Wide angle compositions are often the hardest to nail perfectly. During the SoCal Shootout participants have to do just that. There is very little editing allowed, so getting correct lighting, exposure and above all, that striking composition is key. Ben Hofilena succeeded with his first place image in our open wide angle category. While he claims just a lucky shot, he at least knew the most important part of luck, which is preparation. Proper settings and being ready for the moment allowed this excellent shot to get captured. Here’s the details on our first place winner.

Title: Ocean Bouquet

Location Captured: Eureka Oil Rig (off the coast of Long Beach, CA)

Camera / Housing: Canon 70D with Tokina 10-17mm Lens, Sea & Sea Housing

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

Camera Settings: F8, 1/125th, ISO 200

The Story: The first time I took a camera underwater was about a year ago. Prior to that, my topside photography was limited to point and shoot cameras in AUTO mode and taking pics on my iPhone. That being said, I’m a newbie to underwater photography and this was a lucky shot. This photo was taken on the Sunday of the SoCal Shootout while aboard the Pacific Star. We were lucky to have good visibility and a bait ball at the Eureka Oil Rig. I was able to get really close to a section of the bait ball and compose my shot. It was awesome to be able to capture what I saw as a solid wall of fish and bouquet-like image in the middle.

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

Shooting Portraits underwater can be especially challenging as most subjects like fish are moving constantly. You must nail that perfect composition, eye contact and focus. With that in mind we loved this playful capture of a Bat Ray from Cindy Shaw which took First Place in the Open Portrait Category. Here are the details that went into this winning image.

Title: Wanna Play?

Location Captured: Farnsworth Banks, Catalina Island

Camera / Housing: Olympus OM-D E-M5 with 12-50mm Lens in Nauticam Housing

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

Camera Settings: F8, 1/125th, ISO320

The Story: We arrived at Farnsworth early after crossing over from San Pedro on the Perfect Mistress with Captain Derek.  There were four divers, two of us with cameras set for the shootout.  We weren’t sure we would be able to dive the pinnacle when we saw so many boats there even earlier than our arrival.  Most were fishing boats and we smiled when we saw that the dive boat Vision was anchored at the high spot with divers already in the water.  Our Captains managed a smooth switch so we moved onto the pinnacle as they slipped off, all divers back on board.  Nicely done Captains!  We dropped into the water and could actually see the purple on the top of the pinnacle from the anchor line.  One of our divers had never been able to dive Farnsworth before and I loved knowing his first experience would be an epic dive.  We were able to stay for 2 full dives before the conditions encouraged us to move on.  I absolutely love California diving because you really never know what you will find until you go in and see.  We have incredible diversity and myriad of opportunities here.
At about 80 feet, it was darker, so I bumped my ISO  to try and allow more light in while still keeping blue water.  I shot LOTS of purple hydrocoral shots and loved doing it, but then I swam over a rise and saw this magnificent bat ray in a shallow sandy spot.  Her wingspan was easily 6 feet across I am sure because it was head to booties for me when I approached sideways.  I Quickly went to the most versatile camera settings I could in case she decided to fly.  Then I settled down slowly and moved my lens to 50mm a good distance back.  I took a series of shots as I approached closer ever so slowly and moved my lens to 12 mm.  We spent about 5-10 min together, but it felt much longer making me quietly check my remaining air frequently because of course I found her at the end of my second dive.   I approached from a slightly sideways angle hoping to frame her diagonally and she kept constant eye contact.  She shifted perfectly for me and rose up a little to prepare to fly but stayed as I put the camera down and we just hung out.  As she seemed more comfortable but didn’t settle flat again I picked up the camera and took 2-3 more portraits before she slowly rose, circled and dipped a wing in farewell.

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

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.

This year’s Best in Show was won by Brook Peterson with this excellent image of a young sea lion cruising through the water. Congrats Brook! Read on to learn more about this image.

Title: Young Sea Lion at Play

Location Captured: Sea Lion Rookery at Santa Barbara Island

Camera / Housing: Nikon D810 with Sigma 15mm Lens in Sea & Sea Housing

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

Camera Settings: F14, 1/125, ISO 320

The Story: The juvenile sea lions were eager to greet the divers as we jumped into their playground. At first they hung upside down from the surface watching the divers.  As they grew more confident, they would come close and try out different poses in front of the camera.  Soon they began playing (sometimes aggressively) with each other and occasionally they tried to include the divers.  I noticed this young sea lion trying to engage me in its play by blowing bubbles and opening it’s mouth every time it swam by.  It came closer and closer, giving me several opportunities to grab its image.  The most difficult part of the shot was getting myself in a position so that I wasn’t shooting directly into the sun.  Finally all the stars aligned and I was able to get the shot.

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

The post SoCal Shootout: Story Behind the Shot – Brook Peterson, Best in Show first appeared on In Focus Underwater Photography Blog.