WATER WORLD
As photographers, we spend a lot of time looking at our world. But most of us only see a small percentage of it simply because most of our world is under water!
When we walk in the forest we can identify an oak tree or a pine, differentiate a deer from a raccoon. But most of us, given the questions about the watery world around us, would respond “Oh, that’s a fish.” Or “Sure, that’s a, a, a, another fish!”
We just don’t know what really lives in the other 7/8’s of our planet. That’s too bad, because what lives there is spectacular to see, safe to interact with and beautiful to photograph..... if we have the right equipment. And it IS safe. There is really very little that will harm you under water as long as you don’t touch or harass. Most of the danger comes from Hollywood story lines, not from nature.
Angelfish, Butterfly fish, Travally, Coral Bannerfish, Moorish Idols, Clownfish (Nemo!) Surgeon fish, Wrasse, Mandarin fish, all fantastic shapes and colours. And that’s just the fish! Remember, there are multi-coloured corals, shellfish, sea fans, starfish, lobster and shrimp, seals, mermaids. (Mermaids? Must have gone deeper than I planned.....!).
It used to be VERY expensive to get the proper equipment for underwater photography. The waterproof housing for the film camera alone cost at least US$1,500. And that’s just the box! We also needed special waterproof lights, filters, etc., not to mention the cost of the SCUBA equipment and lessons to get your diving licence. A single strobe light alone can cost upwards of US$600-$700 and usually we want to use 2 at a time!
The good news is that all of that has changed for the better. First off, here in Thailand you can learn to dive in the southern islands for less than US$250 including your hotel room. Certification only takes 3 days, and while this won’t turn you into Jacques Cousteau, you will have the needed safety knowledge and dive skills to enjoy an aquatic photo adventure.
Add your own camera and a waterproof case, and you are ready to shoot!With the advent of the pocket digital, manufacturers began making waterproof cases for them that will permit you to take your camera down 30-40 meters, and yet cost only US$100. (Actually, there is one company, “Ewa Marine,” that makes special vinyl ‘bag’ even cheaper, but you are limited to 10 meters depth with them.). Easy and convenient to use, these pocket digitals can take hundreds of photos without the need to open the camera to change film, which is NOT an easy task when there is 50 feet of sea water over your head. Add to this the tremendous light gathering ability of these digitals, many times greater than film cameras, and you reduce the need for expensive lighting. However.....
One of the special problems faced by underwater shooters is the effect of water on the spectral composition of light. The deeper you go, the more colours are filtered out. Even the clearest tropical water still acts as a cyan (blue-green) filter, the complement of which is red. That’s why red is the first colour to disappear in available-light photos, (at about 2-3 meters) followed quickly by other colours such as orange and yellow at the warm end of the spectrum. In water only 10 meters deep, a photograph taken without a strobe will be rendered just about monochromatic. The underwater version of black and white. There are 2 ways to solve this problem. One is to purchase a strobe (prices have also come down for these) which will bring back the vivid undersea colours of the marine life, and they ARE really vivid! The other, and even simpler method is not to dive so deep! Most of the very interesting sea life can be found while snorkeling. No need for SCUBA licence or equipment. I can spend hours exploring a coral reef at 5 meters depth, and find hundreds of interesting subjects to photograph. No need to dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Not much lives there anyway!
Perhaps the biggest mistake that underwater photographers make is to try to photograph something too far away. Be sure that your subject is filling up your camera’s view screen. Much of the most colorful benthic marine life is very small, the size of your hand or smaller, so you really need to get up close and personal to photograph it. Besides making for a better composition, and increasing the colour values, being close to your subject reduces the chance for ‘backscatter.’ This is the reflected light bouncing off of debris in the water and captured by the camera lens. It looks like bright floating dust and can ruin an otherwise great photo. Just get closer to your subject, or, if you are using a strobe light move that further away from the camera lens so the light doesn’t reflect straight back at you.
You’ve now got the camera. Grab a waterproof case and spend a weekend snorkeling and shooting around Koh Pee Pee or Krabi. You won’t regret it!
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