Bluestriped Goatfish

Blogged by Simon on March 11, 2010 11:23am | Last updated by Simon on March 11, 2010 11:23am | Category: Underwater Photography | Get a Print Get a Print |

Bluestriped Goatfish (Upeneichtys lineatus)This is one of the most common and unafraid fish you will find in the greater Sydney area. The Bluestriped Goatfish (Upeneichtys lineatus) loves sheltered bays and is perpetually scanning the bottom with it’s two barbels for sources of food. You can also find them just ‘resting’ on the ground, which makes them easy to photograph underwater.

I took this photo with the 60mm macro lens and owing to the focal length had to opt for fish portrait. Obviously they are too large to fill the frame from 1m or closer, so i chose diagonal composition and cutting off the tail fin. With portrait shots it is a similar situation to photographing people: close up on the head and keep the rule of thirds in mind. Underwater, I try to compose the image in a way so the subject is swimming into the frame.

Camera settings: Nikon D300, 60mm macro, ISO 200, f/18 for 1/160s. In post processing, I first applied a vignette filter to take emphasis away from the corners and then desaturated the entire sandy area which gives it the grey look. Desaturation can help ‘double up’ for the vignette filter and i like to use it on parts of the picture I don’t want the viewer to focus on. With the background faded to grey, I then saturated the reds and level adjusted the fish so the colors really pop. Grey and red also contrast well here, especially where the reds border purple.

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