THROUGH THE LENS
Sharknose goby, Cayman Islands
Equipment and Settings: Olympus TG-3, Olympus PT-056
housing, Sea&Sea YS-01 strobe, f/6.3, 1/200s, ISO 200
I have been drawn to the ocean
since childhood – recess periods
spent in the library researching
for a marine life book, allowances
sent to famed shark biologist,
Eugenie Clark, and a bulletin
board full of undersea drawings. After a Discover
Scuba experience in Hawaii, I came home and got
certified in 2011. Soon after, I met my husband, a
PADI Instructor, because every time I’d see him
at the dog park he was wearing a dive T-shirt.
We’ve been dive buddies ever since, travelling
and diving whenever possible – Tahiti, Australia,
Cayman, Costa Rica, Dominica, Bonaire, and
Florida. Underwater photography quickly
became my favourite part of diving. I love
composing shots that highlight the bold colours,
textures and patterns I see; working interesting
angles, and capturing that eye contact with my
subject. I look forward to many years of diving
and photography ahead!
Lia Barrett I love the contrast of the
sponge with the black background, and the
complements of the black of the goby’s
body. It’s a nice composition and use of
colour. My suggestion here would be to
wait, if possible, for the goby to turn around
more. I get the sense that it is looking away
from the frame. I would also tone down
the contrast slightly and/or open up the
exposure half a stop to bring out some of
the details of the body.
Joseph Tepper The diagonal line, combined
with the almost yin-yang effect of the black
and magenta, works very well. While I do
like the contrast in the negative space, it
would be nice to see a little more of the
goby. This can be with universal contrast
adjustments in post-processing, or by
lightening just the goby through the use of
the dodge tool.