The picture was taken during cave diving in Yucatan, Mexico, 2017.
The picture was taken during cave diving in Yucatan, Mexico, 2017.
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Contest Finalist in Notes of Blue Photo Contest
Top Shot Award 22
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Contest Finalist in The Shades Of Blue Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Covers Photo Contest Vol 50
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in the Escondido cave (Mayan Blue) in Yucatan, Mexico during a dive with my very good friend and buddy David Dusek (You can see him on the photo :-).Time
There is absolute darkness in the caves, so there is no need to wait for some time of day and the right light, like shooting the landscape. This photo was taken during the day, 28 November 2017 at 12.55 am, using five flashes.Lighting
A good solution for lighting is the use of external flashes (backlighting) and the reduction of lightning on the case.Equipment
I used the Sony alpha 7 R II camera with the Sony FE 16-35mm f/4 ZA OSS lens, the Sea & Sea MDX-?7 II case, the Fisheye Dome Port 240 with accessories and five flash units (2 x Sea & Sea YS-110a on the case and the external Sea & 1 x YS-D2 and 2 x YS-D1 with 3 triggers).Inspiration
There are hundreds of kilometres of caves in Yucatan. I like to dive and photograph there because their beauty is really amazing. Imagine: in diving, you are underwater balancing, that is, in a stateless weight, and you "fly" between a beautiful decoration, between stalagmites, stalagmites and other shapes. And when you shine around you, you see the different colors of this decoration. Because you only have your light, everything is a bit mysterious. That's why I like to take pictures in caves and try to show this beauty to others.Editing
Yes, many edits have been made to this photo. As opposed to a photo taken over water, photos taken under water generally require much more adjustments, especially in the area of ??color balance. Without adjustments, everything in the foreground would be unnaturally red. Underwater photography with simultaneous shots at smaller and larger distances is characterized by the fact, that the water gradually filters light by wavelength. After about 5 m of water disappears red light, then orange and so the individual rainbow colors disappear until the color remains blue. Therefore post-processing is necessary.In my camera bag
This of course depends on what and where to shoot. In the case of diving in caves, I have two bags, each about 12 kg with the equipment listed above in the article "What equipment did you use?".Feedback
Because there is a absolute darkness in the caves, the key issue is the use of high quality external flashes and the full-frame camera. From a scuba diving perspective, a reliable dive equipment and reliable buddy :-)