Patterns, textures and colors ! Underwater Macro Photography by Shawn Miller

Posted on October 19, 2017 by Admin11

Okinawa offers some of the best Scuba-Diving in the world. I really enjoy the Art of Underwater Macro Photography. Macro subjects can always be found, it just takes some imagination and good framing to create beautiful underwater abstracts. Pattern’s, textures and vibrant colors generally stand out in underwater photography.

Equipment used

Camera: Canon 70d with Canon 100mm&60mm
Housing: Ikelite underwater housing
Stobes: Ikelite DS160 & DS 200
Modeling lights: Light&Motion Gobe 800, Sola 3800 and Sola 1200
Specialized lights: Light&Motion Sola Nightsea

All images were taken in the beautiful waters of the Ryukyu Islands. Underwater Photography by Shawn Miller.

Cushion starfish (Culcita novaeguineae) 100mm

Cushion starfish (Culcita novaeguineae) © Shawn Miller

Coral (Favia sp) © Shawn Miller

Deep water coral (Tubastrea micrantha) © Shawn Miller

Pedum spondyloidum- coral scallop © Shawn Miller

Feather star © Shawn Miller

Stichopus variegatus sea cucumber- 100mm

(Stichopus variegatus) sea cucumber © Shawn Miller

Sea fan (Annella mollis ) © Shawn Miller

Favia sp coral closeup © Shawn Miller

Feather duster worm (Sabellastarte sanctijosephi) © Shawn Miller

granulated sea star (Choriaster granulatus) © Shawn Miller

Crocea clam (Tridacna Crocea) © Shawn Miller

(Pachyseris speciosa) Ringed plate coral © Shawn Miller

Razor coral © Shawn Miller

Striped triplefin (Helcogramma striata) on coral © Shawn Miller

coral of okinawa © Shawn Miller

Bubble coral (Plerogyra sinuosa) © Shawn Miller

Dive safe and have a great day!

Sea Turtle Art Show – Okinawa, Japan

Posted on July 29, 2017 by Admin11

Please come out to the Sea Turtle Art show on August 12th, 2017. The event will take place at the Okinawa Brewing Company at 2:00-6:00 pm. We will have original artwork, prints, and postcards for sale. This is a collaboration with local artists to bring awareness to sea turtle conservation and what you can do to save our oceans. Part of the profits will be donated to sea turtle conservation and related causes.

* CJ and friends will be performing live music for the event.

Turtle art show

Baby sea turtle making the journey to the ocean. Okinawa, Japan.

Baby sea turtles leaving the nest – Photography by Shawn Miller

The beautiful sea turtles of the Ryukyu Islands

Green Sea Turtle -Photography by Shawn Miller

Our trash is becoming a serious problem on our shorelines. All of us can do better to reduce our waste and protect out natural environment.

Trash on our shorelines -Photography by Shawn Miller

I often find single-use items washed on our shorelines. Plastic bags, forks, spoons, pet bottles, straws, razors, medicine prescription containers, flip-flops, hair combs, toothbrushes, bento boxes, Styrofoam, shotgun shells, and rope are the common items washed ashore.

Beach trash – Crabs with beach trash homes by Shawn Miller

The event turnout was better than expected. A big thanks to all that supported the event and to the contributors and local artists.

A few photographs of the event –

Turtle art show “The wall of art “

Turtle art show -Okinawa, Japan

Turtle art show – Pollution print

Turtle art show – Laowa 12mm F2.8 D dreamer perspective

Good times at Okinawa brewing company-

People often ask me what is the purpose of conservation photography? Having the ability to affect some form of positive change in the environment and make a global difference with the photographs. Hopefully, the images will inspire people to care more about nature and make a positive difference in the environment.

Have a great day!

Hummingbirds on Okinawa By Shawn Miller

Posted on April 16, 2017 by Admin11

I’m sorry to disappoint you but we do not have any hummingbirds on Okinawa. We do have hawk moths that resemble hummingbirds. The hawk moths are also called hummingbird moths. They are extremely fast and challenging to photograph.

I used a slow shutter speed to convey motion in the wings of the Hummingbird hawk moth (Macroglossum corythus)

Hummingbird hawk-moth

I often find the insects feeding early morning and or late in the evening. They feed using a long proboscis to drink the nectar.

Hummingbird hawk-moth

They are hard to see since they are small (35 -45mm) and move extremely fast. They can be heard creating a humming sound as they fly by. They hover for a short period of time collecting the nectar and move on to the next flower.

Hummingbird hawk-moth

The Convolvulus hawk moth ( Agrius convolvuli ) is the largest hawk moth I have seen on Okinawa.

Convolvulus hawk moth

The Impatiens Hawk moth feeds in the evening. I found this moth resting on a plant.

Impatiens Hawk Moth (Theretra oldenlandiae)

Photographed on white for the Meet Your Neighbours project

Hawkmoth – MYN

Impatiens Hawk Moth (Theretra oldenlandiae) larvae photographed on white using the MYN studio technique.

Impatiens Hawk Moth (Theretra oldenlandiae) larvae

Green Pergesa Hawk moth larvae ( Pergesa acteaus)

My Mission: To Document and Preserve the Wildlife of the Ryukyu Islands

This site is also designed to help people identify the beautiful animals of Okinawa, basically to serve as an online nature reference guide. If you would like to make a contribution to support my mission, please click on the donation link paypal.me/maketheswitch4nature

Your donations will help conservation initiatives as well as bring solutions to the worldwide pollution issues on our beautiful shorelines. Thank you for your support. Shawn M Miller.

