Weekly Assignment #86: Submerged

Nikolai · July 24, 2008

We did shoot reflections, we had fun with bottles and liquid surfaces... This time we're going to shoot a (completely) submerged subject, incorporating both the object and the surrounding liquid into a single frame.
Use of a polarizer to kill the reflections is recommended. As always, try not only to be theme-compliant, but actually deliver a message, i.e. provide some good quality image.

Fresh captures only. Moderate post-processing. Shot should be taken from above, i.e. through the liquid surface...

Let's get submerged!

JAG · July 25, 2008

Nikolai wrote:

We did shoot reflections, we had fun with bottles and liquid surfaces... This time we're going to shoot a (completely) submerged subject, incorporating both the object and the surrounding liquid into a single frame.
Use of a polarizer to kill the reflections is recommended. As always, try not only to be theme-compliant, but actually deliver a message, i.e. provide some good quality image.

Fresh captures only. Moderate post-processing.

Let's get submerged!

Ahhh..you are definately challenging us aren't you! Putting my thinking cap back on...

spb13 · July 25, 2008

"Under the Sea"

By the way...pineapples float.

Nikolai · July 25, 2008

spb13 wrote:

"Under the Sea"
By the way...pineapples float.

Sean, thank you!

Actually, I must apologize

, I wasn't clear: the shot must be taken from ABOVE, through the liquid surface

I will modify the lead post.

spb13 · July 25, 2008

Nikolai wrote:

Sean, thank you!
Actually, I must apologize , I wasn't clear: the shot must be taken from ABOVE, through the liquid surface
I will modify the lead post.

Well damn. That actually brings up a question then. In my test shots I didn't always "see" the water. I am guessing that you want it to be obvious that we are shooting through water?

Nikolai · July 25, 2008

spb13 wrote:

Well damn. That actually brings up a question then. In my test shots I didn't always "see" the water. I am guessing that you want it to be obvious that we are shooting through water?

Yes, that's the challenge...

OffTopic · July 26, 2008

Hmmm...now I'm confused...

I shot this before I read your post to Sean. Does it count because you can see the surface of the water?

(Yeah, a composite of two frames...my "fruit dropper" had some creative ownership and insisted

)

Nikolai · July 26, 2008

OffTopic wrote:

Hmmm...now I'm confused... I shot this before I read your post to Sean. Does it count because you can see the surface of the water?

(Yeah, a composite of two frames...my "fruit dropper" had some creative ownership and insisted )

Lori, this is very good all by itself

, but can you please redo with the correction in mind

spb13 · July 26, 2008

Giving it another go...

"Sunken Treasure"

Nikolai · July 26, 2008

spb13 wrote:

Giving it another go...
"Sunken Treasure"

Sean,
better

, but not good enough

I can't tell if it's a submerged object or simply a very soft shot.

The assignment is rather difficult, make no mistake thinking it ain't...
You want to see the liquid, yet you don't want to see it too much.
Very careful lighting and angling is needed to do it right...

spb13 · July 26, 2008

Nikolai wrote:

Sean,
better , but not good enough
I can't tell if it's a submerged object or simply a very soft shot.
The assignment is rather difficult, make no mistake thinking it ain't...
You want to see the liquid, yet you don't want to see it too much.
Very careful lighting and angling is needed to do it right...

It is certainly not an easy one.

From the same session I have this one. Making the water move a little makes it show up better, but I wasn't sure about all the reflections.

By the way...thanks for the challenge.

Nikolai · July 26, 2008

spb13 wrote:

It is certainly not an easy one.

From the same session I have this one. Making the water move a little makes it show up better, but I wasn't sure about all the reflections.

By the way...thanks for the challenge.

I think this one is better theme-wise. The primary gotchas at this point:
1) way not enough light hence very soft borderline oof images
2) very muddy feeling to the whole shot
Think of sumbission to "Fishtank Quarterly"...

spb13 · July 26, 2008

Nikolai wrote:

I think this one is better theme-wise. The primary gotchas at this point:
1) way not enough light hence very soft borderline oof images
2) very muddy feeling to the whole shot
Think of sumbission to "Fishtank Quarterly"...

OK then...back to the drawing board.

JAG · July 26, 2008

bubbly submerged
Ok after much consideration and seeing how this thread progressed...this is what I came up with. Shot in a clear glass bowl with red food coloring and white shell. Only lighting was ambient light from under the cabnits overhead and a pen flashlight held by my lil one. Bubbles and water effect made by stirring things up with my hand (which is now a pretty pink color).

iso 500
ss 1/30
aperture f/5.6
48mm FL
taken today.

I originally was thinking of doing boiling eggs...but I was concerned about the steam that could cause camera problems.

Nikolai · July 26, 2008

JAG wrote:

Ok after much consideration and seeing how this thread progressed...this is what I came up with. Shot in a clear glass bowl with red food coloring and white shell. Only lighting was ambient light from under the cabnits overhead and a pen flashlight held by my lil one. Bubbles and water effect made by stirring things up with my hand (which is now a pretty pink color).

iso 500
ss 1/30
aperture f/5.6
48mm FL
taken today.

