Bahamas | Book Chat

In this Shot Chat, we celebrate the exciting release of Shane Gross’ new book, Bahamas Underwater, with a selection of images from its pages. It takes a lot to create a great image, and to fill a whole book with them, well, that’s a whole other level. Shane is one of the founding members of Shot Chat, and we are both proud and delighted to share his book baby, a love-letter to the Bahamas underwater. Needless to say, this doesn’t stop the crew from delivering a healthy dose of feedback on the image selection…

First Take

Henley Spiers: Much as it wounds me to say so after your slaying of my dolphin shot...nice work, a very classy set. I would actually say that they are very high grade images for publication, rather than competition, and I don't mean that as a slight in any way. There's quality, intrigue, and story-telling within each shot.

Anita Kainrath: I know the book and I think Shane has picked out stunning shots for each chapter that makes you want to flip through read it in one sitting. The hammerhead is one of my all time favourites!! I hope it'll inspire people to protect the ocean but especiallly Bahamian kids who will have access to the book thanks to all the sponsors & especially BREEF's effort to protect their waters and ocean dwelllers.

Grant Thomas: Hey Team, hope you're all doing well. Had my first taste of being back in the water today since last year and it felt absolutely amazing! Coming back to view an inspiring set of images like that from Shane just made my day. Congrats on the new book as well! I need a copy please. I’m a sucker for splits so am immediately drawn to the lemon shark and blue hole!

Lionfish

Henley Spiers: A subject well suited to back lighting, and yet here we retain detail across the corals, and in the forefront of the lion fish. I feel the eye contact with the fish and to capture this night-time hunter in the dark makes sense...it tells me something interesting and specific to this animal. I enjoy the texture on the corals, including those kind of cobwebs. The graininess does bug me a little, although hard to avoid when shooting at night and trying to retain brightness across so many elements. Is it just lit by a torch from the back? Or is that a flash out back? and is there some fill flash from the front? It's a matter of taste, but perhaps I would have cooled the white balance off a little.

Anita Kainrath: Did I help you with that lionfish image? If so.. It's fantastic! Kidding.. I think the shot is unique. I know how hard it is to get a shot like this. A very unique perspective.

Shane Gross: Yes, Anita, you were holding a light on the end of a stick for that one. The lionfish was very much a team effort. Thanks so much for being my backlighter! We were snorkeling and would coordinate on the surface and then freedive down. It is all back-lit with a single continuous light so Anita could place the shadow over my camera. Turns out lionfish are slightly transparent! The idea was to make them into a villain as they are invasive in the area we were shooting, but are so beautiful when front-lit.

For a long time I preferred other frames from that shoot that were more of a pure silhouette, but now I like that there is a bit of detail in the fish. Noted about the color temp, Henley, I'm sure you're right, I'll play around with it when I get a chance.

Anita Kainrath: Being Shane’s assistant on some of the shots was exciting. He usually had a very clear vision of the shot before we went to the location. He knew exactly what he was looking for in the Lionfish picture. We went to the shallow little reef in the late afternoon before sunset and the water was getting chilly and dark. We hopped in, tried to find some lionfish out on top the reef and then we would dive down. We didn’t even have to talk to understand our next move (talking with a snorkel in your mouth isn’t easy anyways) - I think we made up hand signals beforehand just in case. It was hard to dive down, hold the light exactly where it should be, without being in the frame, and making sure to not touch the reef or another lionfish. This shot took hours but I think the outcome is exactly what Shane had in mind and I am very happy that we made it. I think the composition makes this lionfish look like the king of the night. He truly is a predator and at the same time so very beautiful and fragile (the thin, almost transparent fins).

Jade Hoksbergen: This is my favourite image from the selection you have shared with us, Shane. The lionfish, largely due to its translucent nature, works really well backlit and I think this is a successful interpretation. If I try to dissect why: I think what makes this image special for me is that there is a visual echo between the shape of the light and the fish's dorsal spines. Also, colour-wise, there is a perfect contrast between the background and the subject with blue (background) and yellow (fish) being directly opposite in the colour wheel. That said, I like the simplicity of the colours present, it helps make this image a bold and striking one. I like the suggestion of foreground coral, as well as the 'spider's web' - after hearing Shane's idea of portraying the lion fish as a villain, the webs certainly add to that dark feel. What bothers me is the sediment that has been lit behind; the graininess of the image doesn't bother me. And I wanted to add... you know those Tiffany stained glass lamps? The shot reminds me of that...

