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.
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.
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.
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.
As always, I welcome your comments and stories about your own experiences with the topic! Until next time,
-T.N.B.