21
Winner in Under The Sea Photo Challenge
Contest Finalist in Underwater Textures Photo Contest
Member Selection Award
Featured
People's Choice in Animals of the Sea Photo Challenge
Spring Selection Award
Contest Finalist in Deep Blue Photo Contest
  View more
Peer Award
PhotosByJEM davidjprosser Tudorof daydreamsbymary0710 diegoscaglione ileanaandreagmezgavinoser billmartin_2615 +144
Absolute Masterpiece
immaculateboitymoreetsi AutumnBCrockford Techreation oceanphotography Suga belindafranks Kayleen_w +57
Top Choice
Pshenichnaya marcbowen yanyanramos Zealand borismonahov mink49 LeoInno +50
Superb Composition
alfredjulio Tarekbunni Melsanger berenicedp21 2424_8834 gianlucacucco dhawalsharma +46
Outstanding Creativity
jennamilne2005 ericojerholm egk9002 jwelldez elanstudio Mgmaier pachrawadeenoksang +26
Magnificent Capture
danilobattisti micheledeadwyler ilachandel alanpeterson timothyporter rickwilkinson_3800 cyndigaithercagle +11
All Star
EyeoftheLens SueClarkPhoto danalouwho Bishoop mdwaheed lynneladyhawkemoore wolfgirlhowling +2
Superior Skill
cynthialesley Bextah_stjohn Kenwaxman mcampi EJEJ TheTravellingPhotographer AnimalArchives +1
Genius
TMMullaly
Virtuoso
Mary18

Top Ranks

All About Water Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Change Of Seasons Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Change Of Seasons Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
The Wonders of the World Photo ContestTop 10 rank
The Wonders of the World Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
View more
ViewBug Photography Awards 2018Top 10 rank
ViewBug Photography Awards 2018Top 10 rank week 2
ViewBug Photography Awards 2018Top 10 rank week 1
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 6Top 20 rank
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 6Top 20 rank week 1
Celebrating Nature Photo Contest Vol 5Top 10 rank
Celebrating Nature Photo Contest Vol 5Top 10 rank week 1
Colossal Wildlife Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Colossal Wildlife Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
World Photography Day Photo Contest 2018Top 10 rank
World Photography Day Photo Contest 2018Top 10 rank week 2
World Photography Day Photo Contest 2018Top 10 rank week 1
Wildlife And Water Photo ContestTop 20 rank
It Is Red Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Fill The Frame Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Everything Nature Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Everything Nature Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
ViewBug Photography AwardsTop 10 rank
ViewBug Photography AwardsTop 10 rank week 1
Celebrating Nature Photo Contest Vol 3Top 10 rank
Celebrating Nature Photo Contest Vol 3Top 10 rank week 2
Celebrating Nature Photo Contest Vol 3Top 10 rank week 1
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 3Top 20 rank
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 3Top 20 rank week 2
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 3Top 10 rank week 1
Wildlife Photo Contest 2017Top 10 rank
Wildlife Photo Contest 2017Top 10 rank week 1
World Photography Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank
World Photography Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
World Photography Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
The Marine Wildlife Photo ContestTop 10 rank
The Marine Wildlife Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Underwater Textures Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Underwater Textures Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
Underwater Textures Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Water Photo Contest 2017Top 10 rank
Water Photo Contest 2017Top 10 rank week 1
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 2Top 10 rank
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 2Top 10 rank week 2
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 2Top 10 rank week 1
Isolating The Subject Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Textures In Animals Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Textures In Animals Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
The Animal Kingdom Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Textures In Animals Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
We Love Animals Photo ContestTop 10 rank
I Love Photography Photo ContestTop 20 rank
I Love Photography Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
We Love Animals Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Powerful Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Powerful Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 2
Powerful Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Image of the Year Photo Contest 2016Top 10 rank
Image of the Year Photo Contest 2016Top 10 rank week 1
Happening At The Zoo Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Happening At The Zoo Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Underwater Games Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Underwater Games Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 3
Social Exposure Photo Contest Vol 6Top 20 rank
Social Exposure Photo Contest Vol 6Top 20 rank week 2
Underwater Games Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
ViewBug HQ Photo Contest 2016Top 30 rank
Our Natural World Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Our Natural World Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Social Exposure Photo Contest Vol 6Top 20 rank week 1
Underwater Games Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 1Top 10 rank
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 1Top 10 rank week 2
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 1Top 10 rank week 1
Clash Of The Pros Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Clash Of The Pros Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 2
Clash Of The Pros Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Freshmen 2016 Photo Contest Vol 2Top 10 rank
Freshmen 2016 Photo Contest Vol 2Top 10 rank week 2
Living Creatures Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 2
Living Creatures Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 1
A World Of Red Photo ContestTop 20 rank
A World Of Red Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
On The Wild Side Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 2
On The Wild Side Photo ContestTop 30 rank week 1
Monthly Pro Vol 22 Photo ContestTop 30 rank
Monthly Pro Vol 22 Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Animal Kingdom Photo Contest Vol 1Top 20 rank
Animal Kingdom Photo Contest Vol 1Top 20 rank week 2
Animal Kingdom Photo Contest Vol 1Top 20 rank week 1
Freshmen 2016 Photo ContestTop 30 rank
Deep Blue Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Deep Blue Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1

