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saintlys "The Henge"

Re: saintlys 60 x 30 x36 optiwhite

"The Henge" - Thats class! :D

Love what youve done with the photo's, I knew you would come up trumps - well done that man!
You could be of great help to the members Mark, and me when it comes to the final shots.
Really cool looking shot, your going to go far mate!

Cheers.
 
oooooooh Niiiiice pics!

Its a great tank but WOW what a difference good photography makes ..
Nice one saintly.
 
TDI-line said:
Nice work Saintly.

thanks TDI :D

Graeme Edwards said:
Love what youve done with the photo's, I knew you would come up trumps - well done that man!
You could be of great help to the members Mark, and me when it comes to the final shots.
Really cool looking shot, your going to go far mate!

planter, thanks mate.long way to go yet though. ;)

wow, cheers mate. what a nice thing to say :) the whole thing is still a learning curve for myself still, but with time...

im glad you like the title ;)

hope the title change dont confuse everyone.

im off to look for some new fish for the setup. the embers just dont do it for me. they'll go in the big tank now.
i'll update if i find a fish that i like :D

cheers

mark
 
love the shots mate, clearlyva great technique and it sounds like its been done in a budget? Could you tell us a bit about the technique its self?
I love the over exposed background, you can almost look straight through the tank, nice!
 
Dan Crawford said:
clearlyva great technique and it sounds like its been done in a budget? Could you tell us a bit about the technique its self?
I love the over exposed background, you can almost look straight through the tank, nice!

basicly by bouncing a high powered light off the white background will suffice in giving a overexposed image.just remember to meter for the plants! ;) , then with using dodge and burn in PS7 you can pull back any lost detail in the ripples etc..theres also a technique which some landscape photographers use, which is to use 2 images 1 under and 1 over exposed,( this is where you use RAW because your using the same photo, but with 2 different exposures ;) ) combine the 2 in PS7 and play around with them, using certain over exposed parts and certain under exposed parts of the image to create one! have i lost you yet? :lol:

if all go's to plan i'll make a mini journal on how i photograph the tank. good or bad.REMEMBER IM LEARNIG MYSELF! so dont shoot me down just yet.

you would have to experiment with exposures and idealy shoot in raw, because you have much more control over your images.
ive been researching at CAU'S WEBSITE and theres some interesting photography advice on that sight which i'll try and emulate in my tanks photo shoot. (more to do with the lighting)
 
The UK aquascaping photography benchmark has been set and will continue to be set, I think...

Neat idea on using multiple exposures. I must try that myself. I guess you could shoot in RAW and use HDR techniques with the same exposure too i.e. overexpose in RAW, save it, underexpose the same shot etc. etc. and merge in PS using Layers.

Just need the fish to perform for your final shot, and that'll be a kick-ass 'scape.

Well done, Mark.

Oh, and Happy Birthday, old man! lol
 
George Farmer said:
Neat idea on using multiple exposures. I must try that myself. I guess you could shoot in RAW and use HDR techniques with the same exposure too i.e. overexpose in RAW, save it, underexpose the same shot etc. etc. and merge in PS using Layers.

you got it! lanscape photographers do it alot. to reatain cloud details. not allways will you get the correct exposure for clouds and shadow details in one!
George Farmer said:
Just need the fish to perform for your final shot, and that'll be a kick-ass 'scape.

thanks george, im still unsure about the embers but here's just to prove there in there :lol:

embers.jpg



_MG_7605-01.jpg


im reckoning im only going to need to hire one flash head which will be pointed down from the top.

George Farmer said:
Oh, and Happy Birthday, old man! lol

:lol: :lol: thanks mate.
 
