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Take the X-Ray Mag Photo Challenge

Stuck inside? Using found objects at home, or what you can photograph looking outside your window, why not try recreating one of your own underwater photos from your image archives? The five best shots will be shared on our website.

Photos by Olga Torrey
Comparisons of colors, shapes and subject matter. Dorid nudibranch, Goniobranchus leopardus, on soft coral in Papua New Guinea (top right) compared to a crocus plant blooming early in spring in New York City (top left). Photos by Olga Torrey; Pair of ocean pouts on Resor wreck in New Jersey (bottom left) compared to a pair of juvenile great horn owls in Ephrata, Pennsylvania (bottom right). Photos by Larry Cohen.

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Here are some tips:

Match the colors. Find objects at home that have similar colors as your underwater image and arrange them in a similar way as they are composed in your underwater image.

Match the shapes and lines. Arrange objects from home to mimic the lines and shapes found in your underwater image.

Think outside the box. Try an abstract approach rather than a literal representation. Go macro and get close in on a subject. Try using unusual elements. There may be dry goods in your pantry or things in the fridge that may come in handy. Who knows? Your composition might be edible after the photo shoot.

Take a look at the lighting. Use creative lighting techniques, homemade snoots, and other lighting fixtures and filters found in your home to recreate the lighting found in your underwater image.

Make use of reflections. Mirrors, glass, liquids, water... experiment with reflective surfaces and shooting angles through them.

Mix it up. Do several and pick the best one. The more attempts, the better chance for a great image.

Photography tips. Use your camera, smartphone, tablet or computer camera to capture the image. If you do not have a tripod, steady your shot with a homemade tripod made out of objects found in your home. If you are in the shot, you can use a remote shutter release device, the timer on your camera or have someone at home take the shot. Try taking different exposures and angles of the same composition.

Share your images. You can post your images on Twitter or Instagram at: #xraymagphotochallenge. Or send them through our Facebook page: @XRayMagazine.

Please remember to post both your original underwater shot and your new homemade shot, so viewers can see them together and compare.

Captions. Tell us briefly the story behind your images, where they were shot and what objects you used in your homemade image.

Please keep your images family-friendly and mind the social media’s policies for posting. Most of all, have fun! ■

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Press releases from Divers Alert Network (DAN)