Grant Thomas: I think you nailed the balance of lighting here perfectly. You’ve really captured the texture and details in the long frilly fins with the back lighting (Or maybe more that Anita did…) and at the same time we can see the eye and intricate patterns on the opposite side. The part I feel lets it down is the slight graininess but this is understandable when shooting at night with a fixed light. Also is that just something on the reef below the lion fish that looks like stringy web or is that some dome port lens reflections?

Shane Gross: Thank you Grant!! For your question about the lionfish image, that was pure luck having that stringy stuff on the seabed. It wasnt lens flare, but it does make me wonder if/how I could incorporate that into possible future shots. It's not my style at all, but with every new tool or idea I wonder what I could do with it.

Blue Hole

Shane Gross: The blue hole was stocked with fish from the ocean decades ago by and for fisherman. The fish in there have started to morph away from their open-ocean counterparts because there are no predators. They somewhat rely on people feeding them now and that's why it was important to me to have a person in the frame. Thanks again Anita for the assist on this one!

Henley Spiers: I really enjoy this, even if it breaks the rules (or maybe because it does). My eyes wander around the frame and keep going back for more. Although the topside part of the image is not clean, I still see the girl smiling down at the scene, and the water washing over the dome adds this soft dreaminess to it all. This is then pleasingly counterbalanced by the sharply lit school of fish beneath, sporting looks of dogged determination. It leaves me wanting to know more about what's going on.

Jade Hoksbergen: They say an image says a thousand words, and to me this one does. The abundance of fish and the girl topside smiling gives a feeling of hope. Do I think it is competition worthy? or would I put it on my wall? No, and no (sorry!). But I believe you created these images not with the intention of either, but for the purpose of telling a story. And it very effectively does so! It is a positive image, one that instills a sense of hope in the viewer. If that is what you hoped the image would achieve, then I'd say you successfully delivered it. I must add that, I really like and appreciate, forgive my language, your balls for experimenting and doing something different... It is something I value a lot: an individual takes on a scene in anew fashion rather than simply replicating what has been done before!

Grant Thomas: Love the very different take on a split here by using motion blur to almost wash away the scene at the top slightly, but not so much that is has no context. This brings my focus firstly to the underside and the schooling fish but then my eyes drift upwards to see what’s happening in the scene above, which for me is the definition of an image which tells a story. The only changes I would have tried to make would have been to bring down the highlights on the fish in the foreground slightly and also darken the right hand strobe to balance the lower half. Other than that I think it’s great!

Anita Kainrath: The ocean hole was a fun experiment. I thought Shane was up for a split shot and then this turned out and I think it is even better because you don’t see this frame very often. I think the contrast between sky and water is great. I like the almost smoky effect in some parts. I wonder if you could have lightened up the water part a tiny bit more? Like Grant said, I wouldn’t choose it as a print for my living room but overall a good shot for this specific ocean hole!

Squid

Henley Spiers: With the long-running backscatter saga, I wonder if you picked this just to wind me up?! Well, I've got news for you sir, I like it! This is beautiful backscatter, fine white specks across the whole frame - works really well, and the shot would be weaker without it. We get strong eye contact on one side from the squid too. I feel the expanse of a night-time sea, too often in underwater photography we are urged to get closer and tighter on our subjects...sometimes it's nice to breathe and take a wider look, the negative space absolutely works for me. My only criticism is that perhaps it feels just an inch too hard on the texture/clarity/sharpness.

Shane Gross: The squid was shot with a fish-eye lens. Just trying something different from the normal blackwater approach. To me it is like an alien in out-space with distant stars and planets.

Jade Hoksbergen: Classy. Love the extra-terrestrial feel and the feeling of the squid orbiting in space, surrounded by planets and stars. Again, enjoying the fresh interpretation and the use of fish-eye lens to create a different perspective. Whilst I love the playful pose of the squid and can see a hint of eye contact, I do wonder if people less familiar with the subject matter would not understand what they are looking at. Depends on what the purpose of the image is. It is pretty though.

