29 replies to this topic

[Scubawishes]

You might consider the SD.com trip to Grand Cayman. Some trip goers have already made some inquires with Cathy Church for some UW classes.

Here's the trip link:
http://www.singlediv...-miagcm-flight/


Check out Cathy Church located at Sunset House, Grand Cayman

http://www.cathychurch.com/

or


Stephen Frink
http://www.stephenfrink.com/

That trip would be peeerrrfect, too bad I can't go! I will look into it as a solo trip though, thank you for the links & help!

[Scubawishes]

Start paying attention to photo credits in magazines and then look on the internet to see if any of those names offer courses. I would call Reef Photo & Video in Fort Lauderdale 877.453.8927. Some of their staff offer one-on-one courses. And they may be able to name some people offering courses in your area or the area you want to visit.

How do many of us learn? Taking a bad picture doesn't cost anything. (Not like the days of film processing.)
Look at photos in magazines like the kind you want to take.... whether macro or wide angle.... nature or divers or wrecks.
Try to figure out what makes them good photos. You won't be able to figure everything out by just looking at the pictures, but you can learn some.

Get to know all the basic controls on your camera.
Take photos. Take more photos. Experiment. Then look at your pictures and decide which ones are worst and try to figure out why.
Sometimes it will be obvious why, sometimes not.

Then start getting to know the more complicated or advanced features and functions of your camera equipment and start experimenting with them.

Oh... and lots of diving :-)

This is great advice, thank you! It is tricky though, as I brought my SLR camera underwater & tried to compare settings & so forth underwater. Overall they all look okay or maybe even good underwater on mini screen, but when going over them on land it is a different story. In addition I can't recall which one was taken on which setting etc., so, I end-up back at square one!

[Scubawishes]

You don't say what your underwater photography experience is. If you have little or none I strongly suggest you start with a reasonably good digital compact in the manufacturer's waterproof case. Quite a good idea to add a single external flash/strobe, but try diving both with and without it. And to take photographs underwater, you need very good positional and buoyancy control - you need to be a good diver.

Looking again at your post, most of what you describe as "the technical side of underwater photography" is also the "technical side" of any photography. You need to have a good grasp of what histograms mean and how to use them, what focal length and depth of field are, and manual setting of cameras before you ever venture underwater. And of course how lighting works and the effect of different lighting on a subject. All of this you can learn either by teaching yourself from your camera's own manual, or from any of the good books and internet forums there are. A good start for the latter is http://photography-on-the.net/forum/ . Then you'll be ready for the add-ons that being underwater will add.

My Friend,

You are the one who helped me figure out which SLR camera to purchase in the first place! AND I thank you for that, your help has been so valuable!

I used a compact digital for years & feel I mastered that with the best possible results, however I wanted (& got) an slr camera to try to achieve greater detail & better overall quality photos. I have already gotten better clarity in a few pictures by chance with the SLR on my first & most recent dive vacation. Playing around with it was fun, but also frustrating, because I didn't really know what I was doing & therefore overall did not get the kind of results I wanted.

A great point you make & the most logical is to master the camera out of the water- duh- why didn't I think of that??? I tend to leave the SLR on automatic above water which happens to gets lovely results, though that doesn't seem to work for my photos underwater. I will most certainly heed your advice & I will work with manual settings on land & try to master (or at least get a feel for) the settings. I will check out the link too.

Thank you!

[Scubawishes]

Cathy Church in Grand Cayman offers one of the most amazing classes you can take ANYWHERE and she is a pioneer too! Our trip is Oct 1-8 if you want to consider that. kamala

You tease, you! I wish I could go on that trip, you know I do, but my vacation time will not allow it. Thank you for the heads up though.

[Scubawishes]

As 1 of the Divers going on the Grand Cayman trip & taking the Cathy Church course.. I beleive it is also accredited to a Padi cert.

A bit jealous over here because I can't go due to timing! Have a blast though!

[Scubawishes]

Learning curve is steep. Like Peter said, knowing your camera above water us paramount.

Scott Gietler of Bluewater Photo and Video has some tutorials that might help you: http://www.uwphotogr...otography-guide
It's not "Hand-On" like you requested, but a good place to start.

I learned by reading and experimenting.

Bruce, my photography idol, is that really how YOU Learned? Hmm, this is promising...there is still hope for me yet.

Thank you for the link too!

[Scubawishes]

If you do opt for the Grand Cayman trip, I'm the tripgoer organizing the lessons with Cathy Church. Myself and and Greg are already signed up for 10 hrs of instruction with a staffer at Cathy Church, on Sunday and Monday afternoon of the trip. This would be 2 5 hrs classes, including diving and hands on experience, with one class focused on macro and the other on wide angle. We're figuring roughly $450 each for these lessons. If you opt to join this trip and want to take lessons with us, let me know and I can try to add you to our existing schedule if you like. It will certainly be cheaper than negotiating your own by yourself. It may even reduce the price for Greg and I to add a third (or more) and re-divide the total cost!

For example, with staffers (instead of Cathy), the cost is $60/hr for one person, and $90/hr for two. I suspect adding a third would add an additional $30/hr, dropping the overall per person rate from $45/hr to $40. Its incremental, but anyway. Cathy herself is very expensive....we were quoted $125/hr for the first person, and if there were two it was $187/hr. As much as we wanted to learn directly from her, the price was a bit much for us to swallow, at nearly twice as much as a staffer. So instead of choosing to take just one class (to keep cost reasonable) we decided to go with staff for both lessons.

