In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Close Up.”
This tiny box fish is a juvenile no larger than my thumb.
Monthly Archives: July 2015
Underwater Photography 101: Cut your Fringe! Dealing with Chromatic Abberation
Have you ever had an image that could be great if only there wasn’t that weird blue/purple outline along your subject’s back? Well I have. And to tell you the truth, until someone pointed it out to me, I didn’t really notice how distracting it was. Meet “Chromatic Abberation,” a sketchy friend of a friend who lurks in shadows and has blue hair. Also known as “Color Fringing.”
Chromatic abberation happens when a lens is unable to bring all the colors in a wavelength into the same focal plane. The results are often a bluish or greenish outline around the subject or parts of the subject.
Below is an image of an Alleni nudibranch, a very uncommon creature. You can see a bluish tint around the bottom of its protruding lobes.
Fortunately, Adobe Lightroom has a fix for this! It can be found in the DEVELOP module in the LENS CORRECTIONS toolbox.
When you open this toolbox, you will see a menu across the top (Basic, Profile, Color, and Manual). Click on the word COLOR. From here you can try clicking in the box that says “Remove Chromatic Abberation.” Lightroom can automatically find the color fringing and reduce it. If this does not completely solve the problem, you can click on the eyedropper then click on the color that you want removed from your image. This will reduce the fringing even further.
In the image below, you can see that the color fringing has been greatly reduced, but there is still a little bit that lingers. Here is one more trick you can try:
Click on the “HSL/COLOR/B&W” toolbox. You will see the colors listed under Hue, Saturation, and Luminance. Try desaturating the offensive color slightly. In this case, the “blue” desaturation slider worked great.
Sometimes making small corrections like this makes all the difference between a good image and a great image.
To watch a video of this tutorial, click HERE.
If you have questions, or suggestions for underwater photography tips, please feel free to leave comments below.
As always, if you enjoy my images please visit my website, waterdogphotography.com, or give me a like on facebook at Waterdog Photography Brook Peterson. Don’t forget to follow me here at waterdogphotographyblog!
My photographs are taken with a Nikon D7000 or D810 in Sea and Sea Housing using two YS-D1 Strobes.
All images are copyrighted by Brook Peterson and may only be used with written permission. Please do not copy or print them. To discuss terms for using these images, please contact me
Put on Your Red Velvet Cape
In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Close Up.”
Weekly Photo Challenge: Three’s A Crowd
I thought it might be fun to participate in the Weekly Photo Challenge since the theme this week is one of my specialties! These yellow coral gobies make their home inside an empty beer bottle.
To learn more about the weekly photo challenge, click HERE.
Fun Facts about the Cuttlefish
Of all the interesting creatures in the sea, the cuttlefish has to be one of the most unusual. Though it bears the name “fish,” it isn’t a fish at all, but a cephalopod, which includes creatures such as octopus, squid, and nautiluses. The Cuttlefish wears its shell on the inside and is called a cuttlebone. This bone is used to help keep the cuttlefish neutrally bouyant. Many bird owners buy cuttlefish bones at pet supply stores for their birds to sharpen their beaks on. One of the remarkable things about cuttlefish, is their ability to blend in.

This cuttlefish has taken on the coloring and texture of the sand in which it has half buried itself.