4th Place Cold Water Ocean Art 2016 Brook Peterson
4th Place Cold Water
Brook Peterson
"California Kelp Forest"
Brook won a $100 gift certificate from Bluewater Photo or Bluewater Travel
The story: Early in the Fall, I had spent a day at Santa Barbara Island, in the Channel Islands, shooting the beautiful kelp forest and gorgonian fans. When I later reviewed my images I noticed that the fisheye lens in the horizontal format created a fish bowl effect with the kelp. I liked the idea but the bend in the kelp was unrealistic. I resolved to make another trip to the same island a month later and shoot the gorgonian fans and kelp again. This time, I carefully planned a vertical shot so that the fan was the main focal point, and the kelp pointed toward the sky in a way that captured the majestic height of the towering kelp forest. This shot was the result.
Location: Santa Barbara Island, California, USA
Camera: Nikon D810 and Sigma 15mm Lens (F9, 1/125, ISO 320) with Sea & Sea Housing and Dual Sea & Sea YS-D1 Strobes.