Jan 312013
 
Lessons from a macro lens: picking the right subject

After three years of shooting wide angle with my Canon 5DII, I picked up a macro lens for myself just before Christmas. I’ve really appreciated being “stuck” with the one underwater lens so far. Not having another option means I’ve taken wide angle shots in terrible vis and with inappropriate subjects on a regular basis. As a result I’ve learnt a lot about getting the best out of the lens in all kinds of conditions, and become a better photographer as a result. With a new lens comes a whole new learning curve for making great pictures. While it’s going to take me a while before I can reliably shoot the picture I see in my head, I wanted to [read more…]

Jan 142013
 
Tiny fish in Thailand

About the dive This shot was taken during a liveaboard trip on the MV Giamani – you can see the slideshow of images from the trip in last week’s update. I was excited to be heading off to the tropics, and very excited to get in the water with my new toy, a Canon 100mm f2.8 macro lens. While it did seem ironic to be swimming around in 40m vis surrounded by great scenery, I spent my first ever dives actively hunting for tiny things. About the critter I have no idea what fish this is. Big stuff has previously been my forte and I can identify weedy seadragons and green turtles at 40 paces. I suspect this is something [read more…]