Updated my website

Johnny Christensen · 6th July 2007, 23:06

Allrighty then.

Having tossed out my old homepage for displaying my pictures really poorly, it was time to put a new website together.
With a little help from a friend, we even managed to get my old domain name transfered relatively smoothly.

So now Johnny Christensen - uw photography: Welcome is alive and kicking once again.

Barrie Law · 6th July 2007, 23:30

Quote: (Originally Posted by Johnny Christensen)

Allrighty then.

Having tossed out my old homepage for displaying my pictures really poorly, it was time to put a new website together.
With a little help from a friend, we even managed to get my old domain name transfered relatively smoothly.

So now Johnny Christensen - uw photography: Welcome is alive and kicking once again.

Hi Johnny,

Nice pics and well presented, congratulations on your new site

Nailer99 · 7th July 2007, 00:01

Very nice pics, indeed! Well done, and congats on the new site!

Hyper-limits · 7th July 2007, 02:26

Great site, well done

Cheers

Al

Mixaddict · 7th July 2007, 05:05

Johnny,

Some of the most spectacular cold water pics I have seen in a long time. Congratulations on your new site. What type of gear are you currently shooting with?

Regards,
Randy

Johnny Christensen · 7th July 2007, 07:36

Hi Randy

Currently I'm using Nikon D200 in a Sealux housing. In 99% of the cases I'm shooting with the 10,5mm fisheye lens as it's the only way I can fit large sections of wreck in the frame.

The pictures that you see on the site, I'd say about 70% of them are done on film using my trusty old Nikon F100 and the 16mm fisheye. As I only had a digital camera for 1½ year.
For colour photos at moderate to low ISO setting the digital format is way better. It's also very easy to experiment with, if you want to try to balance several lightsources.
But put a high ISO B/W film in the equation and the digital format goes right out the window.

I use two Sea & Sea YS60 strobes on manual settings, never used TTL anyways on the old camera.
And just recently added a IkeLite DS51 with a remote slave sensor to give a few extra effects. Typically backlighting to make the subject stand out from a dark background.

Some of the stuff I do by the Åland Islands, the ambient lightlevel is usualy very easy to predict. Go deeper than 35m /120ft and there is no more light to work with. So that gave me an excuse to add a new strobe to the toy collection

Mixaddict · 9th July 2007, 05:32

Quote: (Originally Posted by Johnny Christensen)

Hi Randy

The pictures that you see on the site, I'd say about 70% of them are done on film using my trusty old Nikon F100 and the 16mm fisheye. As I only had a digital camera for 1½ year.
For colour photos at moderate to low ISO setting the digital format is way better. It's also very easy to experiment with, if you want to try to balance several lightsources.
But put a high ISO B/W film in the equation and the digital format goes right out the window.

Johnny, are you still shooting any film for color pics now, or are you just shooting the digital format? In other words, were your color film shots done before you got your digital camera?

I got a 1DS a couple of years ago, but I am still struggling to capture the same vivid colors and artistic qualities that I was getting on film. I'm sure it is just my ineptness with the digital equipment, but I am interested in what your experience has been.

Regards,
Randy

undrh2o · 9th July 2007, 13:17

Quote: (Originally Posted by Mixaddict)

Johnny, are you still shooting any film for color pics now, or are you just shooting the digital format? In other words, were your color film shots done before you got your digital camera?

I got a 1DS a couple of years ago, but I am still struggling to capture the same vivid colors and artistic qualities that I was getting on film. I'm sure it is just my ineptness with the digital equipment, but I am interested in what your experience has been.

Regards,
Randy

I've found with my land photography (I still shoot film underwater) I had the same struggles with digital over film what I've found is that the richness and colors I can get during post processing it's just that now I have to do the work.
Check out Adobe Lightroom it was designed with photographers and there is a free trial.

Johnny Christensen · 9th July 2007, 14:17

Since I got the D200 I haven't used my old camera with any colour film. Kinda stupid considering I have 25 rolls of perfectly good colour slide film sitting in the fridge, next to 40 rolls of b&w film.

But my experiences with the digital camera when it comes to colour photos, shot at ISO's up to about 400, is so that I don't feel the need to go back.
For the kind of enviroment I'm shooting in, I get plenty of colour. A lot of times I underexpose the RAW file by 0,5 to 1 EV. Just to keep it from burning out the highlight from divelights or extra strobes. Then correcting the picture afterwards in Nikon Capture NX, bringing up the dark areas a bit.

