Jason Fox new release
- Thread starter watchguy123
- Start date
You are splitting hairs and not looking at the main point. His point is "is it ok to make the coral look better in order to drive sales". Sure someone may loooooove green slimer and may pay a lot for it but that's not the norm so making a coral look LE w insane colors instead of what it looks like under some set standard light is dishonest.
The fact that we as hobbyists do not have a set light as a standard is another argument all together
The fact that we as hobbyists do not have a set light as a standard is another argument all together
It's really weird that you understood the analogy the way I wrote it but felt some need to try to make your empty argument again. Weird like how the people who defend JF and his shenanigans only know how to spout the same stuff that makes no sense over and over again until threads get closed weird.
Let's try again: who thinks it's ethical for a woman to misrepresent herself on a dating website with a "beautiful" picture that's an edited photo of what she looked like 10 years and 60 pounds ago "with the intention of improving marriage value/reputation?" You know what's up and what JF is doing, and it's really suspicious how you're trying to cloud the issue with stuff that even at face value is unethical.
Let's try again: who thinks it's ethical for a woman to misrepresent herself on a dating website with a "beautiful" picture that's an edited photo of what she looked like 10 years and 60 pounds ago "with the intention of improving marriage value/reputation?" You know what's up and what JF is doing, and it's really suspicious how you're trying to cloud the issue with stuff that even at face value is unethical.
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I have thought a great deal about that picture and I think it represents something very different in terms of photography of anything we have seen to date with few exceptions. To begin with, the picture was taken by a "professional photographer" and a well-known longtime reefer on behalf of one of the most legendary online vendors. Whether you like the vendor or not, he has brought, grown, photographed and sold some of the most exotic corals in the industry for years. Just take a look at his Jack-O-Lantern lepto, it is absolutely crazy bright and very unreal looking.
I looked and looked at my tank illuminated by my two Reefbrite XHO lights. I was able to see spectacular fluorescence on a number of corals with reds, yellows, greens, purples. And I came to the conclusion that the picture the vendor offered is "perhaps, just maybe" exactly as it appears under intense blue leds just like my XHO's. What is unique is that outside of the walt disney pictures, no one has really been able to capture that extreme level of fluorescence of any coral so well. Which then begs the question, real or cooked.
I can't comment to whether he did or did not tweak the vibrance, saturation or any other post production adjustment. I don't know either the photographer or vendor to either validate or question their honesty or integrity
And of course, I think the picture looks otherworldly but just maybe, maybe it wasn't tweaked. Maybe its exactly as seen under intense blue leds, fluorescing like crazy. I have certainly utilized blue leds (XHO's) to try and capture crazy fluorescence but I have neither the skill nor knowledge with my camera or Lightroom to do it well.
What this picture does, however, is change how we look at coral photographs. It now becomes extremely difficult if not impossible to evaluate remarkable coral photography as to its legitimacy or true color representation.
I can certainly say that personally every time I look at this picture, it appears to be cooked but I could be very wrong. I also have always thought that the walt disney was cooked as well. However, I have seen a wonderfully colored up walt disney in a friend's tank and thought it was remarkable--although it didn't look quite as otherworldly as the photographs of the walt disney would have you believe. So I think the walt disney is gorgeous but just not as gorgeous as its photograph. But again, that is only one frag that I have seen and certainly maybe not the best example of that coral (although it was in the home display of another well known vendor). And consider that even under MH and T5 lighting, the Jack-O-Lantern looks cooked even when it is not cooked. So maybe it really does after all, just look that crazy good.
Bottomline, this coral under blue leds like XHO's very well may look or almost look as good as the photograph. Can't really say for sure. And I presume it probably is not as crazy under just T5's or MH's. But until it gets sold and resold, no one will really know.
I am though quite certain that intense blue led lighting has changed for evermore our view of coral fluorescence, our sense of esthetics, and confounded the issue of realistic coral photography.
There are fans and there are haters, I hope I don't come off as either one.
I looked and looked at my tank illuminated by my two Reefbrite XHO lights. I was able to see spectacular fluorescence on a number of corals with reds, yellows, greens, purples. And I came to the conclusion that the picture the vendor offered is "perhaps, just maybe" exactly as it appears under intense blue leds just like my XHO's. What is unique is that outside of the walt disney pictures, no one has really been able to capture that extreme level of fluorescence of any coral so well. Which then begs the question, real or cooked.
I can't comment to whether he did or did not tweak the vibrance, saturation or any other post production adjustment. I don't know either the photographer or vendor to either validate or question their honesty or integrity
And of course, I think the picture looks otherworldly but just maybe, maybe it wasn't tweaked. Maybe its exactly as seen under intense blue leds, fluorescing like crazy. I have certainly utilized blue leds (XHO's) to try and capture crazy fluorescence but I have neither the skill nor knowledge with my camera or Lightroom to do it well.
What this picture does, however, is change how we look at coral photographs. It now becomes extremely difficult if not impossible to evaluate remarkable coral photography as to its legitimacy or true color representation.
I can certainly say that personally every time I look at this picture, it appears to be cooked but I could be very wrong. I also have always thought that the walt disney was cooked as well. However, I have seen a wonderfully colored up walt disney in a friend's tank and thought it was remarkable--although it didn't look quite as otherworldly as the photographs of the walt disney would have you believe. So I think the walt disney is gorgeous but just not as gorgeous as its photograph. But again, that is only one frag that I have seen and certainly maybe not the best example of that coral (although it was in the home display of another well known vendor). And consider that even under MH and T5 lighting, the Jack-O-Lantern looks cooked even when it is not cooked. So maybe it really does after all, just look that crazy good.
Bottomline, this coral under blue leds like XHO's very well may look or almost look as good as the photograph. Can't really say for sure. And I presume it probably is not as crazy under just T5's or MH's. But until it gets sold and resold, no one will really know.
I am though quite certain that intense blue led lighting has changed for evermore our view of coral fluorescence, our sense of esthetics, and confounded the issue of realistic coral photography.
There are fans and there are haters, I hope I don't come off as either one.
Knowing that this was shot under blues helps alot. Here's an example of tweaked that results if you don't have white in the pic to white balance against
Juicy fruit without white
This one has some white
And a progression separated by a few months that is what i consider properly processed. Polyps look more brown than red as they did a few months ago
Obviously there are some light intensity and exposure differences here, as well as some morphing as the colony aged. But between 1 and 3, you really get the sense of how important white balanve is, and it's harder with leds. These were shot with a mix of led and t5 but probably at different times in the light cycle.
Juicy fruit without white
This one has some white
And a progression separated by a few months that is what i consider properly processed. Polyps look more brown than red as they did a few months ago
Obviously there are some light intensity and exposure differences here, as well as some morphing as the colony aged. But between 1 and 3, you really get the sense of how important white balanve is, and it's harder with leds. These were shot with a mix of led and t5 but probably at different times in the light cycle.
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