ldrhawke
John
Got tired of being inside so I walked out my front door and just took this photo a few minutes ago......... These guys would love to get into your fuge mud and look around for pods 
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The Sherman Tank (Photo Scrapbook)
- Thread starter Sherman
- Start date
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spongebob lover
flea whisperer
ohh wwoouu those are some nice looking birds
Sherman
Has Met Willis
Geez! A guy leaves town for the holiday weekend and gets beat up online!
Thanks for all the compliments, everyone. The camera is the Canon 20D, and most shots were taken with the Canon 100mm macro lens. My tank is the 38g. The 240g shots referred to were a friend's tank I was experimenting with.
One of the big things I push at my own club's site is that it doesn't take a $1500 Digital SLR to take these pics. However, I can't deny that it helps, since the optics in the upper end cameras are just so much better. However, the shot of the pink pocillopora and all the softies were taken with either a Nikon D990 or a Sony something or other pocket digital.
The biggest, easiest tips:
Get the camera stable. If you don't have a tripod, use a stack of books, or something. I've even placed the camera on top of a wadded up jacket on top of a chair. Your hands are no where near as stable as something that doesn't move. Also, use the timer for corals. Set up the shot, turn on the timer, and press the trigger. In ten seconds, your camera will take a shot that your hands are guaranteed not to shake.
Shoot perpendicular through the glass. Never shoot at angles. I always shoot with the lens directly squared up against the glass. Otherwise, distortion happens, and your sharpness is lost. (See attached clam photo below, not shot perpendicular).
Shoot slightly underexposed. I always underexpose my shots by one to two thirds stop. The super vibrant colors in our tanks tend to wash out on "film." I counter this by underexposing the shot, then correcting in Photoshop.
Thanks for all the compliments, everyone. The camera is the Canon 20D, and most shots were taken with the Canon 100mm macro lens. My tank is the 38g. The 240g shots referred to were a friend's tank I was experimenting with.
One of the big things I push at my own club's site is that it doesn't take a $1500 Digital SLR to take these pics. However, I can't deny that it helps, since the optics in the upper end cameras are just so much better. However, the shot of the pink pocillopora and all the softies were taken with either a Nikon D990 or a Sony something or other pocket digital.
The biggest, easiest tips:
Get the camera stable. If you don't have a tripod, use a stack of books, or something. I've even placed the camera on top of a wadded up jacket on top of a chair. Your hands are no where near as stable as something that doesn't move. Also, use the timer for corals. Set up the shot, turn on the timer, and press the trigger. In ten seconds, your camera will take a shot that your hands are guaranteed not to shake.
Shoot perpendicular through the glass. Never shoot at angles. I always shoot with the lens directly squared up against the glass. Otherwise, distortion happens, and your sharpness is lost. (See attached clam photo below, not shot perpendicular).
Shoot slightly underexposed. I always underexpose my shots by one to two thirds stop. The super vibrant colors in our tanks tend to wash out on "film." I counter this by underexposing the shot, then correcting in Photoshop.
Sherman
Has Met Willis
And here's a Tridacna Crocea clam I recently picked up (First clam, new addiction). To try to capture the color, I shot across the glass a little, and it didn't come out as well as I'd hoped. Also, all the saturated colors in these clams is forcing me to learn how to take a new type of shot.
snobanker
Well-known member
Still a very nice pic Sherm
spongebob lover
flea whisperer
hmm yeap i agree with Stan still that's a very nice picture
ldrhawke
John
Sherman said:
I agree the quality of the clam photo is no where near the outstanding quality you have shown in earlier photos posted. Can you retake it to match the quality of previous photos you posted and give us detail info on your camera settings, lense, tank lighting, and Photoshop steps? I have a new Nikon D70 with a 105mm Macro lense and full set of extension tubes that I am still trying to learn how to use. Hopefully someday after a million shots maybe I can learn to do the kind of outstanding work you do with macros.
Thanks
Scooterman
Well-known member
WOW I love the very first shot, how did you get him to hold still?
Awesome, makes me want to trash my canon G5.
Awesome, makes me want to trash my canon G5.
spongebob lover
flea whisperer
hey i forgot to say Thanks so much for the tips on how to use the camera seriouly because i'm really bad at taking pictures
snobanker
Well-known member
I think the secret to a good photo is always the subject. As you can see from this candid shot that Sherm has his models well trained
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spongebob lover
flea whisperer
LOL!!1 ohh yeah ppreety, man how do you get them smile that way .
.
Sherman
Has Met Willis
First... great... now my fish is being photoshopped around the world! Haha. It made me laugh.
I'll see what I can do. I don't have access to the lens at this time, but that clam shot wasn't taken with a macro lens, anyway. However, the clam has turned a bit, and I'll have to turn him again to get this shot off. With him being new to the tank, I'm not sure I want to continue to pester him like this, but we'll see.
If nothing else, I can post a raw, then step by step and final, or something, of one of the other shots. I'll work on that one this week. It's still Monday, and Friday seems SO FAR away.
Thanks, everyone, for all the kind words.
ldrhawke said:
I'll see what I can do. I don't have access to the lens at this time, but that clam shot wasn't taken with a macro lens, anyway. However, the clam has turned a bit, and I'll have to turn him again to get this shot off. With him being new to the tank, I'm not sure I want to continue to pester him like this, but we'll see.
If nothing else, I can post a raw, then step by step and final, or something, of one of the other shots. I'll work on that one this week. It's still Monday, and Friday seems SO FAR away.
Thanks, everyone, for all the kind words.
snobanker
Well-known member
LOl, sorry Sherm, I couldn't help myself.....
Kensn
Well-known member
Stan .... Thats just funny... Well done.
spongebob lover
flea whisperer
well dood i can't wait to see more pictures .
Stan dood, i keep looking at that picture over and over and seriously everytime i see it, it makes me laugh a lot !!1
.Stan dood, i keep looking at that picture over and over and seriously everytime i see it, it makes me laugh a lot !!1
ldrhawke
John
Sherman,
What am I doing wrong? Appreciate your comments.
What am I doing wrong? Appreciate your comments.
spongebob lover
flea whisperer
hmm i'm sorry to say this ldrhawke because i know you asked Sherman, but i know what you are doing wrong..... you are not showing your pictures thats what you are doing wrong dood .
Those are some nice looking pictures so i don't know what you are talking about, but then again i'm not the expert, so i better be quiet
.Those are some nice looking pictures so i don't know what you are talking about, but then again i'm not the expert, so i better be quiet
ldrhawke
John
spongebob lover said:hmm i'm sorry to say this ldrhawke because i know you asked Sherman, but i know what you are doing wrong..... you are not showing your pictures thats what you are doing wrong dood
Those are some nice looking pictures so i don't know what you are talking about, but then again i'm not the expert, so i better be quiet
Thanks......I know the pictures are not bad
; but they are just not great . I want to beable to take great macro reef tank photos like the ones that Sherman took at the beginning of this thread. I bought a good camera. A Nikon D70 with 105mm macro lense and extension tubes. I use a tripod and timer. I have Photoshop. I use micro adjustable tripod camera base to tweek focus. I take abunch of pictures with different aperature and ev settings. I just don't have the knowledge and skills to do it yet. What camera, lense, and settings did you use to shoot the zoo's? That is what I want to beable to do when I grow up.
Sherman.......HELP
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