The Ocean Realm Photo

Photographer’s Note

Continuing my little series taken at the New Jersey State Aquarium...

Watching this kid for a little while, it was quite apparent he didn't have too much faith in the glass between him and the sharks...everytime one would come close to him he would try anyway possible to avoid a head on collision...yet he still so fascinated with the sharks, rays and fish that he just sata or stood on the ledge there, bobbing and weaving, not wanting to move away or miss a "fly by".

Being as dark as it was there, I tryed to "think outside the box" here. I took the ISO up to 800 and than exposed by -2.7 stops, just to get the shutter speed up to 1/10 second. Than recovered the highlights in PS. It's not really clean, but I got the shot, and honestly, I think it looks fairly...OK...for an equivalent of ISO5440. Plus, no noise reduction applied, in camera or during PP.

Looking at the shot on a different, sharper and higher contrasty screen than I PP on...it looks like it could use a little work, but it is what it is...already uploaded.

Some other shots taken that day:

Fascination
Fascination II

Let me know what you think,
John

clnaef, ktanska, IgorDeleze, woladorsky, SamB, shevchenko, Dpbours has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

sothy81 (8518) 2007-09-16 11:29

Very nice under water shot. I love the feeling of the sea water. Very nice light and colors. I love also the way you added the human being there, and that made this shot more like a lively one. Well done. Sothy

japiey (9491) 2007-09-16 12:28

Hi John.

Interesting shot.
LIVE, AND THE BLUE blends well with the shade.
Salutes, dear John.

jean paul

hderin (596) 2007-09-16 12:53

Hi Master John :)

Beatiful and sweet photograph. I like composition very much. And child silhouette the weak spot :)
Background colors and activity excellent. Well done!

Best regards

Haluk Derinöz

clnaef (6289) 2007-09-16 23:26

Bonjour,
Bel effet de silhouette. L'ambiance marin est bien rendue.
Bonne journée.
clnaef

partha (13657) 2007-09-17 0:31

A good looking shot. The little movemet of the fishes, the curios watching of the boy, the colour, ambiance all mixed together to give a nice shot.
Partha

ktanska (16524) 2007-09-17 1:24

Hi John,
Fascinating view giving a strong impression of open sea. I like those places, fish passing by silently.
This could indeed use some noise filtering. I think you found the right exposure setting between those light and dark points. There's both over and underexposure but just on small areas, that don't bother much.
Kari

IgorDeleze (9247) 2007-09-17 7:16

Hello John,
Nice framed picture.
I know that this kind of picture are difficult because I have also tryed but in your case the result is really good. Not like mine ;-)
The light on the fishes is excellent and make them flashing.
Great shot.
Greeitngs.
Igor

woladorsky (804) 2007-09-17 7:58

Ok John...

I have my opinion on this one. First I would like to tell you that I like the picture more when I read your note related to the fear of the kid. However I think that the shot would have been better if you had omitted the kid and the text 'the ocean realm".I like the movement of the fish and the colours of the aquarium water.

But that is my opinion John!!

cheers

Rolando

SamB (1948) 2007-09-17 9:31

Hello, John--
i couldn't help but laugh at your statement about ISO5440... i never would have thought about it that way myself... but it's pretty spot on. i think that the post-processing isn't that bad, my biggest critique there would be that the blues still have a little bit of a flat, muddy feel to them, but just a little bit. Overall i think that it's effective post-processing. The kid and, arguably, the text are essential, i think, to make this, as you said, something that we can relate to. This shot isn't first and foremost about the sharks... they add a nice flashy touch with the exoticism of sea creatures and the motion blur, but this shot is primarily a presentation of the boy's relationship with the sharks, and so both elements need to be there. Useful note, as well... i always like to know what went through people's heads as they took their pictures, as it challenges me in my thought processes when i'm shooting.
Nice work.
Thanks!
sam

shevchenko (9862) 2007-09-17 19:29

Hi John,
I think so hard you had try to make this indoor photo at the dim space, and I think the child also able to spend many long time sitting in front of the big aqua attracted by the sea life, thanks for sharing.
Ally

delkoo (34194) 2007-09-18 2:21

hi john,
nice silhouette of this boy in front of the big sharks, in spite of the difficult light you have achieved an interesting shot.

regards
didier

jmdias (19087) 2007-09-18 18:09

John

I liked these colors, this pov, light and compo but I think it would be more interesting if that fishes were more sharp, not blured like they are

Jorge

Dpbours (218) 2007-09-18 18:38

Hi John,

Wow, people start calling you Master John! You must be doing something well there! ;-)
And you don't need a Nikon D300 to get to ISO X-thousand with little noise as you show ;-). A cheaper option will be buying a tripod hahaha :-).

I like it as it is this compo. The kid and text have to be in it to create depth and to give the eye a bit of a static part in the shot, not to get an epileptic seizure due to the motion blur in the fish hahaha.

Bye! Dennis

PS: Try RAW for shots like these!!

noborders (14199) 2007-09-20 1:53

I like this series of photos, each time it works, the human silhouette and the translucid blue waters, this time the kid facing the shark is perfect !
Congratulations,
Cath.

cengiz (3581) 2007-09-20 9:15

I think it was difficult. also so nice
cengiz

smarcell (14273) 2007-09-24 10:14

I like this one. I have a similar one in my gallery. Here the blurred effect of the shark gives some dynamicity which I like.