Testing the Venus Laowa 60mm F2.8 macro lens underwater

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Admin11

Dive Team Miller Underwater set-up with Canon 70d Laowa 60mmn f2.8 macro lens- Ikelite housing with 8inch dome port, 1 ikelite 160 strobe , 1 ikelite 200 strobe, 1 sola 600 and 1 gobe 700 focus light.

The Venus Laowa 60mm macro lens is a technical lens with great optics. The specialized lens is manual focus and manual aperture selection. I had to use my wide angle dome port since this was the only port I had the lens would fit into. I preset the lens to a 1:2 ratio and used an aperture setting of F8. I went with the aperture setting of F8 since it was an overcast day and I wanted to see my subject through the viewfinder in the low light. I used two modeling lights to add artificial light, which allowed me to see through the viewfinder at a depth of 100 feet. The focusing distance was already preset on the surface, so all I had to do was to move the camera until I saw the subject was in focus and take the shot. It was very difficult to use with subjects that were moving. This was my first dive using this lens underwater and have more testing to do. Here are some of my images using the Venus Laowa 60mm macro lens underwater at Maeda point, Okinawa-Japan.

Tomato anemonefish -Laowa 60mm macro F8

Cushion starfish underside abstract – Laowa 60mm macro F8

Clark’s Anemonefish – Laowa 60mm macro F8

Coral abstract – Laowa 60mm macro F8

Canthigaster coronata -Laowa 60mm macr0 F8

Bubble coral -Laowa 60mm macro F8

Coral abstract – Laowa 60mm macro F8

Test dive two, I set the aperture to F11 with a focus distance between 1:1-1:2. It was challenging working with all moving subjects. The dome port was to close for comfort for moving subjects such as fish. Stay tuned for more images later this week!

Coral abstracts -Laowa 60mm macro F11

Sea anemone -Laowa 60mm macro F11

Coral -Laowa 60mm macro F11

Cushion star -Laowa 60mm macro F11

Coral abstract -Laowa 60mm macro F11

July 8th 2017, I took the Loawa 60mm out for another spin. This time I did not use underwater strobes. I set the Aperture on F5.6, shutter speed 1/200-1/640 sec and ISO settings 400-2500. I used the Light&Motion Sola 3800 and Sola 1200 to provide beautiful fill light.

Underwater setup – Laowa 60mm

Mushroom coral -Sola 1200 red

Octo coral- Laowa 60mm

Bubble tip anemone – Laowa 60mm

Stag horn coral – Laowa 60mm

July 9th 2017, I did some more testing using two Ikelite strobes and the Light&Motion Sola 3800 modeling light. I set the sync speed at 1/250sec, Aperature at F8 and Iso 100.

Finding Nemo Okinawa

Brittle star on coral -Okinawa

Scythe triggerfish -Laowa 60mm macro

If you plan to purchase any Venus optics please click on the Affiliate link below * http://www.venuslens.net/ref/40/?campaign=OkinawaNaturePhotography

Have a great day!

Capturing fluorescence – Fluorescence enhancement photography by Shawn Miller

Featured

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Admin11

All photographers experience a time when their work becomes redundant and lose vision. The Light & Motion Sola Nightsea has opened up a new style of photography for me. Recently I have been blending the Light&Motion Nightsea blue light with ambient light underwater and getting beautiful vibrant results.

Some of my Fluorescence enhancement coral images were featured in The Blue Planet 11 publication. It’s always nice to see years of hard work finally pay off.

Underwater fluorescence – Shawn Miller featured Blue planet 11

Here are some basic lighting examples using different techniques.

Fluorescence techniques © Shawn Miller

Here are some of my favorite images using this fluorescence enhancement technique. All Images I used Light&Motion Sola lights to achieve these beautiful vibrant results.

Fluorescence enhancement © Shawn Miller

Underwater fluorescence © Shawn Miller

Nightsea and Sola 600 blended- fluorescence

My fluorescence camera rig for underwater

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

Know your nature with Shawn Miller

Marine Life Washed Ashore – Typhoon Vongfong

Posted on October 15, 2014 by Admin11

Super Typhoon Vongfong was considered to be to be the strongest storm of the year. We were very lucky the strength of the storm died down before it landed on the Island of Okinawa. The typhoon brought heavy winds and rough sea conditions. A fair amount of marine life could not cope with these harsh conditions.