Light-painting with the nightsea by Shawn Miller

Posted on February 2, 2017 by Admin11

Light painting is the artistic technique of moving a hand held-light source while taking a long exposure. The purpose is to illuminate the subject with constant lighting to create a powerful image. It takes a steady hand, patience, trial and error and imagination. Using a specialized blue light (nightsea) will allow you to capture fluorescence. The images will be enhanced with beautiful bright vibrant colors.

Most plants and animals fluoresce under blue light. Below are some of my favorite long-exposures photographed using the Nightsea and a Canon 70d. I also included some comparison photos under white light.

Beautiful cherry blossoms under blue light, Okinawa-Japan

Cherry blossom under blue light

Psychedelic cherry blossoms

Cherry blossom |white light

Sunflowers show some fluorescence under blue light, Okinawa-Japan

Sundflower under blue light

Sunflower under white light -zoom panning

The animal must not move in order to get a sharp image during a long-exposure.

Rhinoceros coconut beetle under blue light

Rhinoceros coconut beetle under white light

( Onomustus kanoi ) fluorescence photography

Cicada under blue light by Shawn Miller

Cicada under white light

The Rosy gypsy moth (Lymantria mathura) Under blue light

The Rosy gypsy moth (Lymantria mathura) Under white light –

More flowers painted with the Light & Motion Nightsea

Flowers under blue light

Flowers under blue light

Cactus under blue light

Mochi leaf flower under blue light

Flower under blue light

Light-painting with the Nightsea and Sola 600 red light

Light-painting Okinawa

Blue light comparison (450nm) with UV (385)

Blue comparison – 450nm vrs uv 385nm

Equipment used

Light&Motion Sola Nightsea or Gobe blue light
Modeling light Gobe 700 wide (white light) to lock in focus
Camera with Manual capabilities and macro lens (Canon 70d *60macro)
Manfrotto Tripod and remote
Barrier filter (block the reflected blue light )

My above water camera setup for fluorescence

Fluorescence photography setup -Shawn Miller

The Light & Motion Nightsea Dive light.

Sola NightSea underwater blue light

My underwater setup for photographing fluorescence.

Friends and supporters – Save 20% off your first Light & Motion purchase https://prz.io/648x6bGC1

I want to thank Light & Motion and Nightsea for all their continuous support over the years.

The Art of Underwater Motion by Shawn Miller

Posted on September 5, 2016 by Admin11

As an underwater photographer, there will be a time when you feel all your photographs look similar and you might lose interest for a while. Creating motion in still photographs will definitely give you a new challenge and purpose. The goal is to try to show some type of motion in a still photograph. The photographs emphasize the energy, power and or speed of the subject moving. Dramatic motion images will provide depth and variety to your portfolio.

Try panning or dragging the shutter underwater

Move the camera in sync with the moving subject while the shutter stays open. A slow shutter speed will be necessary to achieve this.
Once you understand this technique try adding flash at the end of the exposure to freeze the motion of the subject (Rear curtain sync).
Get creative and add a spin the camera

Striped surgeonfish on the move (Rear curtain sync)

Anemone fish with a spin ( RCS )

Dragging the shutter underwater

Sea whip – feel the flow

Ocean art ( slow shutter with a spin )

Angelfish on the move ( Rear curtain sync )

Striped surgeonfish and coral reef (RCS)

Indian mackerel feeding

Sunset wrasse reef racing ( RSC )

Ctenochaetus striatus on the move

Parrotfish on the move

Coral with a spin -Ie Island

Masked bannerfish on the move ( RCS )

Motion sickness (In camera triple exposure)

Scuba-diving with a spin (RCS)

Hopefully these images will inspire you to try something new underwater!

The Art of Wide-Angle Macro Photography by Shawn Miller

Posted on December 20, 2014 by Admin11

Wide-angle macro photography is popular with wildlife photographers. The technique allows the photographer to document the animal in its natural habitat and show the full scene it lives in. The photographs have great impact and deliver a bug eye perspective using a wide angle lens. I generally use off-camera flash with a custom soft box to make these photographs. Lately, I have been testing a variety of on-camera flashes to achieve a different perspective. One of the biggest challenges is lighting the subject evenly with soft diffused lighting.

The most popular lenses used for wide angle macro photography ( WAM )

Tokina fisheye 10-17mm f3.5-4.5
Nikon fisheye 10.5mm f2.8
Sigma fisheye 15mm f2.8 E
Venus Laowa 15mm f4 – (Manual focus only)

The Tokina 10-17mm Fisheye is my favorite lens in my bag and has been my go-to lens for the project “Crabs with Beach Trash Homes”

Tokina fisheye lens

Below are some of my favorite wide-angle macro images photographed in Okinawa-Japan.

Fighting pose - Preying mantis, IPhone 6s

Pryer's keelback feeding on a white jawed frog

Kuroiwa's ground gecko crossing the road

Praying mantis @Hedo Point

zanpa lighthouse and hermit crabs

If you would like to learn more about this technique I recommend Wide-Angle Macro: The Essential Guide by Clay Bolt and Paul Harcourt Davies https://www.e-junkie.com/shop/product/482943.php

Okinawa Nature Photography

沖縄自然写真 By Shawn Miller

Category Archives: The art of photography

Patterns, textures and colors ! Underwater Macro Photography by Shawn Miller

Sea Turtle Art Show – Okinawa, Japan

Hummingbirds on Okinawa By Shawn Miller

Light-painting with the nightsea by Shawn Miller

The Art of Underwater Motion by Shawn Miller

The Art of Wide-Angle Macro Photography by Shawn Miller