11 replies to this topic

[Mishelle]

Photography is a passion of mine and I have really thought about doing an underwater photography class. Has anyone ever taken it? What are your thoughts? Any suggestions on equipment? I use to have a nice 35mm Sea to Sea, but lost it in the divorce... :dltears: what a meanie, huh? lol

Anyhow, I would love anyones thoughts and opinions.

[finGrabber]

I haven't taken an underwater photo class, but it is probably worthwhile...I have an Olympus 5050 and Oly housing...I wish I had an Inon strobe to go with it...but then I also wish I had a housing for my D70 too! And strobes for the Nikon!! LOL

I do like my Oly..it's easy to use underwater and topside too...and it is easier to travel with than my Nikon system

[AliKat]

I took the PADI class. I'll have to say it did more to just get me back into diving than it did for photography. But a lot of it will depend on the instructor. Mine was OK, but he did have some good photos (good enough to make money off of) and he was more interested in talking about his photos than teaching us how to take better ones.

[jpreston]

Underwater photography will always start with the basics and that's how most courses go. It's up to the diver to excel from that point.

I was lucky enough to have an instructor that was passionate enough to show me how to take great photo's. Instead of a 1 day class it involved a couple weekends.

One point that is often over looked and not encouraged enough actually makes your photo's better than ever...bouyancy.

I've seen to many pictures that were so washed out, blurred etc. because the diver lacked excellent buoyancy skills, not to mention that damage they can do to a reef or cave formation.

Want to take great pictures...master buoyancy first.

[fbp]

Yes on the above...

Take the class to save time, hours-days, reinventing the wheel...
The class will give you the basics and then it's just Shoot-shoot-shoot...
Recommend going with Digital not film.

Buoyancy:
This is critical, not only to get good pics but to save the reef. The closer you get to the subject the more chance you're next to some critters and have to be careful not to bump them. You should be able to eventually control your buoyancy with your breath, Inhale = up exhale=down.. Obviously for closeups.. the further away the less importance it is.

Cameras:
The Olymus 5050/5060 is very popular with the PT015 housing and Strobe. Depending upon how serious you want to get into it. I find the PT015 housing a little difficult and tricky to use and will be upgrading the Ikelite Housing.
Oly is small and easy to caryy, Ikelite is big an bulky, but underwater is easier to use IMNSHO...
Sony makes a great 'Little" camera and has a strobe combo too
Nikon has a set up too.
Search these for more info..

These cameras will take you to the DSLR line and you won't easliy outgrow them.
The 5060 or Nikon is probably the preference of choice.

It seems to be the season for Photogs as this is the 3rd request I've had in 2 days.. so I'm copying (lazy?) the response below...
hope this helps
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Housings... Well, I'd get the Ikelite one, apx $525 or so...
http://ikelite.com/

The PT-015 is ok, small and compact, and a lot of people use them, including me, but for cold water diving with cold fingers and thick gloves, I'll be switching to the Ikelite. A lot bulkier, but Top rated service, adaptable, sturdy, no problems with O-Rings (PT015 has a history of the lower left corner crimping and causing a flood and the o-ring set up is kinda screwy - more details if you need them) So I'd go for the Ikelite housing, and since you're there the tray and stobes...

You need 3 components that may or may not be combined.

- Tray: bottom tray attached (screw) to the housing and holds the strobe arm
- Arms: Adjustable arms to attached to the strobe. Should be flexible (not the bubble flex) ULCS Ball Sockets are the best, but not entirely needed.
- Synch cords: attached to the housing/camera to the strobe - wiring to fire the strobe.

Unfortunately, as you quickly discover, they are expensive. Again the cheapest part of UW Photos are the cameras.

Now, if $$ is a BIG problem, then the PT015 with a Epoc is probably the best for $351.
http://www.marinecam...m/ep_150ds.html

Although it's using the Bubble arms, just be aware that they do "pop" off if bent to extreame. If used normally they work fine. Just attache a small saftey line (I use Steel Fishing Leader?) to the housing/tray in case it does "pop" off so you wont' loose it... Other wise I'm thinking this is the best for what you're looking for...


Copied below:
~~~~~~~~~~~~`
Strobes?? No such thing as "In-expensive"...

Probably the Sea & Sea YS25

http://www.backscatt...s6=Used&sop=AND <http://www.backscatt...6=Used&sop=AND>

or

Epoque 50?

http://www.marinecam...m/ep_150ds.html <http://www.marinecam.../ep_150ds.html>

for a small point and shoot digital...
Go here for an idea: (not to buy, but just to look at) http://www.marinecamera.com/index.html <http://www.marinecam...com/index.html>

They are more $$ than the cameras in most cases...
The internal stobe/flash would probably be fine for a Cozumel trip...
The water is so clear that the flashes just bring out the colors within 3 feet...
A strobe might bring it out to 4-5 feet.. Not a real difference eh??
~~~~~~~~~~~~~``


links: Search for: most are www.(xxxxxx)

digideep
dpreview
Digital diver
Wetpixel

Hope that helps???

[CaptSaaz]

I will be taking the photography course on the Saba trip. One thing I have noticed is you need a strobe. Pictures can still come out nice but washed blue without some kind of external light source and a flash will help freeze the the moment.

Agreed.. bouyancy is paramount. Alot of shots are taken of small creatures up close with a macro lens. It's very easy to get turned around and too close to the reef with your fins especially. Also, everything attached tight to your BCD, no hanging SPG's or octo's.
I would just rather miss the shot rather than disturb or damage the reef.

