Feather Duster and Friends

I took this photo in 2008 in Belize. This is one of my favorite photos because it really seems like you're seeing through the eyes of a fish in the school. And, major bonus...it's a picture of a feather duster worm! Slippery dicks are not a rare fish, but most snorkelers don't see them this close up. Same with the fairy basslet. Just wish I'd had a better camera when I took this. Hopefully, I can make up for that on our next snorkeling trip.

This photo also translates well to our art-accessories (ornaments, coasters, keepsake boxes) which can be found at http://www.cafepress.com/hswtphotography.

Perfect Camo

Terry took this picture in the British Virgin Islands with a 5 meg Sealife camera. The critter who is trying to blend into the encrusting coral is a trumpet fish. Most divers and snorklers see trumpet fish at the surface of the water. And, you can often spot them from the shoreline. So, it was unusual to find this one on the sea floor. I think a closer crop would show case his camo even more, but unfortunately that's not really an option with only 5 megs to work with. Let's hope we find one of his friends on our next snorkeling trip!

Prints of this and our other underwater photos are available at ArtWanted.com. We hope you enjoyed this post enough to follow the blog or follow us on facebook! And, don't forget we have many of our photos available on art-cessories or art-ware from CafePress.

Spot

I've thought many things about underwater photography: it's beautiful, it's interesting, it makes me want to go snorkeling asap. But, I've never really thought "it's fun!". This picture changed all that. Everytime I look at it, it makes me laugh. How can this orange blob with black spots be an animal? And, one that lives underwater?!! Sea cucumbers are just funny. Where is their mouth? Where are their eyes? What do they do in their spare time? Answer: clean up the bottom of the ocean. How cool!



Terry took this picture in the Bocas del Toro region of Panama. You can see a bit of the cool blue sponges that grow in Spot's home waters at the top of the photo. The funny thing about the water in this area is that it doesn't have that carribbean blue look from above, but it is just as clear as the waters in the Carribbean and covers the most dazzeling array of underwater colors I've ever seen.



As always, you can order limited edition prints of this or our other photos from Panama (and other locales) from http://www.rtist.com/, by searching for HSWT Photography. Or order artware at http://www.cafepreess.com/HSWTphotography. And, of coarse you can follow us on Facebook! :)

My Favorite Southern Sting Ray Photo

Terry took this stunning picture of a female southern string ray on our trip to Belize in 2008. I think the detail is amazing. You can almost see the velvety texture of her skin. The scars on her face appear to be from to propeller of a boat. Luckily, for us you survived her prior encounter with humans.

We love snorkeling with sting rays. They are so friendly (especially if you have squid) and seem to really enjoy interacting with people. The hard part is getting far enough away to fit the entire ray in the shot. Terry is better at that than I am. I'd rather interact with the rays, than photograph them. ;)

This limited edition photo is available for purchase thru Rtist.com or at Gallery 26 in Easton, MD. http://www.rtist.com

We also have prints and art ware available from Cafe Press: http://www.cafepress.com/HSWTPhotography

Paradise Found

I've decided to share my thoughts about some of our limited edition fine art photographs one post at a time. Starting with "Paradise Found" which is not an underwater photograph, but certainly showcases the beautiful Carribbean waters of Belize.

When I first saw English Key I thought of a Disney set. Too perfect to be real. But, it's a real working light house. The only one in the vicinity of Ambergris Caye which in and of itself is amazing because of the shallow waters off the coast of Belize.

And, not only are these waters beautiful, they are home to gorgeous large coral heads and awesome sea creatures. If I were the lighthouse keeper I would spend all my time in snorkling gear with camera in hand.

Everytime I look at this photo I'm transported back to our week sailing with Tradewinds Cruise Club in the vicinity of Ambergris Caye. And, dream of the day I can return.

If you'd like to be transported too, limited edition prints of this photo are available at Rtist.com.

So many things to report

Well after what seems like endless unpacking, we are finally moved and I'm getting back into working with and promoting our photography. I'm very excited to announce that HSWT Photography will be one of the artists featured at Easton, MD's newest art gallery, The Little Yellow Paint Brush, 10 West Dover St. Some of our latest Limited Edition photos will be on display and for sale.

We will also be displaying/selling some of our Limited Edition prints at the Cambridge Yacht Club in Cambridge MD starting next Monday. And, we've shut down our Etsy store and moved our on-line retail of Limited Edition prints to Rtist.com, where our work can be found by searching HSWT Photography (of coarse!) :).

And, we joined a great artist group called the Wednesday Morning Artists in Cambridge, MD. So, I guess I have a little bit of an excuse for not posting lately. I promise to keep up with this better now that we're settled in.

T-shirts and More

Not having much luck with etsy so far, so I thought I'd try something different. I uploaded this pic and another non-limited pic to ArtWanted.com. Where it can be printed on "art ware" such as t-shirts, mugs, mouse pads and other useful stuff. Ordered a t-shirt for myself to see what they are like and to wear to shows. I think this pic will look good on a white t-shirt. Hope I'm right!

