White-Spotted Puffer
I shot this whilst on a diving holiday in the Red Sea, just off the shore of Sharm el-Sheikh. I love the depth created by the diver in the background and the bu...
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I shot this whilst on a diving holiday in the Red Sea, just off the shore of Sharm el-Sheikh. I love the depth created by the diver in the background and the buoy line in the foreground. This one took quite a lot of post-editing in Lightroom adjusting the colour tones to reduce the green colour from water, but I'm really pleased with the outcome!
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Jun, 2017Views
147
Likes
Awards
People's Choice in Scuba diving is Fun Photo Challenge
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This shot was taken in Egypt’s Red Sea. It’s probably one of my more favourite diving locations worldwide, I’ll be heading back there next year!Time
I think this was probably taken around 1pm, which lit up my scene perfectly, as you can see I wasn’t shooting far from the surface so it wasn’t too challenging to accurately capture what I was seeing.Lighting
Shooting life underwater can be challenging when lighting is concerned, especially whilst shooting a wide scene. Depth dramatically affects the light you are able to capture as the deeper you go the darker it gets. At 8 meters I was able to take advantage of the natural light in this shot and there was no need the use any external strobes or other sources of light.Equipment
I used my trusty Canon EOS 550d with my 10-20mm Sigma all housed inside my Ikelite underwater housing. Usually my set-up includes additional external lights on flexi arms which I use to help me in low light conditions found with depth.Inspiration
I really love how this shot is composed with depth from the rope in the foreground to the main subject and the diver in the background. It also shows a perfect example of how wildlife underwater should be approached and observed.Editing
Using Lightroom I made adjustments to the highlights to reduce the brightness of the surface of the water. I also increased lighting slightly around the diver and as usual with most of my underwater shots I added a little red back into the image which helps a lot to fix the white balance problems found whilst shooting underwater.In my camera bag
I like to travel light unless I’m planning for a specific shot where I need a better range of equipment. My Canon body, a zoom lens and my wide-angle sigma. I also always pack my B&W 10 stop filter with me and a remote shutter to experiment with long exposures.Feedback
Patience underwater is key. Before attempting to capture a shot I always try to picture where my subject will be in a minutes time rather than heading directly towards it. This gives you the opportunity to prepare for the shot in terms of composition and camera settings, it also helps because it won’t startle your subject as much as swimming directly at its face which will give you a more natural end result.
