Lagoon Reef Build

[David Caplan]

That's a great camera to use. I have shot with many cameras and lenses, and after a lot of learning I can tell you that while better equipment can get you different viewpoints, the quality of the shots comes down to experience. Believe it or not, all the pictures in this thread have been shot with lenses adapted onto my mirrorless camera, most of them pre-1970s lenses. This means that I am shooting manual at all times, and don't use any automatic function, especially not focus. I've shot with an Olympus E-410 (10 years old), a Canon T2I (6 years old), a Canon 70d and am now using an Olympus EM1. I have shot with every Olympus mount macro, almost every Canon macro and most Nikon macro lenses. I had much better lenses when I had smaller tanks, but my shots were not as good.

It is all about understanding how exposure settings work and how to light the pictures, how the light interacts with the glass or the water. I will post a list of things to keep in mind for shooting corals, and some things that will help you get better pictures. Neglecting any of the basics while shooting corals will ensure that all your photos are distorted, it is impossible to get sharp photos without following a few basic rules.

 

[David Caplan]

Absolutely key
-Clean glass, both sides with no streaks, if shooting top down, run filter floss over the surface of the water
-You must be shooting at a 90 degree angle to the surface, glass or water (if your camera allows you to zoom while focusing, chose a target and ensure there is no distortion when it is in focus, your camera should also have a built in level)
-Bright lighting - colour/temperature does not matter, brightness and shadows do
-Tripod - if you are shooting any close up coral shots
-Ambient lights must be shut - they will cause reflection in the glass or on the water, this includes daylight, so close blinds or shoot at night
-Stop all flow/return
-Shoot RAW and on a a custom white balance, or the white balance that looks like shade
-Edit your white balance in post-processing

Tips and tricks
-Corals that do not move should always be shot at the lowest ISO possible to ensure sharpness. For moving corals, raising the ISO is essential to increase shutter speed
-Shoot each coral under the temperature of lighting they look best under, and increase intensities on specific colours if you can
-Use an actinic flashlight to remove shadows from corals
-A remote shutter is a must for macro or deep field of view shots, also avoid vibration by nearby equipment
-Use a flash to shoot fish and freeze motion, but never corals
-If you want to do macro, or close up work with a dedicated macro lens, a focus rail will make your life significantly easier


I wish I had more to add to this list, then my pictures would be even better . It is very hard to get the same quality pictures shooting through glass.

 

[BigReefer]

Absolutely key
-Clean glass, both sides with no streaks, if shooting top down, run filter floss over the surface of the water
-You must be shooting at a 90 degree angle to the surface, glass or water (if your camera allows you to zoom while focusing, chose a target and ensure there is no distortion when it is in focus, your camera should also have a built in level)
-Bright lighting - colour/temperature does not matter, brightness and shadows do
-Tripod - if you are shooting any close up coral shots
-Ambient lights must be shut - they will cause reflection in the glass or on the water, this includes daylight, so close blinds or shoot at night
-Stop all flow/return
-Shoot RAW and on a a custom white balance, or the white balance that looks like shade
-Edit your white balance in post-processing

Tips and tricks
-Corals that do not move should always be shot at the lowest ISO possible to ensure sharpness. For moving corals, raising the ISO is essential to increase shutter speed
-Shoot each coral under the temperature of lighting they look best under, and increase intensities on specific colours if you can
-Use an actinic flashlight to remove shadows from corals
-A remote shutter is a must for macro or deep field of view shots, also avoid vibration by nearby equipment
-Use a flash to shoot fish and freeze motion, but never corals
-If you want to do macro, or close up work with a dedicated macro lens, a focus rail will make your life significantly easier


I wish I had more to add to this list, then my pictures would be even better . It is very hard to get the same quality pictures shooting through glass.

I am going to try this thank you so much for taking your time and writing this up for me ... i very much appreciate that thanks

 

[David Caplan]

I am going to try this thank you so much for taking your time and writing this up for me ... i very much appreciate that thanks

No problem!

I built my own trap and caught all my fish in 20 minutes. Time to change things up, and get those wrasses back in. Totally recovered and looking wonderful in the covered frag tank.

I am taking the Two-spot Coris back to Colin @ Reef Boutique now that it has healed significantly and outgrown my tank. A buddy is taking the Blue Tang, and I have to find homes for my big bright Yellow and the juvi Dussumieri tang.

