December 8, 2023

An Amateur’s Guide to Underwater LEGO Photography (Part 2)

Yesterday, I went back to work after a nice long summer off. I also posted a picture of Ursula the Sea Witch as my #WordlessWednesday entry for the week. I thought it was a fitting choice because it was a photo I have been holding onto since my vacation at the cottage. I think it turned out really nicely. It was actually part of a series of photos that I took underwater. You might recall that I already wrote an article about underwater photography earlier this month using Aquaman (click here to read it). Today, I thought I would once again broach the topic, but this time in relation to my post from yesterday.

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My Ursula picture from yesterday.

The picture that I posted yesterday (see above) was may favorite from the series. As with my first attempt at underwater photography, these pictures were taken with my really old Pentax WPi waterproof camera. I took these photos in really shallow water. In most cases, it was just enough water to cover Ursula. If you recall, I mentioned that I had trouble aiming the camera underwater with my Aquaman shots a few weeks ago. The screen is very hard to see underwater. I found that in shallow water, that became a little easier.

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These pictures were taken in really shallow water so that the camera was easier to use.

The smoky effect in some of the pictures is actually natural and not Photoshop. When I was taking the Aquaman pictures, I had trouble with the silt on lake bottom. Any movement caused the silt to become suspended, clouding the shots. But, afterwards I found that it settled back down to the bottom in an interesting manner. The current in the lake would sweep most of the silt away within a few minutes. But, if you made a depression, say a foot print, the depression would remain cloudy for some time even after the water above it had cleared. I was carefully able to swirl that cloud with my finger to create really interesting effects around Ursula.

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The smoke around Ursula is actually a natural effect produced by stirring up silt and letting it partially settle.

 

The final photos were edited in Photoshop to bring out the colours. I also turned the lake water blue to give it a more deep ocean look. Finally,  I brought out the colour in Ursula’s face a little more.

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The original, unedited photo from the lake is on the left. I bought out the colours a little more and increased the amount of blue using Photoshop.

 

As always, I welcome your comments and stories about your own experiences with the topic! Until next time,

-T.N.B.