Comments on: I Learn To Scuba/Fail At Underwater Photography

By: Rob Moody

Rob Moody — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 19:01:37 +0000

Will do Lee. Keep in mind I am just up HWY 17 here in Wilmington,NC with Brownie (my neighbor) come up & dive this summer and we can work on some underwater stuff. There are some amazing wrecks here to shoot. One wreck shoot I want to do is set it up at night with an underwater light kit(s) and shoot it without any natural light. Should make the colors explode.

By: Lee

Lee — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 18:29:34 +0000

Rob, your videos look great. If you shoot a quick video explaining what you do we would love to post it.

By: Rob Moody

Rob Moody — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 17:01:23 +0000

Here are a few links of my underwater video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vke-r3YtQQE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8qR440PQBY

By: Rob Moody

Rob Moody — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 16:44:11 +0000

Lee,
Joel is exactly right. There are several issues with underwater photography/videography that we do not deal with on the surface.
1) Everything is moving including yourself. Even the water between you and the subject is moving.
TIP: get your bouyancy control down pat and you can hover over your subject and control your depth (within a foot or two) with your breathing. If you have the time just go to the bottom and sit, let the wildlife come to you. Its all about control.
2) lack of light, after 33ft you really start to lose ultraviolet light and everything becomes more and more blue.
TIP: Shoot pics in clear shallow water. Places like Curacao, Caymans, Bahamas, Cancun all have great water and abundant sealife in less than 30ft of water. The colors are brighter you can stay down for over an hour on one tank and take the time to get your shot.
3)Tunnel Vision. Most divers focus on what is only in front of them. TIP: Awareness, look behind you, look into the blue away from the wreck, you will get so much more out of your dive than others and its also good for safety.
4) Gear- it floods. It just does. Unless there is money in it for you, use less expensive gear. Spend a few hundred and not a few thousand. Learn on and destroy that first then move up to pro gear.

Take a look at the videos on our website eastcoastdivermagazine.com every bit was shot before 2006 in SD on cameras costing around a $1000.

By: Lee

Lee — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:25:19 +0000

Hey Joel, most of this video was shot with the Panasonic TS1

By: Joel Collins

Joel Collins — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:44:00 +0000

Lee, The video quality looks really good. What camera and housing were you using? I recommend getting a “bluewater” color correction filter for your next trip.

By: Lee

Lee — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:22:33 +0000

Thanks for the post Joel. I totally agree with you and that is part of the reason I didn’t bring my D700 down with me. All of the shots for this video were taken with a small point and shoot camera with a wrist strap so it wasn’t a big hassel to deal with. I can’t wait to get more practice.

By: Joel Collins

Joel Collins — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:18:32 +0000

Congratulations on getting certified to scuba dive. As you now know, it’s awesome.

As a professional photographer and certified scuba diver (but not a professional underwater photographer), here’s my advice for being a better underwater photographer: leave the camera on the boat and work on your diving skills for a while. (I’m surprised that your instructor even let you dive with a camera during your open water training dives — safety first.) The five dives required to get certified are no where near enough experience to be considered a good diver — according to most instructors it will take about 50 dives to dial-in your skills. Without really good buoyancy control you won’t be able to hover close to your subject without bumping into and damaging the fragile marine life you’re trying to photograph.

Good underwater photographers are good divers first, good photographers second. Safe diving!

By: Dave Gruentzel

Dave Gruentzel — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:02:29 +0000

Very cool! I wanna take some scuba lessons so i can start getting into underwater photography. And being in Wisconsin, it's not the easiest thing to do lol. But, me and my friend did manage to do an underwater fashion type shoot. Here is my blog post with video and photos, enjoy!http://www.itakeyourphoto.com/blog/underwater/underwater-photoshoot-at-uwm/