Keep in mind that I haven't done any kind of colourful warmwater diving with this camera. But judging from the results on land, I'd say it should be possible to get really nice results.
I have to say though, in many dive magasines I can still spot a digital picture, compared to how it should have looked on film. There is just something that's different in the way they look.
One thing I found out is that it's not like shooting slide film. Once the film came back you would put it on the light table and instantly see if you got a winner or if it was one for the bin. Sure you could do a bit in the scanning process afterwards, but the image was 95% done when you looked at the film.

Now the RAW file you get from the digital camera, is about 60% of the finished product. The last 40% you will have to correct yourself, especially if you delibratly underexpose to save the highlights or have turned all the "helpful" autofunctions off. The RAW file may also appear a bit soft, compared to what you expected. But that is just to be corrected.
It helps a lot if you work in a calibrated workflow to give you consistent results.
I found that my monitor was way off in the beginning - could not figure out why the pictures looked great when I adjusted them. And then looked really wierd when they where printed.
But it was all in the difference in ICC profiles. Bought a Gretag Macbeth EyeOne monitor calibrator thingie and started from scratch again. That made a significant difference.
Just remember to apply the latest monitor profile to the pictures.

Hope that helps

vlada · 9th July 2007, 15:06

Nicely redone site - i really liked the black background - makes the light stand out more.

It never ceases to amase me how much your cold water wrecks, especially Baltic Sea ones look like the ones we have in the Great Lakes.

6th July 2007, 23:06	#1 (permalink)
Johnny Christensen Custom Title Allowed! Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Denmark Posts: 304	Updated my website Allrighty then. Having tossed out my old homepage for displaying my pictures really poorly, it was time to put a new website together. With a little help from a friend, we even managed to get my old domain name transfered relatively smoothly. So now Johnny Christensen - uw photography: Welcome is alive and kicking once again. __________________ www.johnnychristensen.com Wreckphotography from the cold north
(Offline)

6th July 2007, 23:30	#2 (permalink)
Barrie Law RebreatherWorld Sponsor Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Ireland Posts: 459	Re: Updated my website Quote: (Originally Posted by Johnny Christensen) Allrighty then. Having tossed out my old homepage for displaying my pictures really poorly, it was time to put a new website together. With a little help from a friend, we even managed to get my old domain name transfered relatively smoothly. So now Johnny Christensen - uw photography: Welcome is alive and kicking once again. Hi Johnny, Nice pics and well presented, congratulations on your new site __________________ Barrie Law Rebreather World Store Supplying the Rebreather World Tel:US +19548403892 Fax:US+19543333792 Tel:EU+442071930496 Fax:EU+442077606344 Mobile+353876880628 Skype:barrielaw Email: barrie@rebreatherworldstore.com
(Offline)

7th July 2007, 00:01	#3 (permalink)
Nailer99 Joshua Smith Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Seattle, WA, USA Posts: 228	Re: Updated my website Very nice pics, indeed! Well done, and congats on the new site!
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7th July 2007, 02:26	#4 (permalink)
Hyper-limits Al Delisle Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Victoria BC Canada Posts: 144	Re: Updated my website Great site, well done Cheers Al
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7th July 2007, 05:05	#5 (permalink)
Mixaddict Always Learning! Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Vision Evolution Other CCR Dolphin Other Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Other CCR Dolphin Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Draper, Utah USA Posts: 476	Re: Updated my website Johnny, Some of the most spectacular cold water pics I have seen in a long time. Congratulations on your new site. What type of gear are you currently shooting with? Regards, Randy __________________ Randy Thornton (MixAddict) Inspiration, Evolution,Hammerhead & Sentinel CCR Instructor
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7th July 2007, 07:36	#6 (permalink)
Johnny Christensen Custom Title Allowed! Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Denmark Posts: 304	Re: Updated my website Hi Randy Currently I'm using Nikon D200 in a Sealux housing. In 99% of the cases I'm shooting with the 10,5mm fisheye lens as it's the only way I can fit large sections of wreck in the frame. The pictures that you see on the site, I'd say about 70% of them are done on film using my trusty old Nikon F100 and the 16mm fisheye. As I only had a digital camera for 1½ year. For colour photos at moderate to low ISO setting the digital format is way better. It's also very easy to experiment with, if you want to try to balance several lightsources. But put a high ISO B/W film in the equation and the digital format goes right out the window. I use two Sea & Sea YS60 strobes on manual settings, never used TTL anyways on the old camera. And just recently added a IkeLite DS51 with a remote slave sensor to give a few extra effects. Typically backlighting to make the subject stand out from a dark background. Some of the stuff I do by the Åland Islands, the ambient lightlevel is usualy very easy to predict. Go deeper than 35m /120ft and there is no more light to work with. So that gave me an excuse to add a new strobe to the toy collection __________________ www.johnnychristensen.com Wreckphotography from the cold north
(Offline)

