Another newbie

[PeeBee]

Hi folks, quick intro.

Some of you may know me from YD, I've been diving for five and a half years with 240 (ish) dives logged and have found that increasingly, swimming around isn't enough. I'm not into wrecks as spidge or history but enjoy them as havens of life. Increasingly I'm getting into photography although currently I shoot a compact. I'm beggining to get reasonable results but will need to upgrade my kit before much longer money permitting.
Currently I have a Sony Cybershot W80 with an Inon Z220 strobe on a Sea and Sea arm. I'm looking at adding an Inon wide angle lens maybe next month as I'm discovering the limits of the current kit for anything beyond 1/2 a metre.

I hope to be picking your brains soon wrt Dig SLRs.

Here are a couple of recent shots I took in Scapa last week, please feel free to criticise (constructively would be kind)





Pete

[simonmort]

Welcome on board, couple of nice shots there. Cant help think i would like to see a bit more macro on these images.

Think the last one would look good with more of the anemone in the image.Stunning red and white colours up close.
No areas blown out, so strobe balanced well.
well done.

Do you use most of the camera on manual settings or auto?
simon

[PeeBee]

Hi Simon

Thanks for your comments, good points. The Sureshot doesn't give me full manual control so I spoof some of it with adjustments to the exposure values, white balance and flash settings. Unfortunately I can't fully control the white balance. I bought the camera while in India when my old Nikon died and it was all I could find at the last minute. It wouldn't have been my first choice for a compact, I'd probably have bought an Ixus or Fuji if I'd been able to find one at the time.

[triplefin]

Welcome to DG Peebee
Couple of nice shots, think I personally would have cropped them in a little tighter.

[Cussy]

Welcome Peebee
With anemone, I like to get right in there:

Pick out individual details and you can get a cracking shot. However, I appreciate your camera might not allow that.

The first shot I kind of like and I'm taking more like this nowadays. It shows several different things, so it's more of an eco-system shot as opposed to an individual species photo. Once you get the broader picture, you can then pick out the detail of the individual things.
HTH,
Rob

[Annie S]

Hi, I particularly like the anemone, I think I agree aboout a tighter crop though.

I hope you will find like me, that there is lots of inspiration from other peoples work here.

I would love to have the courage and the money to take my DSLR underwater, fortunately the lack of the latter prevents me from worrying about plucking up enough of the former!! In the mean time I am still trying to get the best out of my little Canon A570. I have a long way to go...

Have fun and enjoy. Invariably I always see the perfect shot when I don't have my camera with me. I totally agree with you about wrecks, although I am trying to learn what all the different bits are!( It helps when you are trying to show other people around them!!)