Macro shots by a marine noob

[jaxgrant]

I've recently acquired a DLSR and macro lens (Canon 550D and 100mm f/2.8 macro). The following shots are from my fairly new marine tank. Some shots were taken purely under the tanks lights (8 x 54w T5's) while others were taken with an ancient Cobra D400 flash that was salvaged from a trip to the dump.

Suggestions for improvement welcome...

 

[snorvich]

Cool pictures especially the elegance coral.

 

[tntneon]

cool pictures :thumbsup:
especialy the last one.

 

[408Reefer]

I like the picture of the blenny! overall great picks

 

[MSHUR]

I think all of them are super!!!

 

[jaxgrant]

Thanks for the comments. Here are a few more shots

 

[jaxgrant]

Just took this one of a hermit

 

[mess7777]

great job!! Wish I had that lens. Do you crop the photos or is this how close you are able to get?

 

[kayaking2]

really nice shots.....

 

[jaxgrant]

great job!! Wish I had that lens. Do you crop the photos or is this how close you are able to get?

I cropped the photo a bit (the original included the whole of the hermits shell). I can get this close tho with the macro lens (1:1).

 

[david00061]

nice

 

[jaxgrant]

spotted this little fella tonight

 

[jaxgrant]

spotted this little fella tonight

 

[x19]

Great shots. Even with my Macro lens I never seem to get shots that clear.

 

[jstuver]

Nice! I like the blenny shots

 

[jaxgrant]

Here's the fish we call 'Horse'. He got the name thanks to that sloping nose/snout I think.

 

[zmust]

Pictures are awesome..

Now for some stupid questions..

Were they taken through glass ?
What were your camera settings?
Did you use the external lighting, and if so, what type of lighting was used?
Was the flash used?

Thx.. a wannabe photographer..

 

[jaxgrant]

Pictures are awesome..

Now for some stupid questions..

Were they taken through glass ?
What were your camera settings?
Did you use the external lighting, and if so, what type of lighting was used?
Was the flash used?

Thx.. a wannabe photographer..

Yeah, the shots were taken through the glass. I keep the lens perpendicular to the glass to prevent distortion.

Many of the shots were taken at 1/125 sec shutter speed and F9 or higher to get a decent DOF. I either use a tripod or if hand held, I tend to hold the lens right up to the glass, with my finger on the rim of the lens to act as a spacer. Mostly I use manual focus, except for fish shots. I shoot RAW only and adjust contrast and sharpness and white balance afterwards.

Some shots were taken under the tank lights, in which case I have to adjust the white balance afterwards otherwise the shots are ridiculously blue. I have an old flash unit that I use for some shots (the inbuilt flash is too weak). Because the lens is so close to the glass, there is no reflection or bounce off the glass.

 

[tntdsol]

great pics. They all look really good.

 

[Robb in Austin]

I think your title is a bit misleading. I read it as you were a noob photog, which clearly you aren't. Nice pics.