9th July 2007, 05:32	#7 (permalink)
Mixaddict Always Learning! Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Vision Evolution Other CCR Dolphin Other Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Other CCR Dolphin Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Draper, Utah USA Posts: 476	Re: Updated my website Quote: (Originally Posted by Johnny Christensen) Hi Randy The pictures that you see on the site, I'd say about 70% of them are done on film using my trusty old Nikon F100 and the 16mm fisheye. As I only had a digital camera for 1½ year. For colour photos at moderate to low ISO setting the digital format is way better. It's also very easy to experiment with, if you want to try to balance several lightsources. But put a high ISO B/W film in the equation and the digital format goes right out the window. Johnny, are you still shooting any film for color pics now, or are you just shooting the digital format? In other words, were your color film shots done before you got your digital camera? I got a 1DS a couple of years ago, but I am still struggling to capture the same vivid colors and artistic qualities that I was getting on film. I'm sure it is just my ineptness with the digital equipment, but I am interested in what your experience has been. Regards, Randy __________________ Randy Thornton (MixAddict) Inspiration, Evolution,Hammerhead & Sentinel CCR Instructor
(Offline)

9th July 2007, 13:17	#8 (permalink)
undrh2o Chris Miller Current Rebreather/s: Other CCR Dolphin Home Build Other Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Other CCR Dolphin Home Build Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 199	Re: Updated my website Quote: (Originally Posted by Mixaddict) Johnny, are you still shooting any film for color pics now, or are you just shooting the digital format? In other words, were your color film shots done before you got your digital camera? I got a 1DS a couple of years ago, but I am still struggling to capture the same vivid colors and artistic qualities that I was getting on film. I'm sure it is just my ineptness with the digital equipment, but I am interested in what your experience has been. Regards, Randy I've found with my land photography (I still shoot film underwater) I had the same struggles with digital over film what I've found is that the richness and colors I can get during post processing it's just that now I have to do the work. Check out Adobe Lightroom it was designed with photographers and there is a free trial.
(Offline)

9th July 2007, 14:17	#9 (permalink)
Johnny Christensen Custom Title Allowed! Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Denmark Posts: 304	Re: Updated my website Since I got the D200 I haven't used my old camera with any colour film. Kinda stupid considering I have 25 rolls of perfectly good colour slide film sitting in the fridge, next to 40 rolls of b&w film. But my experiences with the digital camera when it comes to colour photos, shot at ISO's up to about 400, is so that I don't feel the need to go back. For the kind of enviroment I'm shooting in, I get plenty of colour. A lot of times I underexpose the RAW file by 0,5 to 1 EV. Just to keep it from burning out the highlight from divelights or extra strobes. Then correcting the picture afterwards in Nikon Capture NX, bringing up the dark areas a bit. Keep in mind that I haven't done any kind of colourful warmwater diving with this camera. But judging from the results on land, I'd say it should be possible to get really nice results. I have to say though, in many dive magasines I can still spot a digital picture, compared to how it should have looked on film. There is just something that's different in the way they look. One thing I found out is that it's not like shooting slide film. Once the film came back you would put it on the light table and instantly see if you got a winner or if it was one for the bin. Sure you could do a bit in the scanning process afterwards, but the image was 95% done when you looked at the film. Now the RAW file you get from the digital camera, is about 60% of the finished product. The last 40% you will have to correct yourself, especially if you delibratly underexpose to save the highlights or have turned all the "helpful" autofunctions off. The RAW file may also appear a bit soft, compared to what you expected. But that is just to be corrected. It helps a lot if you work in a calibrated workflow to give you consistent results. I found that my monitor was way off in the beginning - could not figure out why the pictures looked great when I adjusted them. And then looked really wierd when they where printed. But it was all in the difference in ICC profiles. Bought a Gretag Macbeth EyeOne monitor calibrator thingie and started from scratch again. That made a significant difference. Just remember to apply the latest monitor profile to the pictures. Hope that helps __________________ www.johnnychristensen.com Wreckphotography from the cold north
(Offline)

9th July 2007, 15:06	#10 (permalink)
vlada Diver with a camera Current Rebreather/s: Classic Kiss Ouroboros Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Toronto Posts: 68	Re: Updated my website Nicely redone site - i really liked the black background - makes the light stand out more. It never ceases to amase me how much your cold water wrecks, especially Baltic Sea ones look like the ones we have in the Great Lakes. __________________ Vlada www.wrecksandreefs.com
(Offline)

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