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Canon DSLR Challenge | all galleries >> CSLR Challenge 156 - Animal Magnetism (hosted by Sharon Lips) >> CSLR Challenge 156 - Eligible > 8th Place
Quench
by Najinsky
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19-OCT-2009 Najinsky

8th Place
Quench
by Najinsky

Rasa Ria Sanctuary

I spent a wonderful hour at the Rasa Ria Rehabilitation site for endangered Orang Utans. The only dilemma was which face of this beautiful creature should I enter into the challenge?

Did I choose the right one? See the candidates here: http://homepage.mac.com/miller.a/RasaRiaApes/

Not for this challenge, but I also posted some snorkelling shots from my Leica D-Lux4 using a Nereus underwater bag. You can see the results here: http://homepage.mac.com/miller.a/SapiIslandSnorkel/


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jnconradie23-Oct-2009 10:53
Perfect capture. You are/were really on a roll here. Well done. Regards Nico
Guest 22-Oct-2009 23:19
I think you made a good choice. It's a very expressive image of these beautiful creatures. LOL@Lydia. -Michael
Konstantin Yagudin21-Oct-2009 06:10
Nice place is this Rasa Ria, isn't it? May be it would be interesting for you to see some of my pictures I shot at the same place 4 months ago ...

http://www.pbase.com/kyagudin/borneo

just for memories ...

K
Canon DSLR Challenge20-Oct-2009 16:19
The only underwater shooting I have done is with a Kodak disposable but I loved it anyway. Your pictures are wonderful despite all the problems. Thanks for the explanation! ~Sharon
Canon DSLR Challenge20-Oct-2009 15:52
What an adorably ugly shot, Naj! LOL! I like it. ~Lydia
Canon DSLR Challenge20-Oct-2009 15:43
Thanks for the comments Jim, Lee and Sharon. Sharon, the numbers you mention for the orang utan pictures include most of my favourites too, so we seem to be on the same wavelength there. With regard to the snorkel pictures, I bought the Nereus underwater bag on Saturday and was trying it for the first time for these pictures on Sunday. I was working blind because the sun was so strong and through the bag and the mask I couldn't see the screen, so had to point and hope. I first shot wide open (f/2.0) at 24mm and with a large area for AF and metering, lit only by the sun.

Some shots worked, but most didn't due to missed composition, and missed focus.

I went back in for a second shoot. I reduced the aperture to f/3.5 and forced the flash on. I also adjusted my aim based on the first results, though still blind, and I got some better shots but still quite small subjects due to 24mm.

I went back for the third shoot. This time the sun was a little less strong and I could just about make out the screen, so I zoomed to 60mm and changed my viewing angle to maximise my view of the display, and that really helped to bring the fishes a little closer. Unfortunately I swallowed a lot more water this way to!

As well as the fishes, the flash lights up all the tiny particles in the water, so there seems to be a trade-off with flash to get the beautiful colours versus foggy looking water.

The island is only a 15 minute boat ride from the Hotel so I will go back again in a couple of days and try a little less flash with an increased iso to 200, allowing a better shutter speed.

Prior to this trip I was contemplating geting an underwater case for my old 20D but didn't get around to it, which is a shame because 800 iso would have allowed for a better DOF, which combined with faster focus would have made for better shots (most shots missed the intended composition due to slow AF/shutter lag).

All the images suffered reduced DR due to being taken underwater, but an Auto-Levels in my image application (Aperture /Mac OS X) brought the colours back nicely.

Gosh. look how long this message got! Don't I ramble on!

-Najinsky
elips20-Oct-2009 05:06
Good action shot! You had a bunch of photos that would have done equally well but I think this one has just a tad bit more interest than the others. Good choice. Here are the ones I liked the best, 1, 7, 15, 19 & 21. His little ear makes him look so vulnerable!
The snorkeling shots are fascinating! Were you using a flash? These are the ones I liked the best, the ones around 38 of the school of fish and 56 & 60. Those neon colors are amazing! ~Sharon
Canon DSLR Challenge20-Oct-2009 01:52
cool shot
theFly
Canon DSLR Challenge19-Oct-2009 18:05
That's just great :) What a wonderful pose - getting a drink :) Well done! Jim H.