Grant Thomas: Very cool concept this one. I really like how you’ve made it look as if the squid is floating in a galaxy of stars. The one time I say that i may actually like the backscatter… I think that for me the squid is slightly too far away to appreciate the detail but i understand that we would lose that epic galaxy feel if it was larger in frame. Maybe it could have been improved if the squid was at a slightly different angle but I’m unsure.

Lemon Shark

Henley Spiers: Reminds me of this image, which is one of my favourites from your portfolio.

Anita Kainrath: I love them both. The only thing that I would try to change would be the lighting on the very far left on the edge of the frame. I would probably edit that part in lightroom. But it's perfect otherwise. I love the sky!!

Shane Gross: Those two shots were taken on two consecutive nights. As the sun got low enough I would switch from a fast shutter speed to a slow one with intention. Because those interactions are so up to the sharks and you need to be there hours before sunset to get a sunset shot, you have a ton of time to experiment and have fun.

Henley Spiers: Very eye catching, we immediately are in close quarters with the shark, staring right at us, with the remora also looking at us and giving a secondary point of interest. My eyes are then taken to the mangrove tree, following it down to the roots below...again, I am immediately informed about what is going on, in a visually pleasing manner. I think I prefer the rich blue from the image I referenced to earlier, I imagine that was taken just slightly later, during 'blue hour'? The backscatter from the strobe guns pulled in tight on both sides doesn't ruin the image, but would I prefer it if it wasn't there? Yes.

Grant Thomas: For me there’s a lot to love about this image. I love the way you’ve really made use of the wide angle lens to create depth, where it almost feels as if the shark is swimming out of the picture and into my lap. I also really like that it’s not a typical split composition where the both halves are balanced with a nice horizontal meniscus water line in between. This is different - it’s dramatic and a bit chaotic but also well balanced with the the mangrove bush filling space in the top right corner. A touch of sun flair on the water line is just the cherry on top. The only area I feel which lets the image down slightly - dare I say the B word… yes a little backscatter and some hot points at the sides caused by the strobe. I would have fixed these in post but I know that’s not your style

Jade Hoksbergen: Sorry but your other image of the lemon shark, Shane, is way way better for me, I find it far more artistic and unique. The other one for me is dreamy and I love how it makes me feel when I look at it. Several things bother me on this one, including visual reminders of the use of artificial light (strobes), unsightly sediment, and unbalanced lighting leaving left hand side of image brighter and with backscatter. I think my favourite part of the image is the remora, and the sky... that's one moody sky.

Hammerhead

Shane Gross: This was, of course, in Bimini while laying on the duck board at the back of the boat. The bubbles are from the tail of the hammerhead which shows how fast they can spin around.

Henley Spiers: There's something which makes me furrow my brow when I view this...I want to like it but something is holding me back. The dynamism that the bubbles could create with this hammerhead close to the surface is something I like conceptually...but I feel there is a better example of this idea to be made. I'm struggling to articulate what that is, but maybe this shot is neither sharp nor soft enough...there isn't a really sharp section for me to latch onto...nor is is really soft and blurry in an artistic manner. I do enjoy the shark coming head on for us, makes you feel some tension (in a good way).

Grant Thomas: This image doesn’t do much for me unfortunately. I do get a feeling of chaotic splashing and movement which you’ve created very effectively but I feel the overall image lacks a bit of focus as my eyes are bouncing around all over the place. I think a slightly different composition/angle along with some more creative lighting to create shadow and texture could have improved the over all effect.

Jade Hoksbergen: My favourite part of the image is the colours. It's a very pleasing palette. Shades of blue, grey and white. I like the bubbles and the hint of reflection on the surface, but the lack of any eye or eye contact makes it difficult for me to connect with the subject in question. It does look like he is smiling though, which is always nice, especially coming from a shark

Anita Kainrath: The Hammerhead is my favorite underwater animal I think. I'm just in love with them so for me anything with a Hammerhead sharks wins. In this picture I absolutely love the colours, the movement that comes with him swimming towards us, the bubbles he's taking from the surface & I like that his head is at a lightly diagonal angle and not straight. There is so much dynamism and his little smile tops it all off perfectly.

Shane Gross: Thanks so much everybody! Really interesting takes!