I'll let you what I think of the course after I get back... and with pics to show.

[jpreston]

I forgot if you use Jet Fins or Turtle fins you can get really close and be able to swim backwards if you find yourself about to ram the reef or such.

Practice that skill before attempting!

[peterbj7]

In my view you should start with a digital camera and no strobe. Sure, a strobe offers significant benefits, but I think it'll distract you from getting the basic camera work right. You can actually get some pretty good pictures without a strobe, so learn how to do that first.

Agree absolutely about buoyancy. 3-D awareness is also pretty important.

A PADI-style photography course can only teach you the basics, and you may find you're already past that point. Certainly there's no point in doing "photography" as one of the dives in the AOW course if you've ever taken a worthwhile photo under water. But however you start, learn by trial and error (particularly the second) and by watching and listening to other photographers. There are also a few books on the subject, but browse one first quite critically before you choose to buy.

[fbp]

I tied to post an earlier reply and it was blown out when I hit the submit button, so this is a shortened version...

Don't Really NEED a stobe in tropical diving, it just paints the colors for about 0-3-4'.. more strobe power, more distance with colors.

You might, depending upon the housing, have the option to put a reddish filter on it... I found that much more useful than a strobe.

The camera's flash will paint colors up to 3' or so... and those work fine...

But it takes practice-practice-and then more practice... so just shoot and review, shoot and review... and try different angles... not just a SnapShot of something...

good luck..

[peterbj7]

Many (most?) compact camera housings can't take a filter, though I really have no idea why this is. But since all a filter does is reduce the effect of certain frequencies (at the blue end of the spectrum) you can achieve exactly the same effect with decent computer software, the standard being set by Adobe's Photoshop.

What a flash or strobe does is add the red end frequencies that are otherwise greatly reduced or missing, so does something neither a filter nor post-processing with software can do. Above water my camera is set to default flash "off", but underwater it's set to "on". And just using the built-in flash I have to get really up-close and friendly. Certain shots have graduated colours receding away from the camera, and the missing reds beyond the flash's reach are very apparent. But again, this effect can be used to advantage in highlighting your subject.

Never try to overcome intrinsic characteristics of the equipment you're using - it simply waon't work. Understand them and work with them. You'll find you can get outstanding photos with very basic equipment. But your buoyancy control and "eye for a shot" both have to be excellent.

[outback]

When I started off doing underwater photography, I wasted a lot of film learning how to get a half decent shot. Taking a class with a professional photographer is a great way to learn. I did one in the Red Sea where we dived a site in the morning, took a roll of photos, quickly developed the photos over lunch, had our photos ripped apart by the pro and the other guys on the course, then went back and did the same site in the afternoon. The difference in the photos on the second dive compared to the first was amazing - great way to learn the basics quickly. It's something that you can do without an instructor of course - simply find a nice dive site (even a pool) take a bunch of photos. Then have someone look them over (post them here? - you'll get friendly advice on what's gone wrong), go back and reshoot and the improvement should be noticable.

I'd agree that you want to be going digital, you can take more shots and the learning curve should be shorter (and less expensive) than using film. Having said that, there's something to be said for learning the basics via film - there's an incentive to start getting it right quickly - each wasted shot costs!

Other tips.....


1. Get close.

2. Get closer.

3. Nope, still not close enough.

4. Now you got it.

Basically if you're much further away than arms length, you're wasting a shot. If you're using a strobe, the flash will fade much beyond a few feet, so colour will vanish.

5. Look up (be glad you're not a dog......)

Shooting up brings the subject into the picture against a neutral blue background. If you try and take a shot of a fish against a coral background, it can get lost in the clutter.

6. Placing a strobe at some distance from the lens helps. A strobe that's in-line with the lens - eg a standard camera flash - will produce backscatter from anything that's in between the flash and the subject. Looks like snow.

7. Go wide angle if possible. Wide angle lenses allow more light in and allow you to get closer to the subject while still seeing the whole thing. Used for wreck, big fish, diver/coral perspective shots. A lot of the photos you see on magazine covers are wide angle.

8. Anticipate. Learn how to predict fish and water movements. Makes it much easier to get the shot. Example? We spotted a manta above a bommie, I could see other divers crowding one side, so I nipped around the back, and positioned myself to do a sillouette shot (difficult with digital point n shoot by the way - this was slide) and waited for the manta to shy away from the mass of bubbles heading his way.

9. Bouyancy control!!! With extra !!!!!!

Film vs slide vs digital? I love slide film, for the colour saturation, but it's pretty unforgiving. Digital is the way to go I think, simply because of the ease of composition and review underwater - many's the film shot I've thrown out, when a tweak of focus or lighting would have given a great shot. Being able to see what you've taken while still underwater and can retake the shot is the major benefit.

Digital point n shoot consumer cameras work reasonably well, but my next step is the digital SLR, housing and multi-strobe set up. Lottery win permitting that is....

Attached Images

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Edited by outback, 01 April 2005 - 02:44 PM.

[scubagirl1966]

I would strongly suggest you take a class with a season under water photographer rather than some generic class from you local dive shop

Look at

Jim Churchs School of Photography - run by Mike Magleski and Mike Haber ( excuse the spelling )

Stephen Frinks school

Cathy Church`s school

I have heard great things about all of the above - I took a few seminars from Mike + Mike - they are the bees knees

Also look into classes run by Donald Tipton,+ Amos Nochom - they are both awesome big animal photographers and really nice people.


Other than that - ask people who take pictures that you like what they did / how they got the shot - etc etc