Curious Grouper
This large fish was playful and curious as it accompanied me while diving in the Jardine de la Reina, Cuba.
This large fish was playful and curious as it accompanied me while diving in the Jardine de la Reina, Cuba.
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Nov, 2018Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This Nassau Grouper followed me for at least 10 minutes on a dive on the MesoAmerican Reef, offshore of San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize, in February, 2020.Time
This photo was taken with a Nikon D500 and a Nikon 12-24 lens. The equipment was in a Nexus housing, using two Ikelite DM160 strobes, firing at 1/2 power. I love being really close to fish and capturing their individual personalities. This grouper was rubbing against me and allowed me to scratch it like a pet.Lighting
Underwater imaging requires a constant effort to control lighting. My strobes allow me to "paint with light". In this case, two strobes, angled 45 degrees from vertical, positioned about an arms length (right and left) to each side of the camera and aimed at the focal point of the lens gave me the lighting of the fish without the background.Equipment
See above. I always shoot manual exposure, auto-focus and capture only raw files.Inspiration
My photography passion is shooting underwater. I love being up-close and personal with my subjects and work hard to avoid "spooking" them. Grouper are inquisitive and friendly, so they make great subjects.Editing
Images are developed in Lightroom - Classic and then prepared for publication using Topaz AI tools and Photoshop as needed.In my camera bag
I shoot a D500 both in the water and on land. For in water use, I have 10.5, 12-24, 60 and 105 mm lenses. On land, I use those and a 18-250 or 150 - 600.Feedback
If you want to shoot underwater, do two things: hone your diving skills so you don't need to think about your safety and know your camera really well on land so you understand how it behaves. Then, put those skill sets together.