As Greg mentions, you can also opt to get your PADI Level 1 or Level 2 UW Photographer certification by taking these two lessons. There is an additional $40 fee to process the paperwork, but no additional instruction or payment beyond what you are already going to pay for the lessons + $40 is needed. Cool little bonus. Greg and I are probably doing that too.

Tina

edit to add some clarity: Please note that in order to be in the same lessons as Greg and I, you'd need to be working with a compact camera with manual control (as opposed to a DSLR). I shoot a Canon S90 in a Fix housing, for example. Cathy keeps these two types of cameras segregated in her classes because the approach and usage is different. It helps to keep each type of user getting the info they need. If you are shooting DSLR you'll need to be in your own classes.

Thank you so much for all of the info, scheduling will not permit me to go on this trip, but also I am working with (or against- depends how you look at it ) a DSLR. Please share some photos when you return.

[Scubawishes]

I'm amused by the fact that no one has yet to mention any diving skills. Before you can even think about taking a camera on a dive your buoyancy needs to be dead on. A good yardstick to use to determine if you're ready to start shooting underwater: have you stopped using your hands for propulsion? If so, go get a Canon Powershot G-series camera and matching housing and have at it. If not, spend more time in the water until you don't need your hands to get around the water.

Just my 2 psi.

Mark

Fear not Mark,

I would not think to lug around a DSLR camera and a big *ss housing unit if I did not feel comfortable & confident in my diving. The ability not to harm the reef, others or myself is paramount. With that said, as with everything in life, I believe there is always room for improvement though.

[Scubawishes]

Cathy Church in Grand Cayman held her first weeklong Underwater Fest during May this year. We had 3 boats for approx 30 divers and dove boat dives every morning for 3 hrs equally diving the week into macro and wide angle with the latter diving walls. There was also a night dive and an dove Sting Ray City plus unlimited shore diving. Cathy was on our boat 2 times during the week and each boat had 2 staff pros. We got excellent instruction daily including 4 hrs of critic time daily on land and daily lectures from
Cathy. At the end of the week, there was a show of photos and videos taken during the week including prizes. Cost approx $1600 for the week including round trip transport to the airport and breakfast daily and several dinners.
Next year's date is May 12-19th.

That sounds very cool, I would love that type of experience. Glad you had such a positive trip & Sting Ray City at night...that must be a freaky-fun sight to see! Thank you for this dive vacation suggestion.

[Scubawishes]

Mark
[/quote]

I'm amused by the fact that you haven't read this thread. I believe I said in my first post " And to take photographs underwater, you need very good positional and buoyancy control - you need to be a good diver.".
[/quote]

[WreckWench]

Bummer you can't join our trip but we completely understand how getting time off work goes. Do let us book your trip if you go by yourself! AND for a great topic! Kamala

[ScubaShafer]

Learning curve is steep. Like Peter said, knowing your camera above water us paramount.

Scott Gietler of Bluewater Photo and Video has some tutorials that might help you: http://www.uwphotogr...otography-guide
It's not "Hand-On" like you requested, but a good place to start.

I learned by reading and experimenting.

Bruce, my photography idol, is that really how YOU Learned? Hmm, this is promising...there is still hope for me yet.

Thank you for the link too!

Indeed it is, my friend. I'd start out with the camera set on shutter priority 1/125 for things that are zipping by and switch to aperture priority for things that like to hang around (yellowline arrow crabs, flamingo tongues, etc.) and play with depth of field. Then after downloading, I'd look at the image metadata and see what settings the camera selected and compare with the image results.

Of course there are a lot of factors involved: depth, distance, reflectivity of the subject matter and surroundings, position of the sun, strobe position, etc., but it's a starting point.

And Peter was right on with buoyancy control underwater and knowing your camera above water.

[peterbj7]

You are the one who helped me figure out which SLR camera to purchase in the first place

Thank you for the kind words . What camera did you end up with? What housing do you have/are you getting and what lenses do you intend to use?

[Scubawishes]

]Thank you for the kind words . What camera did you end up with? What housing do you have/are you getting and what lenses do you intend to use?

Peter,
I ended up with the Canon T2i with Kit lens, I have an Ikelite housing & two TTL strobes. The housing is awesome & surprisingly easy to use. The lens has produced some nice detail on land for me, but I have ways to go as far as skill. Eventually, I would like a better macro lens, but that mean more money for the lens & port. So I shall wait on that for the time being & work on improving my technique.
Thoughts?
~K

[peterbj7]

A good camera. I also have a Canon cropped-sensor camera but don't take it under water. I use a G10 for that. The main thing is to get used to shooting RAW and the associated post-processing. On land I'd start with fully auto until you understand what's going on and move through Programmed to Shutter-priority (which you'll mainly use for action shots) and Aperture priority (where the usual objective is a certain depth of field). And then fully manual, which I suspect you won't use much. Do though get familiar with adjusting the auto exposure the camera wants to give you, as I suspect you'll be doing a lot of that. Work with the histogram and understand what "shooting to the right" means (expose as much as possible without blowing out highlights). I recommend you to http://photography-o...d.php?t=1057932 and related threads.

Edited by peterbj7, 28 July 2011 - 06:49 PM.