Re: Recents shots from Bay of Pigs, Cuba
Hector1959 wrote:
Craig, I post here some of the close-up shots from Gallery Album "Bay of Pigs" (in next I'll focus in WA). I would appreciate your comments and critics (as well as other's)
Edits in LR (from JPG) NOT Cropped +9 contrast -24 shadows +5 clarity +5 dehaze +5 Saturation
Too bad you didn't leave some blank lines between shots. Makes it easier to comment in-line.
I don't have much to say about this one. Basically a 'fish shot' I am a bit suspect of your processing settings as I think it leads to some harshness, but I am not familiar with your RAW files and what you can squeeze out of them. But in general, I've become very hesitant to use the Clarity slider. And since I don't have a Dehaze function, I'm not sure what it is doing.
Edits in LR: Just cropped from RAW file
I think I like it uncropped better.
Edits in LR. Just cropped from the RAW file. Some adjustments might help
This is not bad, but I wonder if you had the diopter on? I'd like to see if sharper, but again I don't know if you've already got the maximum out of your camera here.
I find Christmas Tree worms to be sort of the mallard duck of underwater shooting. Relatively easy to find, flashy, but can be hard to get maximum detail out of it. In the shot above I'd try for a bit more contrast, possibly pull down the highlights too (to keep detail in the white tips).
Edits in LR Cropped +0.43 Exposure +9 contrast +5 clarity +4 dehaze +7 Saturation
Seems nice.
Edits in LR NOT Cropped +0.27 Exposure +10 contrast -38 shadows +5 clarity +4 Saturation some spots removed.
I don't like the composition here, with the bottom antenna cut off. Might be a good one to crop into the details.
Edits in LR: Just cropped from the RAW file. Some adjustment would help.

Edits in LR Cropped -78 Highlights +10 clarity +12 dehaze +7 Saturation
Edits in LR Cropped +1.36 Exposure -12 Highlights -49 shadows +46 blacks +9 clarity +4 dehaze +12 Saturation
Possibly the best of the bunch, though I'd like a lower angle. This spinyhead blenny is a tough subject to capture without blowing out the face, not to mention getting a shot in focus in what is usually a lot of current surge.
Edits in LR Cropped +0.66 exposure +13 contrast -7 highlights +9 clarity +13 dehaze
Edits in LR. Cropped (a very small portion of the original) +9 clarity +26 dehaze
I'm not keep on shots where you are looking down on fish. Also, on this last one, pay attention to the harshness of the background coral. It looks like some highlight reduction might help there. This is also a type of look I see when clarity gets pushed up.
I'm interested in your techniques for white balance. On the above, I would have tried an eyedropped tool on both a white coral speck and the black eye portion.
-- hide signature --
Phoenix Arizona Craig
www.cjcphoto.net