pterantula
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Awards
Action Award
Judge Favorite
Legendary Award
Contest Finalist in The Battle Of Advanced Photo Contest
Featured
Contest Finalist in The Art of Wildlife Photography Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Powerful Photo Contest
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Outstanding Creativity
Jaw Dropping
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Superior Skill
Genius
Top Ranks
p_eileenbaltz
April 02, 2014
OUTSTANDING!!! Congratulations on being chosen a finalist.:) Good luck.
KatieMcKinneyPhotography
December 31, 2014
Wow what a capture! And its such a clear crisp underwater shot, well done!
RobynC
May 18, 2018
Wow it looks like it’s coming to eat you, I hope the shot was worth it LOL. Seriously great shot!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This was captured just off the coast of the famous Isla Guadalupe, an island park preserve governed by Mexico.Time
I believe this was late morning; I was interested in getting just ambient light, since at that time I didn't like the look of strobe fire and the water was so clear and bright it was relatively easy to expose. We had three young sharks that hung around that day, so portrait opportunities were relatively abundant (compared to other dive trips; many sharks actively avoid humans unless baited, which has issues).Lighting
(notes above)Equipment
I had just purchased my first housing setup: Nikon D70, Nikkor 12-24mm lens w/diopter, Ikelite housing & dome, and a single Sea & Sea YS90 strobe (not used here). (I later added a necessary second strobe, and then upgraded to a D300 in an Aquatica housing.)Inspiration
I have been fascinated with sharks my entire life, and white sharks in particular held a singular mystique. When I first learned I could get in clear water with them, with a near 100% probability of sightings, I immediately jumped at the chance.Editing
Unfortunately I did several Photoshop masks (color refining, sharpening, contrast), as I was truly a novice at this point and didn't have "my technique" down. I got much better through the years, and did very little processing on subsequent images.In my camera bag
Traveling for sharks almost always requires extra baggage (& fees!). I have a large Pelican case that contains my housing & strobes, and the multitude of needed parts & bits, including a backup camera body & lenses; I carry my main camera in a backpack for dry land shots.Feedback
Digital makes it easier to get good exposure (sometimes it feels like cheating)... but for bright, shallow water, standard settings for sunny conditions are a good starting point. Going even slightly deeper (20+ft) will require slower shutters or wider apertures, as water gets "dark" very quickly.