Pic's Pics & Report 2012 - Final

[Pickle]

Vol. 1: http://virgin-islands-on-line.com/forum ... hp?t=23336
Vol. 2: http://virgin-islands-on-line.com/forum ... hp?t=23367


Featured bays and beaches:

Leinster
Hawksnest
(Once again, back to) Maho
(Once again, back to) Francis


----- Leinster -----

We had decided that we would give up snorkeling at Waterlemon Cay on this trip and just snorkel the shoreline of Leinster Bay. The snorkeling site is about half way along the trail that leads to the sandy beach of Leinster. After each snorkeling, my knees felt rather weary so I wasn't feeling up for the longer hike. Thanks to liamsaunt for suggesting this snorkeling.



Peacock Flounder



School of Blue Tangs and Surgeonfish, led by Bar Jack



Hamlet and Brain Corals; Finger Corals



Eye of Porcupinefish



Hawksbill Turtle



It was our last night at Reef Madness. What can I say? We didn

[lprof]

Excellent... trip report, photos, choices... thank you for sharing the details... will be waiting for your return to the island!

[Kentuckygirl]

I have loved your reports! I think I've said this already, but your underwater photos are amazing! I'm glad you had such a great trip. I can't wait until your next one!

[Mrs. B]

I love your underwater pictures! Thanks for the trip report!

[msgcolleen]

Love! LOVE! LOVED! your report and unbelievable pictures! You inspire me so much to slow down when snorkeling and really look more closely around all the cracks and crevices! I hope I get to see just some of what you saw! Thank you for sharing your trip with us!

STJ, here we come~ [/i]

[Florida Girl]

Wonderful trip report, and as always, your photos just blow me away! I'm glad you had lots of sun, but I'm sorry your knees hurt, I sympathize with you on that!

P.S. I never get tired of looking at ocotpus!

[jayseadee]

Wonderful report and great pictures. Solo many octupii - I'd like to find just one someday.

Thanks for sharing.

[augie]

Thanks for the enjoyable commentary and great pictures!

Another vote here for not getting tired of octopus pics!

[Coden]

Awesome report and pictures. Made me long for STJ!!!

[NJsurfsup]

Can't tell you how much I've enjoyed reading your reports and viewing the amazing photos. Thank you for taking the time to share them. I share msgcolleen's take , that I will spend more time hovering/observing on this trip.

Where did you take the last picture of the turtle over elkhorn coral?

[jmq]

Thanks for posting the TR.

Great photos. I know that sometimes folks here have had issues with the D10, but in your hands it yields some pretty amazing results.

If you would, please share some of the tricks or techniques you use in the water to get the shots you get i.e. stuff like: camera settings used? use of macro or zoom; how do you hold the camera - close or arms length? how much of your shooting is done just by floating or via dive down? do you try to frame carefully or just shoot many frames in the general vicinity? etc. etc.

And on post production edits: lots of editing - color or other corrections? cropping? do you use Photoshop or similar? etc. etc.

Thanks.

[liamsaunt]

Another fantastic trip report from Pickle. Your snorkel shots have me really excited for my trip in three weeks! I hope to have the same luck underwater that you did. Thanks for sharing your vacation with us.

[ColumbiaSCTraveler]

I agree with others...your pictures make me want to sloooooooow my snorkels down! You have seen such amazing things! I guess patience is key! (Patience is a virtue I lack, so this will take some work and practice... )

Thanks again for sharing your trip!

So happy y'all had wonderful weather the entire trip!

[wyoMel]

Wow, these pics blew me away!! You used the d10 I read? What on earth did I do wrong? I had the d20 and my pics are sad compared to these. Really really amazing pics. Thanks for sharing!

[Pickle]

NJsurfsup, the photo of Hawksbill over Elkhorn was taken at Hawksnest.

jmq, I don't usually snap away with the auto setting - unless the subject is fast moving and gives me no time to set the camera or myself in a position to get better shots. In that case I take as many shots as I can in hopes of some of them turning out good. Otherwise, I try to get as close to the subject as I can and use the macro setting. That method works best with slow moving subjects, of course (well, octopuses are slow... so you can see the result). I don't generally use the zoom feature with the macro but when I do I use as little as possible. In general, I use the zoom up to about 2x or so and almost never more than 3x.

I try to frame the subject very carefully (not necessarily always putting the subject in the center of the frame but rather according to its surroundings). If I don't succeed, I can always crop them later. The way I hold the camera depends on the shooting circumstances.

A lot of my photos were taken while floating. I can't be as stable with the camera when diving. So I don't willingly dive (it hurts my ears often) but when I have to I usually end up doing it a few times for the same subject. It's much tougher to shoot while diving!

The close-up photos taken with the macro in good light (but not necessarily bright light) in the shallows usually turn out good to great. I prefer taking photos in the softer morning light. The bright afternoon light sometimes creates too much glare or whiteness in photos. Anything taken in deeper water or under poor visibility needs to be Photoshopped using Shadow/Highlight, Brightness/Contrast, etc. and color corrections as well. I do it manually. The effect of the auto correct sometimes looks a little too drastic to me.


Just so everyone knows, the photos I've posted are the chosen ones among the hundreds of photos I took.

I can tell you my husband is very patient with me underwater. He never takes photos in the water, so I can imagine pacing me is not easy to do. He never complains but sometimes makes fun of me. We have a good laugh about it.

Anyway, thank you all.