Fish of Hawaii [lots of pics]

[Ken]

Hey guys,

I organized a bunch of pics from Hawaii a while back. Last evening, I was playing with a few pics and I came across a couple of functions called Auto Level and Auto Colour Correction under Enchance in the menu bar in Photoshop.

So I tested it out on some pics of fish I took in Hawaii and lo and behold, they all look much better now.

Okay...there is nothing that you can do if your pictures were acquired poorly (ie, out of focus, noisy due to moisture or dust...etc). My problem was mainly a lot of suspended particles in the water plus low light conditions at times.

But...with these new Photoshop edits, my pictures were saved!!! And now you can see the fish with the colours that I saw in person.

Here's the striking difference! 8O

Before Auto Colour Correction



After Auto Colour Correction



And if the pictures were good to begin with...

Before



After



Slight improvement...but not enough to make me say wow...it only improved the background colour a bit.

Here are some underwater pics I've taken in Hawaii while snorkeling. The conditions were not horrible that day, but with scattered clouds and some wind, it made for challenging shooting conditions. Not to mention snorkeling in 4-6 FOW with sand being kicked up from the surf...you can only imaging how difficult it is to get some good pics.

All of these fish, except for one (yellowstriped goatfish) were captured at the same location on the same day within about a 2-hour swim. These are just a small representation of the fish in this area. Further out (deeper) there are even more species. But I do not SCUBA...so I can't get out deeper.

At times, I'm only about 1-2 feet from my subjects. You need quite a bit of stealth and you also need to be able to hold your breath for quite a while, plus being able to swim and catch up with those fish (some swim very fast). Luckily, I bought a dry snorkel to help make my adventures a little easier. I could dive down and follow fish without having my snorkel flood with water.

I took these pics with a Canon Powershot A620 with their underwater function (the exposure time and aperture were manually adjusted). I also have an underwater housing made by Canon just for this camera model. Those disposible film underwater cam just don't cut it (I've used it before...okay in general...but it does lack some quality)

Anyways, here are some (or lots of) pics. I organized them in groups of related species whenever I can.

Let's start of with an invertebrate

Sea Cucumber



Hawaiian Tenpounder This one is actually close to ten pounds. I read they are a very strong fish to play on the rod, much like a bonefish in fighting style.



Highfin Chub Another good fighter that would must likely bust you off in the coral if you don't act quick enough.



Bluefin Trevally It's a trevally...enough said. This one was an ulua size fish (over 10lb are considered an ulua).



Picasso Triggerfish



Orangespine Unicornfish



Whitebar Surgeonfish



Goldring Surgeonfish



Whitespotted Surgeonfish



Bluelined Surgeonfish



Ringtail Surgeonfish



Lavender Tang



Sailfin Tang



Convict Tang



Hawaiian Gregory



Brighteye Demselfish



Blackspot Sergeant



Hawaiian Sergeant



Stripebelly Puffer



Hawaiin Spotted Puffer



Saddle Wrasse



Bird Wrasse



Blacktail Wrasse female



Pearl Wrasse female



Manybar Goatfish



Yellowstripe Goatfish



Blacktail Snapper



Bluelined Snapper



Stareye Parrotfish female



Redlip Parrotfish female



Redlip Parrotfish male



Palenose Parrotfish female



Palenose Parrotfish male



Milletseed Butterflyfish



Racoon Butterflyfish



Threadfin Butterflyfish



Threadfin Butterflyfish variant This fish has some genetic mutation that gave it a normal pattern on one side of the body (like the one above) and the pattern below on the other side of the body.



Saddleback Butterflyfish

[Ken]

Oh, these were all captured at Hanauma Bay, with the exception of the weke (yellowstriped goatfish) which was photographed at the breakwater near Kapiolani Park.

[Stan Wright]

Isn't Photoshop wonderful. I don't know how we use to do it.

[OahuDave]

What camera did you use for these? I am looking for a decent waterproof that I can use safely while kayak fishing. Looking at the Pentax Optio WP, but only says 1.5meter waterproof.

I use Photoshop religiously since it came out and I do the manual correction in the Levels. You have much more control. Generally move the sliders around a bit and you can really tune the color better than the auto can. If I do use auto its just the contrast as sometimes it really has a mind of its own as far as the colors and what they should be.

Dave

[Ken]

Hi OahuDave,

My camera is a Canon Powershot A620. At the time, I got the camera for $400. It has now come down a lot in price.

With my camera, I got an underwater housing from B&H photography online. The underwater housing is a Canon factory housing that is made specifially for the A610 or the A620. The housing was US$165 + shipping.

Here's the link to B&H

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/

If I were to do it again, I would get an Canon Powershot A560. It's similar to the A620 or the A640, only require 2AA instead of the 4AA in my A620, minus the flip screen and a few less functions, but fully adequate. The price on that camera now is very cheap ($150 I think).

The housing is going to about $167 I think. So you're only looking at about $300 for a decent camera with a factory housing.

Or...check at B&H and see if you can find a housing that fits your camera.

The only downside is the housing is quite bulky. I don't mind it since I'm snorkeling and the camera is neutrally bouyant, so it didn't feel bothersome once I'm in the water.

Hope it helps.

Ken

[Boatless]

that threadfin b/f variant could be a hybrid aurigaxraccoon b/f. those two species tend to hybridize but seeing one is also very rare.

[OahuDave]

Cool thanks for the info. I am hoping to just fine a camera that is already waterproof since as you said the housings are always bulky. The problem is most generally arent THAT waterproof. I need to at least get to my free diving depth, 30' or a bit more and that is hard to find. So in the end I probably will need to go the housing route for that stuff. Maybe get something minorly waterproof for the kayak use.

[Ken]

Hey OahuDave, I think the Olympus Stylus 700 series camera has one that is waterproof and is reportedly quite rugged. It has been about half a year since I saw it advertised. You may want to check it out. I don't know how deep you can dive with it, but I'm pretty sure it can handle a dunking just fine. It's probably prefect for your kayak use.

Pentax has a waterproof as well...but I'm a little anti-Pentax since they laid off my dad after a 29.9 year employment.

Ken

[OahuDave]

Hey OahuDave, I think the Olympus Stylus 700 series camera has one that is waterproof and is reportedly quite rugged. It has been about half a year since I saw it advertised. You may want to check it out. I don't know how deep you can dive with it, but I'm pretty sure it can handle a dunking just fine. It's probably prefect for your kayak use.

Pentax has a waterproof as well...but I'm a little anti-Pentax since they laid off my dad after a 29.9 year employment.

Ken

I will check into the Olympus first. Sorry to hear about your Dad. Just before 30 years, all too common with companies.

[Ca_Bass]

Dave I have the Olypus Stylus 790 SW, it goes to 10FT but Thats all I needed I think they have one that goes to 30 or something. I really like the camera it's water/shock/freeze proof. The only thing it doesn't do well is zoom.

[Ca_Bass]

I forgot to re-size it.