Categories

6 Comments |
peterbowes
 
peterbowes April 24, 2016
Join the conversation. Add a comment or even better, a critique. Let's get better together!
peterbowes
 
peterbowes April 24, 2016
Fantastic shot, reminded me of Jules Vern's 20,000 leages under the sea
Robinsegg
 
Robinsegg May 25, 2016
Awe-inspiring!
KatieMcKinneyPhotography
 
KatieMcKinneyPhotography June 06, 2016
Congrats on winning peoples choice in my "Animals of the Sea" challenge! What an awesome capture, enjoy your new award. Well deserved!
ronggonmjronggonmj
 
ronggonmjronggonmj November 28, 2016
wow nice shot
Mary18
 
Mary18 August 06, 2017
Congratulations on winning my Under The Sea photo challenge! I really liked this photo because of the complexity and number of things that had to come into play for this photo to work. Which you totally pulled off! There is a lot of detail in this image, and the colors of the octopus came out beautifully. It hardly even looks real! Congrats again, I hope to see more like this from you in the future!

Submitted to Photo Contests

Tags

#ocean #octopus #sea #underwater
See all

Behind The Lens

Location

This photo was taken at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. Sometimes the best photos are right in your own backyard. I don't have the means or time to travel much, so trips to the zoo are always my stop for great photographic opportunities and testing new camera gear.

Time

This was shot indoors through glass. Over the fifty plus trips I've made to the zoo in my lifetime, I've only seen the octopus there a total of four times. Usually hidden, the tank normally looks empty.

Lighting

Due to the nature of the animals sensitivity to light, this section of the aquarium is very dark with no flash or bright lights allowed. I increased my ISO to capture this photo and trying to shoot through glass without capturing reflections of myself or those around me proved to be difficult, but waiting patiently and angling my lens correctly to avoid as much glare as possible proved to work.

Equipment

This was shot handheld on a Canon 7D Mark ii with a Canon 24-105 f/4 L. No flashes or filters were used.

Inspiration

This graceful creature took my breath as it moved about the aquarium in search of either food or a new hiding spot. Having only seen it a few times before on trips to the zoo, I almost didn't get a picture as I couldn't stop watching it. The grace that it moved in, so smooth and fluid was mesmerizing. I managed to get several photos as I tried to move around the throngs of people also trying to catch a glimpse.

Editing

There was minor post processing as far as increasing the sharpness and enhancing the colors of the octopus.

In my camera bag

I've always been a Canon shooter and have recently upgraded to my Canon 7D Mark ii. In addition to my Canon 24-105 f/4L, I carry a Canon 70-200 f/4L and Canon 50mm 1.4 USM, and a Tamron 16-300 f/3.5-6.3 aid ii VC PZD MACRO. I do not use flashes and occasionally use a tripod for landscape work. I also carry about 4-5 spare batteries, tons of memory cards, a blower brush, and microfiber cloths as well.

Feedback

Patience and always be ready are good pieces of advice. You never know when a great opportunity will present itself or where. If you're not able to travel for fantastic shots, trips to your local zoos, museums, gardens, parks can prove to have challenging and interesting photo experiences. For me, the zoo will always be my favorite spot to go as the lighting is always changing, the animals are usually moving, there's objects to contend with (i.e. people, fencing, etc) and it's just a fun trip out. I've stood outside some of the exhibits for great lengths of time waiting for the animals to do something different so that I can capture a more unique photo or for the animals to move to a different position that would provide a better photo. I experiment with different settings often and make note of which settings worked for which scenarios.

See more amazing photos, follow faithkonidaris

User photo
It’s your time to shine! ☀️

Share photos. Enter contests to win great prizes.
Earn coins, get amazing rewards. Join for free.

Already a member? Log In

By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service, and acknowledge you've read our Privacy Policy Notice.