Why is the ocean always on time? She likes to stay current.
This past month I whaley loved seeing the creativity of how everyone embraced shooting the water theme. It was neat to see how everyone interpreted it, and how creative boundaries got pushed. It was so much fun to see all the underwater images in the dumps, as well as beach photos, sprinklers, and nature. Here's a small collection of a few of my favorites, shell yeah!
Sea you later,
Gear: Nikon d7500, Tamron 18-270 mm
Settings: ISO 100, f/6.3 1/250
The Shot: We were sailing in Crete and my sister and my nephew jumped into the sea from the boat. I was aiming for the water rings around them.
Post Processing: I hand edit in LR and PS.
Gear: Canon 5D Mark III on my 35mmm lens
Settings: ISO 200, f2, & 1/800. I always shoot at ISO 100 if I can get the shutter speed I want, but will increase it if needed, which was the case here. I wanted my shutter speed >1/500 to get the water droplets.
The Shot: My children were playing in the hose & were taking turns holding the nozzle for each other to run under. My daughter started dancing & it led to this moment.
Post Processing: I edited this in LR with a Mastin Labs preset. I increased my shadows just a tad, & my whites to make the water stand out a little bit more.
Gear: Nikon z6, 85mm
Settings: ISO 320, f2, 1/500.
The Shot: I've seen this frog a few times and its super mellow. Didn't move at all while I snapped away. He looks like he's daydreaming.
Post Processing: I increased the vibrance and shadows, decreased the whites and blacks. I love the dreamy feel of it.
Gear: This was taken with my GoPro + Telesin dome
Settings: Camera on auto, but settings were 3mm iso 100 f2.8 and 1/900
The Shot: I loved how the full sun provided clarity/visibility in the water. We were traveling and I have not yet been this close to her when diving so I loved the bubbles and the vertical orientation of her hair.
Post Processing: Edited with my dome preset which has gradient for above/below water. I also removed a lot of gunk from water in Photoshop
Gear: Canon 6D Mark ii, Sigma 35mm
Settings: ISO 200, f/2.0, 1/4000
The Shot: I was just standing on the beach watching my daughter play in the shallow water at the end of the day. I liked how the directional light was creating a harsh contrast on her skin and how the colours from the sky and dock were reflected in the water.
Post Processing: I edited this in Lightroom using a Tribe Archipelago preset. I used a brush to lift shadows on her skin and a graduated filter to enhance the blue reflection.
Gear: Nikon Z6 + 24-70 f/4
Settings: ISO 640 | f/4 | 1/320
The Shot: I shot this quickly off the cuff as we were walking to our dinner reservations at the end of the boardwalk on the right.
Post Processing: Edited in LR Classic
Gear: Nikon d750 and sigma 105mm macro Settings: f7.1, iso 400, 1/250 The shot: my first attempt at a water drop refraction. I pulled a decent looking daisy from my flower garden and a long flat blade of grass from my yard. I suspended the grass between two clips and patiently added water droplets. Then it was just playing around with where to place my flower so it would refract in the droplet. I also held a bright LED light to my flower for better visibility in the drop. Post Processing: edited in LR. Didn’t actually edit this too much. Only adjusted saturation, pulled down blacks and cropped in a bit. Instagram-
Gear: Nikon D750
Settings: 1/2500, @ f/ 1.8, ISO 160
The Shot: I took this photo of my son in a beach in Panama where is common for the weather to change from one minute to the next. I love the contrast of the water and the wave with the storm approaching as he is running out of the water.
Post Processing: Worked in Lightroom CC; increased exposure, contrast, whites, blacks and clarity. Increased highlights and shadows. Increased saturation overall.
Gear: Sony ar7iv
Settings: ISO 200, f2.8, 1/320
The edit: We were at a mountain lake in the evening. There were tall rocks around one side of the lake. My daughter, of course, had to get as close to the water as possible and my angle from above was able to capture her and the reflected clouds. I like that it looks like she's about to enter an alternate world.
Post Processing: This was edited with Hello Storyteller Preset#5 with a few tweaks. I also used Stormy Solis's One Click to finish it.
Gear: iPhone 13 Pro Max, GDome Mobile Pro Housing Settings: Ultrawide setting - 13mm f1.8, 1/1672s, ISO 32 The shot: We've had this surfboard for years and hadn't used it for anything except photo booth props. When someone gave us an above ground pool, we dug it out. Post Processing: I started in Lightroom, adapting my favorite preset to this photo. I raised temp on the skin parts, changed the cyan hue to blue and used only the patch tool to get rid of any pool wall and floor. Then I moved it into Photoshop and with my very basic PS skills added a shark in there - because my sons are into that, haha.