How Small Do I Go?

"Thanks to digital camera era, underwater photographers don't have to hesitate to make mistakes in taking photographs. "


Around the year 2009, some new gadgets in underwater photography allowed us to make super macro photos, and that was about the time when I got my first underwater DSLR. It was one of my dream: make photo of plankton. I just want to see them with my eyes, underwater. I bought my first +10 diopter/close-up wet-lens to add on my 105mm macro lens, and it was in Kupang waters when I did my first plankton photo session.

Hatched fish larvae

Amphipod and Copepod 

                 

To photograph plankton need some extra patience and stamina. They always move around and.... yes they are small. They are attracted to light, use an extra torch will help you to "call" them in. Sometime you need to turn the torch off for awhile if there were too many of them. 

Attracted to the light

Krill and Copepod

With a diopter added, the Depth of Field will reduce a lot. That makes it harder to focus on the subject. Normally, I turn off the autofocus on my camera when I use diopter. 

Some of nudibranch are just too small to see with bare eyes

Diopter narrows the DOF

Sometime I use the "disadvantage" of the diopter to make photos I like: NDOF. 

Not "too" small Pigmy Pipefish

Using the "disadvantage" of diopter: the eye of Pigmy Pipefish

For sure, with diopter you are able to make un-cropped photo of small objects. Normally this is one of the rule you have to obey in submitting your photographs in international underwater photo competitions.

More of my photographs, click here.