Sight Casting

February 11, 2009

Capturing Underwater trout photos

Filed under: Trout and Fish Photography, Uncategorized — Tags: , , — haydockj @ 6:34 pm

 

 Colorado River Cutthroat on the fly         Colorado Brook Trout on the fly
Reflections - Colorado River Cut

   Brook Trout on the fly

 
Last fall, I purchased an Olympus Stylus 1030 SW point and shoot camera.  The camera is the smallest camera I have ever owned, yet it has a ton of capabilities.  I purchased the Olympus so I would have an inexpensive small camera for fishing excursions when lugging along a larger DSLR camera is inconvenient (long hikes with other fishing gear).  It turns out I love the camera so much that I now take it along even if I have my DSLR.  Although I appreciate its size (3 7/8″ w by 2 1/2″ h), its durability (it can be dropped from over 6.6 feet without damage), and its memory capabilities (10.1 megapixels), I am most enthusiastic about its underwater capabilities.  The camera is waterproof to 33 feet.  And, easy to use “scene selection” functions allow for easy switching from portrait and landscape modes to underwater mode.  To date, I’ve taken the camera on a dozen trips including local excursions in Virginia as well as an October trip to Aspen Colorado.  The trip to Colorado included time on the Frying Pan, a few small streams (Ivanhoe and Cunningham Creeks) and a few high mountain lakes (Lake Lyle and Savage Lakes).  To date, I have taken underwater shots of brown trout, Colorado cutthroat, brook trout and rainbows.  While the quality of the shots has not yet been appropriate for pictures larger than 5×7 images, I have learned a lot along the way.  Obviously, I could invest a ton of money in a more professional set up (underwater housing for my DSLR).  But, my primay objective is to capture underwater images that are good enough to inspire a painting (to inspire my wife to paint that is).  Here are a few lessons I have learned along the way in regard taking underwater shots.  

LESSON #1 -Don’t kill the fish.  Obviously, it would be a lot easier to simply hold fish underwater or tire them out excessivly prior to release.  However, ”over tiring” the fish increases mortality rates.  I must admit, with shame, that I accidently over stressed the first fish I shot with this camera.  And, I had to creel the rainbow trout and eat it for supper.  In doing so, I also realized that a tired, floating fish makes for a less interesting subject.

LESSON #2 – Related to Lesson #1, having a partner helps…a lot.  As one person releases the fish, the other person has already submerged the camera and is ready for the shot as the fish departs.  Or, as you play the fish, your partner can try to take a few shots as you try to land the fish.   Now, this can be a game of numbers (you may need to catch and release many fish).  And, many shots will simply consist of a tail as the fish darts to freedom.  However, I’ve found that releasing the fish gently into moving water sometimes results in a more calm departure.  In fact, some fish stick around for a few minutes and allow various shots from different angles prior to speeding off to safer grounds.  

LESSON #3 - Good light, as with all photography, is critical.  But, I have not been successful with flash underwater on this camera as it tends to overexpose the picture.  And, unfortunately, fish do not seem to appreciate the challenge of light.  Instead, trout like to dart for the nearest dark space immediately upon release.  So, you have a choice, release the fish into a sunny spot and watch it quickly leave.  Or, release it in a shady area and suffer from a poor picture.  As with all good things in life, effort is required.

For my next excursion, I am going to work a bit on trying to “steady my hands” underwater with a makeshift mono-pod to help eliminate some of the blurry images.  The fish are already moving, shaky hands do not help.

Brook Trout Heading for Cover

Brook Trout Heading for Cover

January 9, 2009

Capturing the right photo – Trout Spots

Filed under: Trout Spots, Trout and Fish Photography — haydockj @ 5:07 pm
Brook Trout  Brook Trout Spots Macro Photo    

As Isaak Walton once wrote, “Inhabitants of the watery element are for wise men to contemplate and fools to pass by without consideration.”

Trout Spot Art is inspired by the actual patterns on trout. The first trick is to catch the fish, capture the image, and release the fish unharmed. When possible, we use heavier tippets than normally preferred (typically the lighter the line the better so the fish are not spooked by the coarse line) so we can land the fish quickly. We try our best to rely on rubber or fine mesh nets as opposed to handling the fish to reduce the likelihood of removing their protective slime.

Once netted, we use a pair of forceps to remove the barbless fly hooks from the fish and move quickly to a pre-established ”shooting” set up (digital SLR camera with a Macro lense).  As we capture a few photos of the patterns, the goal is to focus on close-up images as opposed to shots of the whole fish.  The two photos above show the difference between a standard lense (left) and a macro lense (right).  In many cases, the subjects (also known as fish) are only a few inches long.   For example, the fish used in the pictures shown was only about 5 inches long.   Thus, a macro lense, good light and a high quality SLR camera are essential.

After capturing images, a variety of artisitc approaches can be used for each individual photograph. Some images are simply enlarged and printed so as to provide detail for the artist to paint. In other cases, the photos are digitally modified to render a final product that enhances various elements. In the end, many images might be derived from one single photograph and one fish. The final painted images inspired by these photos (above) are shown on our January 8th blog post. 

 

John

Comments (0)

Powered by WordPress