HDR, i think u can get a free trial from photomatix's website but would this technique work on a tank, i thought HDR helps to bring out and show detail in those light and dark areas through taking different exposure times of around 3 to 5 photo’s. also isn’t HDR normally associated with natural light and if u are using such bright and good quality lights surely there will be no real dark or shadowed areas with in the tank.
Im probs wrong but I don’t want to see someone waste there hard earned cash on an unneeded program of around $100...lol
cheers …..passerby
 
i use raw shooter premium and the equvilant is high light contrast. i dont think we would invest in a program specificly just to deal with HDR. theres no need with a good raw editor and PS7.

passerby* said:
also isn’t HDR normally associated with natural light and if u are using such bright and good quality lights surely there will be no real dark or shadowed areas with in the tank.

yes you are right mate,ive only suggested the idea. its not so much "you must do this " its more about trying new things, new ideas. for instance, this afternoon ive set up 2 lights instead of 1 and got better results instantly.remember if you DONT have high grade gear etc, there are ways around it to get a good image. those lights that you see are cheap, my expensive ones i sold :(

mark.
 
saintly said:
thanks george, im still unsure about the embers but here's just to prove there in there :lol:
I like them - they are class. Problem is they are camera shy. When I tried photographing my guppies yesterday one flash and they vanished into the weed. Same when I turned a 250w desk lamp on the tank. Normally those guys are all over the tank, so I don't know what Amano does? Is it simple habituation - or do you just wait until they are in the right spot and "lights!" - snap the right shot first time before they bolt for cover? George seemed to imply this in an earlier post...
 
Ray said:
Is it simple habituation - or do you just wait until they are in the right spot and "lights!" - snap the right shot first time before they bolt for cover?

hi ray, ive read on another site that switching the lights off briefly and then on again will fool the fish into shoaling up. and it works.

personaly im not using a flash head just yet so im not scaring them, but that will change ive also found that after feeding they become much more willing to swim around freely. maybe they think its feeding time? everytime i shoot i allways feed first ;)

the other thing with embers that ive noticed is that they come out and swim late in the day, chasing each other. great to watch.

my cardinals in the big tank know excactly when they get fed and que up. there easy to fool.
 
forgot to say earlier when i posted, cracking tank with a real good sense of scale , i hope one day i will create a tank like this. its a real good thing that your photography skills will do this tank justice, its good to see as much effort going in to the planning and taking of the photos as much as the actual aquascaping it self....lOl
cheers....passerby
 
thanks passerby,

here's a some photos to show you and others the power, and, what highlight contrast does to an image i think some software companys call it HDR....

anyway.these images are underexposed to exagerate the effect.

image 1 and 2 (in screen) as shot, 2 lights on background no HLC. the background is white.but shows un-even tones.

_MG_7572-01.jpg



_MG_7572-02.jpg




then with HLC turned up full, notice its only the high dynamic range thats gets the effect. the typical amano blown out look.


_MG_7641-01.jpg


_MG_7640-01.jpg


these are identical images just with one slider from 0 to 100! maybe this is not the correct way of shooting a fish tank, im not sure, but if it works use it :lol:

i dont have an expensive studio, so i try and find ways without one.

cheers mark
 
so bright and intense, the intensity is very strong and in your face but gives a nice glowing out line around the background plants it also brings a whole new level of sharpness to the photo making it cleaner and simplifying the whole aquascape and creating shines and shadows within the rocks to show more detail.
 
hi passerby,

you should be helping us mate, youve got A level photography i see. :D

i never studied it, just the net...you can probably tell :lol:

mark
 
ive only just finished my first year, (As) but the course im on is more arty then actually learning the required skills, the teachers ask stupid arty questions like "how does that make you feel" which is annoying i must admit.
im way offf your standard. School cant teach experience now can they...
cheers passerby.....
 
passerby* said:
School cant teach experience now can they...

true, would i by right in saying you have an slr?... seriously just get out there and do it. alomg with your studies of course. just bang on every door thats in front of you, until you bash it in. you'll get to where you want to be MUCH quicker ;)

dont get me wrong schools and studies are fine, but ive learnt as much in certain fields without study. and earnt good money at to boot! dependes how determined you are.

stick at my friend.

mark
 
cheers... thats defo the approach i want to take im sending emails to all the local photographers in my area i would love to be an assisant (just get my foot in the door)...and yeah i gota dslr nothing speacial just a 350d but does what i want it to do..anyway shouldent we speaking about the tank/plants ...lol
cheers.... passerby
 
passerby* said:
anyway shouldent we speaking about the tank/plants ...lol

:lol: i need some advice on my e tennelus, cut the leafs back? will i get die off? everyone feel free to answer. there getting rather long now :?
 
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