Beautiful coral to alleviate a case of the "Moondays."

[skey44]

Just picked it up yesterday. Love the alien-like texture and colors of this coral! I think it's M. undata, but I'm not an SPS ID expert.

[pinnatus]

It gives me the Blues.

[pyithar]

it's a beautiful thing!

[mpekoske]

very nice and great polyp extension... what camera are you using? great photo

[skey44]

Digital Rebel XT
100 mm f2.8 USM macro

[skey44]

Thanks.
My friend deserves credit for the photo. He knows it is on RC.
He's very good with photos and has had his camera and tripod over a few times lately.

[Tweaked]

Sure looks like M. Undata. Nice score

[joshky]

Nice photo, thanks for sharing!

[mpderksen]

Originally Posted by skey44

Digital Rebel XT
100 mm f2.8 USM macro

If it's not too much trouble, could you post the camera metadata for the photo, including the white balance settings and what lights this was shot under?
I also have a Canon Rebel and I'm trying to dial in better settings for shots like this. My Macro lens is different, but I try to avoid post processing as much as possible.
(I read the photography forum a lot, but every little bit helps)

[stormbind]

Looks like garbage to me. Its all out of focus.

[skey44]

My friend and I edited it together… the post processing included rotating the photo.

camera settings- f2.3, 1/30, auto white balance

[mpderksen]

Originally Posted by stormbind

Looks like garbage to me. Its all out of focus.

It's called "depth of field" and is used to bring the eyes to the center of the photo. Artistic choice. Macros are typically very tight DOF for a reason. If you wanted the entire thing in focus, you would change it to 5.6 or greater.
(But I assume you were just joking, and not actually that rude)

What lights were on in the tank?

[skey44]

Originally Posted by mpderksen

It's called "depth of field" and is used to bring the eyes to the center of the photo. Artistic choice. Macros are typically very tight DOF for a reason. If you wanted the entire thing in focus, you would change it to 5.6 or greater.
(But I assume you were just joking, and not actually that rude)

What lights were on in the tank?

Thanks

I have a feeling that was sarcasm, if not you explained it well.

I cannot take very good macros personally bc I cannot focus the depth of field correctly. My friend definitely can "see" focus better than I can. I like the way it looks, and cannot reproduce his images sharpness at just the right spot.

Lighting was ATI super actinic and ATI Blue plus

[harmon765]

That's awesome! Great picture also.

[echopiece]

Great shot, and thanks for the new iPhone wallpaper

[stormbind]

Originally Posted by echopiece

Great shot, and thanks for the new iPhone wallpaper

Great I'm glad you like it. Be sure to check out my reef central Christmas present thread for more photos.

[Stackemdeep]

Looks like garbage to me. Its all out of focus.

Nice Bokeh is what he meant to say

[skey44]

Yes I knew he was the artist . I've seen the preview of his Christmas present thread... I'm stoked. They are all on rotate as my iPhone background!

[mpderksen]

Originally Posted by skey44

My friend and I edited it together… the post processing included rotating the photo.

camera settings- f2.3, 1/30, auto white balance

With f2.3, the aperture is likely almost completely open, and with 1/30 sec exposure, a tripod is a must. Only way to increase the DOF then is to increase your ISO. If the above shot was taken at 400, and you raised it to 800, you can either go to 1/60 sec, or increase your f by one or two stops.
As the f number gets bigger, your lens opens SMALLER, and therefore lets in more light. However, as the aperture decreases (which is your f-stop), you get more DOF.
In short, DOF (depth of field) is the angle of light hitting the film/sensor, and the narrower the angle, the more of the "field" that is in focus.
Easy example: if I want the background of a person that is far away IN focus (like if they are standing in an orchard) I use something like f/22. If I want the background blurry to create a focus on the face of a person, I open it to f/5.6.
In an aquarium, our tanks are typically less than 24" front to back, so only in a macro shot will you narrow the DOF that much. Instead, we want as much light as possible, so we OPEN the aperture. Especially when shooting a moving target, like a fish, you want a fast shutter speed to freeze them and prevent a blurry photo. Since fast shutters don't let in much light, you need the aperture to open as much as possible in a short period of time to expose the film/sensor.
Modern DSLRs can get crazy high ISO (mine only goes to 1000) but it you get too high, you get digital noise.
Best thing to do is put the camera on a tripod and try various combinations and see how one adjust,net effects the others.
Is that WAY more than you needed to know? I'm learning this stuff myself lately, so it's very much on my mind. I guess you didn't even really ask.

[skey44]

Nice lesson, I find teaching the best way to learn! I took a photography class and dabble so understand some of what you're talking about. My friend is just a straight slayer on the dslr. I can't touch his crispness.
And he told me the f was actually 2.8, 2.3 was a typo as at 2.8 his aperture is wide open.

[skey44]

Wait til I upload some iphone pics... Lol

[stormbind]

Originally Posted by skey44

Nice lesson, I find teaching the best way to learn! I took a photography class and dabble so understand some of what you're talking about. My friend is just a straight slayer on the dslr. I can't touch his crispness.
And he told me the f was actually 2.8, 2.3 was a typo as at 2.8 his aperture is wide open.

What he said.

[Ajohnson]

That's pretty unreal!

[jamestina.small]

If my ppt s.g. Is 1.028 does that mean my salt level is to high or to low?

[Ajohnson]

Originally Posted by jamestina.small

If my ppt s.g. Is 1.028 does that mean my salt level is to high or to low?

Too high. My salt level is always around 1.026, which is in the upper range for fish, but keeps your corals happy.