Our new Mirrorless categories were a hit and almost had more competition than the Open categories in this year’s SoCal Shootout. The macro category was won by Desmond Ho with his crisp and colorful shot of a round ray’s eye. Here are the details of this unique underwater shot.

Title: Round Ray Eye

Location Captured: Anacapa Island

Camera / Housing: Olympus OM-D E-M5 with Olympus 60mm Macro in Olympus Housing with Bluewater +7 Diopter

Strobes / Lights: Dual Sea & Sea YS-D1 Strobes

Camera Settings: F11, 1/250th, ISO200

The Story: I spotted this well camouflaged round ray right outside the kelp forest at the dive site on Anacapa. While my experiences tell me that well buried rays tend to stick around, I did not want to take the chance so I approached it very slowly to avoid spooking it and more importantly, avoid getting stung. With the use of the macro diopter, I needed to get within a 1-2 inch range from the eye to get the maximum magnification. The shot took approximately 15 minutes to take because of my slow rate of approach, inching closer by the minute and snapping shots until I got this shot of the eye. As I backed away, the ray took off at full speed the other direction. It was one of the most exhilarating shots I have taken mostly due to fear of getting stung by the ray while trying to obtain the best shot possible.

Check out all the winning images from the 2015 SoCal Shootout here.

The post SoCal Shootout: Story Behind the Shot, Desmond Ho first appeared on In Focus Underwater Photography Blog.

Now that megapixels are back, the full-frame 40 megapixel Sony a7R II mirrorless camera is getting a lot of interest. Here’s what you need to know about the Sony a7R II:

• Nauticam is working on a housing and promises one very soon (this month?). They make just need to make an adjustment to one of the controls in their existing Nauticam A7 II housing.
• The camera itself is shipping this week (betwen Aug 4th – Aug 6th)
• The Sony a7 II and a7R II offer better auto-focus than the original A7 series
• There are now awesome lenses available, like the Sony 16-35mm F2.8, 16-35mm F4 and the Sony 90mm macro lens
• Great quality 4K video, good autofocus with both the viewfinder and live view

Email me at scott@bluewaterphotostore.com with any questions, or to find out if the Sony a7R II is right for you!

Scott Gietler, Owner, Bluewater Photo

The post Sony a7R II – it’s hot and coming underwater soon first appeared on In Focus Underwater Photography Blog.