Jeff compiled this video and Dawn kept swimming into the frames.
Shot with Olympus OMD EM5 MkII and PEN E-PL6 camera's.
Reef Wreck & Critter |
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A fantastic group of friends shared our Raja Ampat Underwater Cruise in September. Jeff compiled this video and Dawn kept swimming into the frames. Shot with Olympus OMD EM5 MkII and PEN E-PL6 camera's.
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The Panasonic LUMIX G MACRO 30mm f/2.8 ASPH. MEGA O.I.S. Lens is designed for the micro four thirds range of camera's. So it fits directly to the complete range of Olympus PEN and OMD digital camera's, plus Panasonic Lumix camera's. The lens was released in May 2015 without any fan-fare, it just quietly slipped into the market. I often find myself in need of a lens for underwater use that allows me to take in a wider view than the other macro lenses available for the micro four thirds format, as I want to reduce the amount of water between the camera and the subject. The 30mm Panasonic Macro Lens has a much wider field of view (40 degrees) than either the Olympus 60mm Macro Lens (20 degrees) or the Leica 45mm Macro Lens (27 degrees), so I can photograph larger subjects without being too far back from the critters. But if I see something smaller that I want to photograph, I can get as close as 50mm from the lens to the subject, and get 1:1 reproduction ratio. Now that's a handy lens! Then with the addition of a strong wet lens in front of the 30mm macro lens, I can also photograph really tiny subjects. Even adding more versatility during the same dive, if I then decide I'd like to shoot some video, the 30mm macro lens really shines, as I can hand hold the camera without any shake and have enough room in the frame for the critters to play, plus not have particles showing in the frames, as I am really close to the subject. The 30mm Panasonic Macro Lens is sharp and focuses very fast, I'm super happy with my purchase. This lens also won't break the bank, I bought mine when it was on special for less than $300. I use it with the same short port that I utilise with my Leica 45mm Macro Lens, made by Zen for the Olympus Pen Housings, as the 30mm macro lens is the same length (within a couple of millmeters) as the 45mm Leica Macro Lens and fits perfectly in this port. Some Photos and a short video taken with my Olympus E-PL6 and the Panasonic 30mm Macro Lens are below. Microsoft ICE (Image Composite Editor) is a great tool for creating panoramas from fish eye images. The software is free and does a great job of merging photos into a panorama without needing to learn any fancy techniques or complicated software. Download here: http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/projects/ice/ The above Panorama was compiled by the Microsoft ICE 2.0 software, from 36 fish eye images I took on the USAT Liberty Wreck in Tulamben, Bali. I used an Olympus PEN EPL6 in a PT-EP10 housing with a Panasonic 8mm fish eye lens and Athena Dome Port. The camera was hand held and with no strobes. Shot in Manual (so the exposures were consistent across all images). I shot the images by moving the camera in a semi circular pan at two levels (see the thumbnail images in the following slide show to see what I mean). I then imported them into the ICE Software and let the program do its magic. The slide show below shows the steps I took. (click on the numbers to view each Screen Shot) There are also two websites that can display files output from ICE in 3D or high definition zoomable panoramas (PhotoSynth & DeepZoom).... But that's for another day! We have just returned from Cenderawasih Bay in West Papua having extraordinary experiences diving with Whale Sharks. Also diving some great WWII shipwrecks, aeroplane wreck and beautiful reefs.
Always in search of unique underwater photography methods (2015 marks my 40th year taking underwater photos, so I need some stimulation). A few months ago, I began experimenting with adding extension tubes on my Olympus PEN camera's. I already owned two prime macro lenses for the PEN camera's:
Extension tubes are just that, a tube that connects to the camera body and then the lens attaches to the extension tube. There is no glass to add distortion, all the extension tube does is move the lens further from the camera's sensor (which without getting to technical, adds additional magnification and closer focusing ability to the camera's prime lens). The extension tubes I used were very cheap, from memory around USD$30 for a set of two (see below for details). The important part is that these have electronic contacts, so the camera can talk to the lens. Some very cheap extension tubes available for the Micro Four Thirds Mounts do not have this. There are also more expensive extension tubes available, that look to be made from heavier material, but offer no photographic advantage. I tried various combinations of the prime lenses. One of each extension tube and even with two extension tubes stacked to get more magnification. The results were impressive with some combinations easier to use than others, but all combinations presented with photographically good results. I needed an extension ring for the housing port for some combinations, others worked with the standard port. See the chart below for more details. Click on the photos below to see the results:
Ten years later, in November this year. We were diving the waters west of Flores in the Komodo National Park and we find Neville's elusive melibe nudibranch. It's a night dive and we descend onto the sandy bottom with Briarium soft corals dotted all around. Our enthusiastic dive guide finds two of these rare and interesting nudibranchs just as we begin the dive.
I spent the entire dive in a very small area, looking and straining my eyes to try and find more of these creatures, and did find two more individuals in different colours. The rest of my dive I just watched them and thought about Neville. Our eccentric old friend who would often spent his entire dive in a six meter by six meter area. A man with no formal training in marine science, but he also discovered more than many scientists. Just because he loved the sea and its creatures, and dived with enthusiasm and an open mind. Neville passed away quietly in May 2012, just a few weeks before this strangest of Nudibranch's was officially named after him: Melibe colemani joined the list of other Coleman species, all discovered by a man with nothing more than a passion for his interest - RIP Neville
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CategoriesReef Wreck & Critter Blog:
Jeff & Dawn Mullins run this Blog to give an insight into our underwater discoveries in Indonesia and any news about what we are currently doing . Archives
October 2019
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