Kenneth Kopp

Gallery: Wet: FEATURED: Light Table Nudis

We've all seen Nudibranchs photographed and lit from above. I wanted to show them a little differently: Lit from the bottom

When I spot one on a kelp frond, my buddy illuminates it with an underwater light and lights the frond from directly below the Nudi. I then dial down the strobe's intensity so they're just acting as small fill lights. I want the animal and the kelp lit primarily from below.

Because of the translucent nature of Nudibranchs, they glow when lit from below and offer a whole new look to these marvelous animals.

Lit from below with a 21 Watt HID dive light, the kelp and the Nudibranch glow
   
Lighted from under the kelp frond. The frond shifted in the surge, giving it an eerie flame quality in the back of the frame.
   
This unidentified species of Dendronotus was lit from below by a very powerful dive light, making him glow from the inside.
     
  
In verythick bubble kelp, the kelp isn't really illuminated by the dive light, but the nudi glow from the inside-out.
   
Rarely found on kelp fronds, we lit this from the bottom with a powerful light to create the floating effect
   
Lit from below, the kelp takes on a tiger stripe effect.
     
  
This very thin kelp frond seems to glow and expose it's texture as we light it from below.
   
Same Nudi, just a different angle with the bright light below it.