240 Inwall Construction (Image Intense)

[weatherson]

ReeferNOOB: Nicely done. My personal suggestions would include not using a border that detracts from the photo and to consider the composition layout as important as the subject itself. Here's my interpretation of your original.

 

[weatherson]

I found this interesting so thought I would share. One of my clams decided to let lose of his rock and subsequently, fell back from his original location. Before I could get to him and relocate him to a new rock I placed for him to attach to, he attempted to find something to grab hold of. I've seen clams do this before but not to this extreme. Here's a full shot showing his appendage extended and an animated gif showing the progression in a few frames. This was taken over a few minutes time.

Joseph

 

[Lunchbucket]

that is too cool man. i've seen clams extened like that when i lifted them up to move it

very cool. was it attached by the time you got to it??

Lunchbucket

 

[weatherson]

Lunchbucket: No, I placed it just after taking those shots so it hadn't time enough by then.

Joseph

 

[The R/C Man]

The R/C Man: Personal use is free but commercial use will cost you. Thanks for the kind words.

They would be worth it!!! Especially if they help sell the book...

 

[tang_man_montreal]

Melev, Weatherson,
That's great photowork, Now how does one add nice borders like you guys do?

 

[Lunchbucket]

well glad you got him settled back in before he wouldn't let you

Lunchbucket

 

[weatherson]

tang_man_montreal: In Photoshop, if I want my photo to have a final width of 800-pixels, I first start with a resized photo of 780-pixels. This gives me 20-pixels (10 per side) to work with to achieve the 800 goal. Then I go to Canvas Size in the Image tools. With Relative checked and Pixels selected, simply add 20 to both the width and height and select the color you wish the border to be. For adding a thin separation color border within the black, simply first do the same procedure with say 4-pixels with a picked color and then follow this up with a second procedure of black. If I still want the 20-pixel border and used a 4-pixel color separation border, I'll add a 16-pixel black border to achieve the 20-pixel goal. Of course, you can use any size border but I find 20-pixels for a 800-pixel wide photo is proportioned well. In addition, I'm sure there are other ways to add a border but I've found this technique to be quick and easy when using Photoshop.

Joseph

 

[melev]

I just tried that out, Joseph. You are right about it being quick and simple. Putting a checkmark in the "relative" field makes a huge difference. If you use it, it makes a tiny border as you indicated. At first I didn't even see that box, so I just added 20 to the width and height numbers and it came out right. When I did the same, and checked "relative", my border became immense. :lol:

Btw, this may be important for anyone else trying this method. On the left side of your workspace, you have the two boxes that overlap for color section. If you'll look below at this sample screen shot, you'll see there is a red box overlapping a white box.

For your border to come out with the color you want, using Joseph's directions above, make sure the color you select is the lower box (the white one in my sample above). The upper box (red) is the foreground, and the lower box is the background. Your border is a background.

Here's a quick attempt using Joseph's directions. I made a 4 pixel blue border, then added a white border accidentally, and then figured out about the background color to get the red outer border.

A little patriotic, perhaps. It'll be July 4th soon enough.

 

[weatherson]

Marc: Realizing that we are running different versions of Photoshop, I'm not sure if this is the case or not. You should have a color selection at the bottom of the Canvas Size window. This is where you can select the color to be used for your border. Do you not have this option in your window? In the newer versions (CS and CS2) of PS, it's located there and there is no need to use the colors in the toolbar at the left.

In addition, to remove or decrease the size of a border already created, simply use the same procedure I listed but place a negative sign in front of the pixel amount. You will then receive a prompt asking if you are sure you want to decrease the canvas size and select OK or Yes.

Joseph

 

[melev]

I'm using Photoshop 7.0. I guess it is different.

Thanks for the additional information about decreasing the border.

 

[weatherson]

Here's the window and drop-down menu where the color is selected...

 

[AcroSteve]

Joseph,

All this photoshop talk gives me the motivation to ask a question I have wanted to ask for a long time.

Would you care to post a couple of pics right out of the camera with no processing other than cropping to size? Your pics are almost always spectacular. I cannot get close to the exposure/saturation that many of your pics have.

How far from the front glass is your lense most of the time?

Use these 3 pics for examples. I would like to see what you start with.

 

[Mickey]

Joseph: As always your pictures are awesome. I always drop by this thread and look at them when I need inspiration. I am learning how to use my new Canon 20D and trying to get pictures worthy of displaying.

One question comes to mind, do you bring the corals you want to photograph closer to the glass? Or do you just photograph throughout your tank with equal success? My pictures of the corals closest to the glass are improving, but I'm still working on getting good shots of those in the middle of the tank.

Mickey

 

[weatherson]

AcroSteve: I usually have the lens right up against the glass and always try to be as perpendicular to the glass as possible. (I can't stress enough how critical the later is to getting good results. The glass will distort your image both in color and clarity if shot at an angle through it.) Using the 100mm macro lens doesn't always allow to be right against the glass due to its focal length when taking shots of corals/fish that are fairly close to the glass inside the tank. So, there are times when I need to pull back. Being closer to the glass also helps to reduce the possibility of flash reflection if it is used (I mostly don't).

Of these three shots, the zoa's are right up front next to the glass, the cap is about half way back and the clam about two thirds of the way back. Here are these photo as they were directly from the camera aside from having been reduced to a 800-pixel width. (If not obvious, the shots with borders are the PS'd versions )

Mickey: A 20D? Very nice camera. :thumbsup: Which lens did you get with it? I've never moved a coral for a shot and again, the macro lens lends a great deal to not having to do this. If you don't have it already, I'd highly recommend getting it for your aquarium photographs.

Joseph

 

[jwedehase]

Weatherson, you clearly deserve some credit for the post production work. In the monti cap and clam shots, I like how you've "dodged" the items in the background to help them disappear into the distance. This helps negate them as visual distractions. Great job and good eye for catching it.

I don't know that this is a Photoshop thread, but I'd personally be interested in knowing more about your basic methodology. I only have PS7, so I'm not really familiar with a couple of the new tools I know you're using.

And in case it hasn't been mentioned... RC Readers: don't be too discouraged by the photos. I can attest to Weatherson taking a huge amount of photos, and simply pulling out the best. For myself, I would say less than 1 out of 20 are keepers. Just keep shooting.

 

[weatherson]

jwedehase: You didn't notice the elimination at the corner of the cap shot? You're slipping. And yes, I've mentioned many times how my inability as a photographer are camouflaged by the digital mediums benefit of multiple, rapid shots. I do utilize this feature to its fullest possibilities.

Joseph

 

[jarhed]

Weatherson, since I stole your closed loop design, I gotta make sure I'm planning it exactly like yours. In the beginning, you had each closed loop pump on a 6 hour alternating interval. Are you still doing that?

 

[weatherson]

jarhed: Yes, I still utilize the original timing of my closed loops. The first one (Left closed loop) comes on at 6 AM and goes off at 12 noon. The second (Right closed loop) comes on at 11:45 AM so that there is a 15-minute overlap and some really wild currents. It then goes off at 6 PM. The left closed loop then comes on again at 5:45 PM, again so there is a 15-minute overlap and then shuts off at midnight. Both remain off from midnight to 6 AM to give the fish some nighttime calmness on the reef. Of course, the sinusoidal valve continues 24/7 but this is much less disruptive.

Joseph

 

[jarhed]

Oh, thats a beautiful schedule! Of course, I'll be copying this!