I originally was thinking of doing boiling eggs...but I was concerned about the steam that could cause camera problems.

Joyce, I like it a lot!

It's clearly in the right direction. Great lighting/colors!

My only gripe is that the surface is clearly in focus while the submerged primary subject (shell) is not...

JAG · July 26, 2008

Nikolai wrote:

Joyce, I like it a lot!
It's clearly in the right direction. Great lighting/colors!
My only gripe is that the surface is clearly in focus while the submerged primary subject (shell) is not...

Thanks Nikolai. I had a hard time with this. I would focus on the shell...then mix the water...it made the shell look blurred in all the shots that I mixed the water to get ripples and bubbles. Do you have any suggestions on how to not get this? This is the only picture that came out with bubbles that were somewhat clear...I think the focus was more on the surface of the water in the other shots the water and bubbles were really blurred...along with the shell. I was thinking that when I shot and the shell was clear...and the surface was still....you could not really tell it was underwater.

Nikolai · July 26, 2008

JAG wrote:

Thanks Nikolai. I had a hard time with this. I would focus on the shell...then mix the water...it made the shell look blurred in all the shots that I mixed the water to get ripples and bubbles. Do you have any suggestions on how to not get this? This is the only picture that came out with bubbles that were somewhat clear...I think the focus was more on the surface of the water in the other shots the water and bubbles were really blurred...along with the shell. I was thinking that when I shot and the shell was clear...and the surface was still....you could not really tell it was underwater.

I think you need to use f/8 or smaller (larger f/values), focus manually on the shell when the water is still and then start fooling around with the surface.

OffTopic · July 26, 2008

I asked my husband if he would jump in the pool and make funny faces at me while holding his breath under water and he said "absolutely not"!

Absolutely...... hmmm....

I like the goose personally...

If that's not enough surface showing, maybe this one:

Like those psychedelic reflections?

Better Nikolai? Closer? Drink more vodka and try again?

Nikolai · July 26, 2008

OffTopic wrote:

I asked my husband if he would jump in the pool and make funny faces at me while holding his breath under water and he said "absolutely not"!

Absolutely...... hmmm....

I like the goose personally...

If that's not enough surface showing, maybe this one:

Like those psychedelic reflections?

Better Nikolai? Closer? Drink more vodka and try again?

These are very nice, but they show too much of a container.
The idea is to capture a submerged item without an in-your-face proof of a vessel holding the liquid, yet to show the liquid, too...

hoffalady · July 28, 2008

okay i went a bit crazy with this assignment and had a blast at it... but i'm a wienie and want to post them one at a time... i'm concerned there is too much surface disturbance.... but i guess we'll see.... :giggle

hoffalady · July 28, 2008

this one is entirely a play on Nikolai's AV...

Nikolai · July 28, 2008

hoffalady wrote:

this one is entirely a play on Nikolai's AV...

Thank you!

I only wish the sink hole was out of frame:-)

Nikolai · July 28, 2008

hoffalady wrote:

okay i went a bit crazy with this assignment and had a blast at it... but i'm a wienie and want to post them one at a time... i'm concerned there is too much surface disturbance.... but i guess we'll see.... :giggle

Getting refractions on the bottom is a nice way of bringing the liquid into the equation.

A little bit of curves should also make the image less flat, only leaving a large shadow part on the bottom as a con...

hoffalady · July 28, 2008

Nikolai wrote:

Thank you!
I only wish the sink hole was out of frame:-)

i coulda cropped it but i didn't want to mess w/ the ripple at all....

hoffalady · July 28, 2008

this one is probably my favorite... and no, i wasn't trying to drown my child...

tho this one probably has the most clear/least surface disturbance...

Nikolai · July 28, 2008

hoffalady wrote:

this one is probably my favorite... and no, i wasn't trying to drown my child...
tho this one probably has the most clear/least surface disturbance...

two red crosses

hoffalady · July 28, 2008

better?

they are my family (locked) galleries... i forgot to allow external linking... oops!

Nikolai · July 28, 2008

hoffalady wrote:

better?

they are my family (locked) galleries... i forgot to allow external linking... oops!

Nice submerged!

sdways01 · July 29, 2008

An old cracked metal tub in a meadow near my house. Learned a lot about my polarizing filter with this one.

Nikolai · July 29, 2008

sdways01 wrote:

An old cracked metal tub in a meadow near my house. Learned a lot about my polarizing filter with this one.

Adam,
thank you for the entry!

Unfortunately, it's very hard to guess that there is a liquid there...

sdways01 · July 29, 2008

Nikolai wrote:

Adam,
thank you for the entry!
Unfortunately, it's very hard to guess that there is a liquid there...

Being in a pond on a calm day, there wasn't any ripples or anything. The only thing you really see is what is floating on the water. I didn't want to zoom way out to show it was in water.

Weekly Assignment #86: Submerged

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