macros
- Thread starter Reef Bass
- Start date
Reef Bass
colors and textures
Thanks guys.
My tank is emerging from two "learning experiences" for me and I'm very pleased that they are doing as well as they are. And a couple of months from now they're going to be severely awesome. :dance: (<- that's me doing the happy coral dance. Not pretty, I know. More a joyful expression from the heart than a thing of beauty to behold)
Roscoe was my 2nd coral ever. It has survived every "learning experience" my tank and I have gone through. It is now bigger than a softball and looking better every day. Branches are thickening and very numerous.
It is high in my water column where it basks in the glow of my 400w MHs and bathes in the flow from my Vortech MP40. While not close to the Vortech, it is in the primary current that the pump creates.
My tank is emerging from two "learning experiences" for me and I'm very pleased that they are doing as well as they are. And a couple of months from now they're going to be severely awesome. :dance: (<- that's me doing the happy coral dance. Not pretty, I know. More a joyful expression from the heart than a thing of beauty to behold)
Roscoe was my 2nd coral ever. It has survived every "learning experience" my tank and I have gone through. It is now bigger than a softball and looking better every day. Branches are thickening and very numerous.
It is high in my water column where it basks in the glow of my 400w MHs and bathes in the flow from my Vortech MP40. While not close to the Vortech, it is in the primary current that the pump creates.
Looking at my corals I am in need of some info ..
Reef Bass
colors and textures
Thanks Grant. I'm feeling a bit like a one trick pony, but it makes me happy (coral macros). Many of these pics all had a disturbingly similar composition (big branch coming in from right), which didn't thrill me, but that's how it went that day.
Jake, you're going to make me confess my stupidity, huh? Oh well, I suppose it was inevitable. My most recent learning experiences involved understanding sps nutrition and foods. My club was fortunate to have Randy Reed of Reef Nutrition come speak and I realized that while I was fortifying my lps nicely, I not properly feeding my sps. That explained why they looked like they were coming from an ultra low nutrient environment (very pale) despite my having detectable nitrates, phosphates and lots of algae (which aren't found in ULN systems).
The second thing I learned recently (the hard way), is to not be such a slacker when a test kit runs out. The powdered reagent in my RedSea calcium test kit (don't recomend it) solidified one day rendering it useless. I took my sweet time getting a new test kit (Elos, very happy with it). In the time I took to get the new kit and actually test the water, my calcium had dropped to below 300 (eeeeek!), despite having dosing dialed in previously. I suspect my previous calcium test kit was reading high to start with, so I actually had less calcium in the water than it said I did. With an appropriate, stable calcium level my corals are growing and thickening like they never had enough calcium available before.
So the color of my corals have intensified nicely and the corals themselves are growing at their best rate yet. My Idaho Grape went from 2" across to 15" in about 1.5 - 2 years, so they were doing ok before.
Jake, you're going to make me confess my stupidity, huh? Oh well, I suppose it was inevitable. My most recent learning experiences involved understanding sps nutrition and foods. My club was fortunate to have Randy Reed of Reef Nutrition come speak and I realized that while I was fortifying my lps nicely, I not properly feeding my sps. That explained why they looked like they were coming from an ultra low nutrient environment (very pale) despite my having detectable nitrates, phosphates and lots of algae (which aren't found in ULN systems).
The second thing I learned recently (the hard way), is to not be such a slacker when a test kit runs out. The powdered reagent in my RedSea calcium test kit (don't recomend it) solidified one day rendering it useless. I took my sweet time getting a new test kit (Elos, very happy with it). In the time I took to get the new kit and actually test the water, my calcium had dropped to below 300 (eeeeek!), despite having dosing dialed in previously. I suspect my previous calcium test kit was reading high to start with, so I actually had less calcium in the water than it said I did. With an appropriate, stable calcium level my corals are growing and thickening like they never had enough calcium available before.
So the color of my corals have intensified nicely and the corals themselves are growing at their best rate yet. My Idaho Grape went from 2" across to 15" in about 1.5 - 2 years, so they were doing ok before.
klepto
New member
You meant Louis...
reefcrazyme
New member
macro shots
macro shots
Can i ask what camera and lens did you use to shoot this?
macro shots
Can i ask what camera and lens did you use to shoot this?
berger9953
New member
Amazing photography:bigeyes:
klepto
New member
No worries mate! :thumbsup:
upon looking at these again, I realized how much I like the composition and DOF usage on the blue voodoo and purple plasma shots.
