Flora & Macro Gallery - Honorable Mention
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Zoanthids Image © Gary L. Parr |
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Few people get to see the colors, shapes, and textures that corals have to offer and don’t appreciate the beauty that we’re losing as our ocean’s reefs struggle to stay alive in the face of increasing water temperatures and pollution. As my photography has evolved, I find myself using the coral reef aquarium hobby with increasing frequency to capture and show the incredible beauty that is live coral and marine fish. There’s also a significant challenge with this type of photography in that you have to photograph living things while shooting through glass and water, with the goal of not having the glass or water be noticeable in the photo. This 10-image stacked photograph of a colony of zoanthids was shot through glass and about 8 in. of water. The stack was combined using Helicon Focus. Equipment: Canon 20D, Sigma EX 180-mm macro lens, tripod, remote release, mirror lockup. Exposure: 0.4 sec. @ f/14, ISO 400.
About the Photographer
I live in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, IL, and enjoy all types of photography. Easily 80% of my photography involves flowers and corals, which are basically reef flowers. I enjoy the peace of working alone, exploring the shapes and details of flowers and coral and, ultimately, showing people a nature they’ve never seen.
