Underwater Photography - Nudibranchs - Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

cgipson1 · Aug 18, 2013

Some underwater shots of some Nudibranchs. Comments welcome!

Nudibranch 1 by CGipson Photography, on Flickr

Nudibranch 2 by CGipson Photography, on Flickr

Nudibranch 3 by CGipson Photography, on Flickr

cgipson1 · Aug 19, 2013

Hmmm... maybe I should have put this in the Underwater Macro Photography forum? lol!

ronlane · Aug 19, 2013

#1 & 3 are very cool. I like the colors. #2 not bad but doesn't get my attention as much.

#3 is the winner.

cgipson1 · Aug 19, 2013

ronlane said:
#1 & 3 are very cool. I like the colors. #2 not bad but doesn't get my attention as much.

#3 is the winner.

Thanks Ron! I like these little guys... there are so many different kinds! I really need better underwater macro gear for these kind of shots!

Eclectix · Aug 19, 2013

Agreed, #3 takes the cake.

cgipson1 · Aug 19, 2013

Eclectix said:
Agreed, #3 takes the cake.

Thanks! Saw a lot of Nudi's this trip... one of the reasons I love diving Banderas Bay!

Snakeguy101 · Aug 19, 2013

Could you give us a little detail behind the shots? What were you wanting to get out of them? Were these meant to go in a field guide (they would be perfect for something like that) or were you wanting something a little more aesthetic?

If you were going for aesthetics I would try to isolate the subject some more. There is a lot of potential with lighting a subject like this too. I think you could really have fun with it.

What set up did you use to take these?

SashaT · Aug 19, 2013

As somebody that was into aquariums from the time I was 6; these interest me quite a bit. Very nice!

cgipson1 · Aug 19, 2013

Snakeguy101 said:
Could you give us a little detail behind the shots? What were you wanting to get out of them? Were these meant to go in a field guide (they would be perfect for something like that) or were you wanting something a little more aesthetic?

If you were going for aesthetics I would try to isolate the subject some more. There is a lot of potential with lighting a subject like this too. I think you could really have fun with it.

What set up did you use to take these?

Just shooting for my own enjoyment! That is all!

Aesthetic? If I was using a full DLSR instead of a little point and shoot (smaller than a deck of cards) in a housing , I might try to get a narrower DOF for subject isolation. With this gear... not likely!

I find the Nudibranchs lovely as they are... and since they were shot in the wild, I take the backgrounds / foregrounds that they come with. I have a no touch policy, so I don't move them somewhere more photogenic! Some were shot in current (#1 and #2) that made it hard to even get a shot.. much less set up some fancy lighting. I had lots of fun just diving.. finding the critters, and trying to get decent shots of them.

If you have examples of how you think they should have been shot, please post a link to your webpage! I'll be glad to take a look!

DC-1400 with an single external flash. (for now, at least!). Shot in Manual flash mode, Macro setting on the lens, with Ext Flash white balance. 14 MP.