Lets see some of those new shots Ken! :spin1:
electrokate
New member
Hi,
I love your pictures! I found your posts by searching for the eos 50D since I just bought one with the same lens, am learning how to use it. Only problem I am having is with my blue tang and the top of the royal gramma's head. Both have supersaturated magenta/violet colors in the brightest areas. I am wondering if you have this problem with your 50D and how you solve it? Have changed bulbs, shooting angle and distance, ISO and various other settings. Only way to get it minimal is to shoot very dark, even then it's still in the highlights. Here is a link. If you have any advice I would appreciate it.
http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/n72/electrokate/
Other shots are normal. Still experimenting with manual settings so all are a bit off, I can see this will take some time to get right. Your shots are amazing!
Thanks,
Kate
I love your pictures! I found your posts by searching for the eos 50D since I just bought one with the same lens, am learning how to use it. Only problem I am having is with my blue tang and the top of the royal gramma's head. Both have supersaturated magenta/violet colors in the brightest areas. I am wondering if you have this problem with your 50D and how you solve it? Have changed bulbs, shooting angle and distance, ISO and various other settings. Only way to get it minimal is to shoot very dark, even then it's still in the highlights. Here is a link. If you have any advice I would appreciate it.
http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/n72/electrokate/
Other shots are normal. Still experimenting with manual settings so all are a bit off, I can see this will take some time to get right. Your shots are amazing!
Thanks,
Kate
Reef Bass
colors and textures
Thanks for your kind words Kate. I looked at your picture and I see what you are describing. I get a similar thing with the brightly colored tips of acros, where that super colored areas are blown out. To me, it seems primarily an exposure issue. In my case, I let those colored areas blow, as they are usualy small and if I decrease my exposure to the point where they are no longer blown out, the rest of the image is rather dark.
I bet it would be possible to employ better supplemental lighting such that exposure could be reduced yet the background / nonsubject areas would not be dark.
As klepto points out, one can post process the color too.
I would definitely start by shooting in RAW and adjust your white balance while post processing. It's easy and color accurate and would be the starting point / foundataion from which you could solve your problem.
I bet it would be possible to employ better supplemental lighting such that exposure could be reduced yet the background / nonsubject areas would not be dark.
As klepto points out, one can post process the color too.
I would definitely start by shooting in RAW and adjust your white balance while post processing. It's easy and color accurate and would be the starting point / foundataion from which you could solve your problem.
electrokate
New member
Thanks, both of you. I can get the blown out colors normal looking in post processing but was hoping there was something I could do to make a better exposure.
I am shooting in raw using manual settings and do post processing with the enclosed canon software and Gimp 2.0.
The 120 gallon tank is lit by only 4 54 watt T5HO bulbs. I know it is underlit, but am trying to see how little I can get away with. Am enjoying the limited depth of field with this lighting and hoping it will not handicap my photography too much, but if it does I guess I will have to dig out the halides. Got tons of old reef lighting in storage... bulbs and all.
So far this is a great camera, am glad I picked it over the cheaper ones.
Thanks for your help
Kate
I am shooting in raw using manual settings and do post processing with the enclosed canon software and Gimp 2.0.
The 120 gallon tank is lit by only 4 54 watt T5HO bulbs. I know it is underlit, but am trying to see how little I can get away with. Am enjoying the limited depth of field with this lighting and hoping it will not handicap my photography too much, but if it does I guess I will have to dig out the halides. Got tons of old reef lighting in storage... bulbs and all.
So far this is a great camera, am glad I picked it over the cheaper ones.
Thanks for your help
Kate
Reef Bass
colors and textures
You're welcome Kate. It sounds like you have a grip on your process. I suggest doing your best and posting the results here and I bet we'll get get a good pic dialed in.
Thanks Rhizo. It has been a while. I am fortunate that I am so busy with work but it's seriously cutting into my reefing and photo time!
I don't feel as though I have time to take the pics I want to take, let alone explore try new things (like focus stacking). And then there's always the kids, the house, the lawn, the vegetable garden, etc. Again, I'm very fortunate to have such a full life but feeling spread a bit thin. If I could just figure out how to not need sleep...
Thanks Rhizo. It has been a while. I am fortunate that I am so busy with work but it's seriously cutting into my reefing and photo time!
I don't feel as though I have time to take the pics I want to take, let alone explore try new things (like focus stacking). And then there's always the kids, the house, the lawn, the vegetable garden, etc. Again, I'm very fortunate to have such a full life but feeling spread a bit thin. If I could just figure out how to not need sleep...Similar threads