I'm probably trying to avoid working on the pics from the Bahamas. Can't seem to get excited about them. I'm not trusting my own judgement for some reason. I think I need to go back to my notes from my Lightroom class and start over with them. But, they don't seem worth the bother. Guess I'm in a rut...

Not So Good

I keep working on the pics from our Bahama's trip and I think I've finally figured out why I'm not getting anywhere with them. They just aren't all that good. I blame the water. We've been spoiled by the clear waters of Grand Cayman, Belize and even Panama. The water in the Bahama has a cloudy look that is frankly depressing. Also, we're still getting used to the new cameras. Terry set his ISO to 800 and that created too much noise. I left mine on auto (I know, I know...) and for the few pics where the water is clear, the fish are just a little blurry. Think we're going to have to chalk this trip up to a learning experience.

So, I'm dreaming that we'll get back to Grand Cayman sometime soon where we'll have the luxury of editing pics as we take them so we can get the hang of the new cameras. Keep your fingers crossed that the airlines drop their prices for us!

The Day After

Before I recap our experiences with our first juried arts & crafts show, I want mention a great weekly blog that features Etsy artists: http://gifteddesigns.blogspot.com/2009/12/sunday-showcase-royal.html. Each week the author picks a different theme and features items that fit with the theme. This Sunday's theme was purple and she picked one of our pictures of purple fan coral to feature.

Now back to the show...It's hard for us to really judge how things went because it snowed the first day and people in the DC area just don't venture out in snow. We made a few sales, mostly cards and handed out a lot of cards. Hopefully, that will lead to future contact.

We did learn a lot at the show. For instance we really need to come up with a background for our booth and overhead lighting. If anyone knows a good place to buy pipe and drape, we'd love to hear the suggestion. I'd really like to just purchase the pipe and make the drape myself.

We got lots of complements on our work which is gratifying, but doesn't pay the bills. And, the odd request (do you have pictures of manatees?, do you have pictures of cuttlefish?). Other artists at the show were very helpful. Hopefully, we'll get some good pictures this week to add to our portfolio.

Why I love camera RAW

Kind of sounds kinky doesn't it? So, yeah I wish they had come up with a different name for this digital format, but that doesn't make me love it any less! Without camera RAW I never would have been able to capture these amazing colors of sponges in the pristene waters of Bocas del Toro, Panama. And, I couldn't have let them shine without Adobe Lightroom. Sorry, if I sound like a commercial, it's just that we are leaving Monday for the Bahamas and I can't wait to capture more images in RAW. Keep your fingers crossed that the snorkeling is good!!!

So, please excuse a little more praise for Lightroom. For RAW editing it kicks CS4's butt. And, that library thing is good too. :) I have to thank my instructor (guru) Eliot Cohen for showing me the light (pardon the pun). BTW - You can find Eliot's work at http://www.eliotcohen.com.

And, don't forget to check out our photos at http://www.HSWTPhotography.etsy.com where you'll find more great pics from Bocas, Belize, the British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Grand Cayman.

Too crop or not to crop

Cropping is so subjective and I seem to be stuck on standard sizes. Everytime I stray from them, I end up recropping to a standard size. The pics above are a good example. The last crop is the one we are selling. I like it because its a standard size for easy framing and it shows the whole school of blue tangs in context. The first image is a close crop suggested by a friend of mine. I think it makes a nice abstract image, but looses context. The second image is a closer crop of just the school, but I don't think its a better crop than the one we're selling. Hope I made the right cropping choice.

Reef Squid Cute?

Yeah, I actually think they are. Especially when they are hanging out in rows at the beach or snuggling up like these two. Plus, the way they can change colors is awesome. Unfortunately, they are very hard to photograph. Which is why we don't sell this photo in our Etsy shop (http://www.hswtphotography.etsy.com/). But, I'll keep trying. One of these days I know I'm going to get the perfect shot. That's what keeps me jumping back into the pool!

And, as much as I like photographing fish (yes, squid are technically fish), it's the creatures that are really starting attract more and more of my attention. Like the red flame scallops and split-crown feather dusters that we saw in Panama. And, the Christmas tree worm hiding in lettuce coral in shallow water that was just too choppy for a good photo.

I hope I get a chance to photograph more creatures in the Bahamas! We're heading out in a little over a week and it's been a long time since I've had the chance to snorkel there.

Getting Ready for a Juried Show

We've been busily printing photos in preparation for our first juried art & craft show. So, I thought I'd share one of our photos that's only available at the show. Beautiful Teenager is a fine art photograph of an intermediate stage French angelfish. I took this picture while snorkeling in Grand Cayman in November, 2006. I recently went thru some of our older photos and reworked them in photoshop and got some amazing results. The only thing is that they were taken with 5 meg underwater cameras so they don't have enough pixels to be enlarged. Still it's nice to revisit these photos and make them available as 5x7s or 8x10s.