 

[BigReefer]

Well i am happy it all worked out brother

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

 

[David Caplan]

All the Tangs have found new homes and the Two-spot is back at Reef Boutique. My tank was empty with just a pair of Clowns, the Faerie wrasse a mandarin and the spikefin goby, so I did some black friday shopping. Loaded up on snails, a few crabs and some fish
2x Blue Streaked Cleaner Wrasse
2x Algae Blenny
1x Wetmorella (Possum Wrasse)
1x Plectoris inermis (Geometric/Pygmy Perchlet)

Also picked up a gorgeous Bonzai colony, and it had a cute acro crab in it. My camera just got a firmware update to allow focus stacking, but I need to figure out how to batch edit the photos so that I can more easily upload a final product. Gives colonies great depth of field.

This is a focus stack, using a kit lens, not a macro lens.

 

[BigReefer]

Looking great ... need some shots of the fishies

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[David Caplan]

Got a few shots, its so much easier using a kit lens than a macro for the fish shots:

 

[BigReefer]

explain this kit please

awesome shots

 

[David Caplan]

A kit lens is a lens that comes with a camera. In this case I used a 12-50mm zoom lens and my on-camera flash to get the fish shots. I have never used a kit lens for coral shots before.

Visited Dimitri (aquaticlog) and got some cool frags)

Pacman

ORA Voodoo and another hairy gorgeous acro


Purple Dragon

Teal Birdsnest


Also made a frag of my Pink Matrix and a couple of the awesome ultimate bonzai colony I picked up.

 

[BigReefer]

Love it man

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[Nonuser]

SOB, I was there and drove a million miles and drooled over the stuff he had in his tank and I couldn't get a frag of. Well he is a pretty good guy really.

 

[David Caplan]

Thanks guys! I have a frag tank thats absolutely jam packed with stuff, I am going to need to start taking an inventory and posting it. I welcome visitors to check out frags or talk photography, I have a bit of a vacation right now so its nice to get some stuff done.

I totally redid the sump configuration. The first chamber has a sock, 2 gallons of matrix, 2 litres of siporax strung on a tube, the reactor, and a bag a cheato floating. The 2nd chamber has a platform for the skimmer that has been adjusted to get me the best skimmate without hearing it. I also replaced the air tube that was lose, making the skimmer even more effective.



The frag return was replaced with a maxi-jet 1200 and I have valves on both the return and overflow to silence it. I installed a sock holder so that I have a sock on each return, making changes less frequent. I filled the overflow of the frag tank with another litre of siporax. Unbelievable how well this skimmer pulls, I am hoping to run sock-less soon if it keeps up.


Debating changing out my frag light from the AI Prime to a small Kessil tuna blue. I need another two inches or so of coverage.

 

[David Caplan]

Thanks to all the members who sold/swapped frags with me. I have glued a bunch in and they have opened up wonderfully.

Ultimate Bonzai (you can see the acro crab vaguely in the pic)

Got this from Colin @ Reef Boutique

aquatic log's acro


Pacman Acropora

Strawberry Shortcake

Reef Raft Pink Matrix

Wolverine from Fragbox

Reef Raft Red Roses - gta reef

 

[David Caplan]

Had a visit from a GTAAquaria member where we shared some photohraphy tips and did a reel, was fun taking some shots. After we did that reel I experimented a bit with my kit lens (12-50) with and without a flash, handheld. Got some cool shots, and shows how well the wrasses are doing.

 

[David Caplan]

Finally got a native macro lens. It is much easier to impulsively take handheld pictures with the stabilization, also gives great fish shots. Loving these fairy wrasses. Sea U Marine has 2 females in stock, but I am so hesitant to buy there.

Thanks to FragBox for the RR Habanero and the Darth Mauls

 

[Quartapound]

Finally got a native macro lens. It is much easier to impulsively take handheld pictures with the stabilization, also gives great fish shots.

What glass did you get?


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[David Caplan]

Olympus 60mm f2.8. I owned it before, but sold it to fund the tank. Finally earned it back . The other two macros I have right now are a canon mount Sigma 180mm 3.5 and Nikon 105mm

 

[prism127]

Looks awesome

 

[David Caplan]

Thanks guys! Love having this lens back. It means I can shoot whenever I feel like without whipping out the tripod and the works.

Thanks to March @ FragBox for the Aussie heat.




Pumps on blues (copepod storm flying by)


Pumps off with whites