Crabbarrazzo!
Must've seen it from me. Photography really is spreading, like never before...
Must've seen it from me. Photography really is spreading, like never before...
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Sep, 2014Views
135
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Awards
People's Choice in Sci-fi Animals Photo Challenge
Outstanding Creativity
Top Choice
All Star
Superb Composition
Peer Award
Magnificent Capture
Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
Lake Ohrid, Macedonia. Photo was taken while snorkeling along the western lake shore.Time
Some minutes before 1500 hours.Lighting
Since the shot took place in shallow water on a nice, sunny day, there was sufficient light. Nothing better than pure Daylight! By the way, I'll always use Daylight setting on my underwater cameras. This is because the camera will see the same colors that I see, since the overall light is the light of the day above. Also, no man alive can program an universally applicable "underwater mode" and thus attempt to "correct" the colors, since no two water volumes are the same. Adding warmth to natural colors comes out simply wrong. Besides, it is many times simply better to do this by taking along some artificial lighting, so to shorten the lighting distance to (and back from) your object. But that's another can of worms.Equipment
The camera was Olympus TG-2 set at 1/500 sec @ F2.8 (ISO 100), used hand-held and swimming in calm water. No waves at all. Made a shallow dive, there's about 1.5 meter to the bottom, to be at the crab's eye level.Inspiration
Crabs are interesting creatures. Some are aggressive, some are curious, some frighten easily, and some do not seem to care one way or another. Some are, well, just crabby. This fella, he has been eating something, constantly moving one pincer and then the other between the bottom and his mouth (like the way Garfield eats lasagna, only slower). My photo caught him with both pincers at about the same height. This gave me the idea later what to add to the photo.Editing
Just added this tiny camera and corrected the appearance, by pasting a tip of one pincer over the camera shape, because credibility is in the details. I think I had to crop the photo a tad, auto-balance the color, and re-sharpen after resizing for upload.In my camera bag
In water, I carry very little. After many years of SCUBA and other kinds of diving that require lots of equipment, I genuinely enjoy the simplicity. So it is just one camera, basic snorkeling tackle, and a forearm-strapped knife (as a tool, not as a weapon). The bag I do not carry for years already, since I discovered that all I need can be comfortably divided unto several of the many pockets of my photo vest.Feedback
Swim slowly. Look around and try to spot potential themes way before you arrive in the position to click. Approaching an animal, do not change speed. Be calm and keep your movement fluid and purposeful all the way to, through, and after the shot. Display an almost uninterested behavior; it will assure all of the surrounding life that you are not hunting, so therefore you do not present any danger. To that effect, think nice thoughts about / at the animal you are coming closer to. Your thoughts change your behavior ever so slightly, and animals can sense that like you wouldn't believe! Your aura changes too - every being can read this, bar Homo sap - we've mainly lost that talent. Regarding what to do in post-processing... only you will know that. But I suggest that you be careful about details. Details are what makes the final work "believable" - even if only for the duration of a viewer's smile!
