First off, my apologies for the delay in getting to these posts. After getting home from the trip, I realized I had taken over 6600 exposures (mostly due to the camera being set to high speed burst mode). I spent time removing any photos that we're up to par or just duplicates due to the high speed bursts, and trimmed the set down to around 1750. I meant to go through posting photos from the trip in a chronological order, but I know some folks are waiting for this one, so we'll bounce around a little here to start.

The photo was taken towards the end of the week at the Roma dive site. All week long, I'd been enjoying taking photos of the various anemonefish, and this particular set of False Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris) provided a nice opportunity for several great shots.

This one, however, was selected by our dive-masters as the "Photo of the Week" for our week. I was absolutely flabbergasted by that announcement. My underwater photography improved by leaps and bounds each dive during this trip, but I still consider that luck was a very (very) large factor in what I came back with. In the coming posts, we'll discuss some of the ways in which the underwater photography improved.

As I said, I was running the camera in high speed burst mode (providing up to 8 frames per second with my Canon EOS 7D) which helped with my luck in capturing the fleeting moments that occur with the constant movement of the subjects, but I distinctly remember seeing this shot develop in the viewfinder and knowing then that I had captured something nice.

When the shot was presented by our dive-masters at the dinner slideshow, it was slightly modified, so I attempted to duplicate those modifications as best I could here. Mouseover each thumbnail below to see the different versions, then place your vote below to let me know which version you prefer (leave a comment with details as to why you selected what you did if you like).

Technical Data: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, 1/40th sec at f/8. Image Stabilization on. ISO 400 (Auto). Ikelite Housing and Port with Ikelite 161 Strobe in TTL Mode. Modified version cropped and auto-smartfix in Photoshop Elements 8.0

The modifications are very subtle (as I usually feel any post production modifications should be). Initially, the shot was cropped specifically to make the the fish rest right on the intersection of two of the thirds. Then I ran the shot through Photoshop Elements 8.0's Auto-Smart-Fix to adjust some colors (producing a bit more bluish tint to the anemone and darkening the orange of the False Clownfish).

I know I've mentioned before that I should start selling prints, but I haven't gotten setup to do that yet, even with some requests for this photo specifically. So for now, enjoy it for free if you'd like. Here are the links to the fullsize versions - Original and Modified - for use for printing or as a wallpaper (be sure to resize first, or use the smaller version above).

Thanks for stopping by today, and be sure to visit back frequently over the coming days/weeks as I will be continuing all the updates from the trip. And don't forget to place your vote below, and leave a comment as to why you voted as you did.

- Bill

PS: Alastair, enjoy the photo, perhaps we'll meet again underwater some day in the future. Best of luck getting certified!

PPS: As a 'prize' for the 'Photo of the Week', the fantastic staff at Wakatobi presented me with a fabulous cake made up to be a coral reef. The cake was absolutely fantastic and I shared it with our entire group! The pink stuff on the right is some strawberry roll which was my favorite dessert of the week, and the staff were attentive enough to notice that and give me one of the leftover pieces as additional 'prize'! If anyone from Wakatobi is reading this, thanks again for a most memorable week!

I've been waiting to post this photo for some time now, and actually, I've had this reason for a while but have just had a couple sets of photos (Kanawha 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and Cozumel 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) that I wanted to post all in a row.

Over a month ago, the Photographic Section had their year end awards dinner. I actually didn't even attend (being a new member I don't know too many people in the club and wasn't sure of what the dealie was with the dinner)and had completely forgotten that I had two photos that had received honorable mention in the previous in-house competitions and qualified for the 2009-2010 Year End Compeition that is judged by external judges.

This photo received a bronze medal for the Monochrome Projected Digital Image portion of the competition...

Technical Data: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM AF at 10mm, Unknown manual exposure length as f/5.6, ISO 1600. Converted to B&W and slightly brightened in Photoshop Elements. Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail.

Why This Photo: I took this photo on a hiking trip along the LHHT with some friends. During the trip, I also tried my hand at some light painting, and this was also my first attempt at astrophotography. I really liked the idea of capturing the feeling of looking up at the stars through the trees.

What Works: I liked the shapes of the trees with the starry sky as the background. The curved edges provided by the lens zoomed to 10mm adds a nice additional feel to the size of the trees from that angle.

What Doesn't Work: The thicker tree on the left is a bit distracting, and I wish I could have found a slightly larger opening in the trees for more unbroken star field.

What do you think? The original image is linked to the right. You can see the purplish tinge the sky had from near-by light pollution that I removed in photoshop.

Leave me a comment and let me know if you think this is really a bronze medal winning photo or not.

- Bill

PS: This photo also received an additional honorable mention at the year-end competition, but has already been previously discussed when it got the honorable mention in the in-house judging, so if you're interested click on the photo and read that discussion as well.

This photo recently received honorable mention in one of the Photographic Section's digital competition and qualified for year-end judging.

Technical Data: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, Tamron 180mm f/3.5 Di SP LD 1:1 Macro, 1/2 sec at f/3.5. ISO 400. Sharpened in Photoshop Elements 8.0. Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Columbus, OH.

Why This Photo: I've always liked emerald boas and other arboreal snakes. The posture of these snakes as they bask on their coils on three branches is always interesting to me. Finally, I intentially focused on the heat sensory pits instead of on the eyes for a different look at things.

What Works: The sharp focus on the heat pits gives a new look at things, and the softened eyes still keep your attention. The catch-lights on the eyes and scales are a nice touch too.

What Doesn't Work: The section of the body in the bottom right that is out of focus is somewhat distracting, but the framing of the shot prevents it from being cropped out. Also, there appears to be a tiny bit of a double image on the eye - probably from the long exposure.

What do you think? Leave me a comment and let me know...

- Bill

PS: I continue to slowly make progress on those site improvements I talked about. Hopefully I'll have something to demo soon.