Here's the thing about underwater photography

[Puffer Fish]

I think sometimes, being able to capture an image, that communicates what the person saw can be a very powerful message, regardless of how much it does or does not look like what was there at the time.

This little video (shot with my P&S.. with only white balance adjustment) shows an event that I may never see again...and allows it to be shared by others:

http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/data/500/MVI_1969.mpg

Every time I watch it, it reminds me of why I dive...

 

[Hoomi]

Like several others here, my UW camera work is not to produce professional-quality photos for sale. It's to produce something that helps others to share the experience.

Since I'm still a novice diver, I've found that I get better results just doing short video segments of the overall area, rather than working to get still photos that require close-in focus. I can just hit "record" on the camera while we're swimming along, get some scenes, and then edit the lousy portions out with Windows Movie Maker. So far, I haven't even tried any color corrections or photoshop effects, and just let the camera record with the ambient lighting, so the video shows basically what we're seeing on the dive.

Some folks have expressed they like the style, as it gave them a feel for what it's like to be there. That's kind of what I'm shooting for, and I also enjoy being able to go back and watch to remember some of the cool stuff we've seen on our dives.

Himalaya Bay Video

Overcast skies muted the colors a bit more than usual (it rained on us both nights of camping on the beach), but it still gives a nice sampler of some of the marine life we encountered.

 

[Prostar]

I've read all/most/a bunch of these posts and I still have my plan.

I was downsized from my job last January and we have been making it since. On Monday I start the new job. At that point we will again be able to splurge on us...a bit.

First, my wife gets the Mini Cooper she has been craving. Then comes the Nikon I have been wanting since it was an FE. Once I've learned to use it well enough on dry land, I will invest in the housing to take it down there.

My point is that I will enjoy it thoroughly. If I take a class to learn how to clean up the pics so they look nice on our walls, so much the better.

Now I need to dive more, alone, with split fins.

 

[DiveMom1]

First let me say: "I bow before the masters" .. I just got a Point and Shoot cheapie. The micro strobe cost more than the camera AND housing! LOL I will never take professional photos, but I'm looking forward to snapshots to feed my seconary adiction SCRAPBOOKING and to share with no diving friends.

Of course if I had photos like those shown here I could "charge" my friends for browsing my scrapbooks.

 

[Sas]

First let me say: "I bow before the masters" .. I just got a Point and Shoot cheapie. The micro strobe cost more than the camera AND housing! LOL I will never take professional photos, but I'm looking forward to snapshots to feed my seconary adiction SCRAPBOOKING and to share with no diving friends.

Of course if I had photos like those shown here I could "charge" my friends for browsing my scrapbooks.

You can get nice photos with a cheap P&S camera. I am quite happy with my shots and my camera cost ~50USD all up.

Some examples of my fav shots:
Baby puffer on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Nice poser on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Swimming worm on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Michael and a big jellyfish on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Blue ring standing up on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I mean, there are much better photographers and photos than those, not trying to say I'm great or anything, but given the cost, I'm pretty happy

 

[DiveMom1]

What does it take to get "good" lighting in poor viz like we have most of the time in Monterey? 5-10f is an average and lots of turbidity [floaties] makeing for massive backscatter. Any recomendations?

 

[Sas]

What does it take to get "good" lighting in poor viz like we have most of the time in Monterey? 5-10f is an average and lots of turbidity [floaties] makeing for massive backscatter. Any recomendations?

I dive in 5-10ft viz a fair bit in cruddy water and to minimise backscatter I use various manual settings rather than auto (what is best will depend on your camera) and also shine one of my torches at an angle to the subject. A strobe will help I am told (but never tried one). I tend to do mostly macro photography though... And then if there is a bit of backscatter I use Picasa Retouch button to get rid of it later Photoshop is probably more efficient at removing backscatter though...

 

[Deefstes]

This debate of "to post process or not to post process" has been thrashed out forever and it is not unique to underwater photography. I think Saspotato said it well but I would take it another step further.

So what if the picture does not look like what you saw? If it's a good picture it's a good picture, whether it resembles what you saw or not. What people tend to forget is that the moment you press the shutter release on your camera you're already making changes to the reality of the scene. The very first picture in this thread is a case in point. I have never ever seen a diver hanging absolutely motionless with his bubbles frozen in time above him. That just does not happen in real life. In real life fish, anemones, divers and their bubbles are moving and to freeze all of that on a single exposure is a processed version of what you saw in reality.

So I really don't understand why people get so precious about not owning Photoshop and the unforgivable sin of post processing for levels correction, contrast enhancement, colour correction or backscatter removal. All of that is merely a continuance of an effort to capture an aesthetically pleasing altered version of reality that started when you pressed the shutter release.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

I was being a bit of a "puriist" resisting doing anything to my pictures... then I decided I was being silly. I don't have a strobe, I have a very cheap 5 year old camera.

For a number of reasons.. some financial but mostly physical.. I will never buy an expensive camera and strobe to compensate for backscatter and light loss.

I have recently started using Post processing to remove back scatter and compensate for my inability to shoot in RAW and make complex adjustments.

I spent time with someone showing me how to use PS. I discovered that we were seeing things differently and trying to make different "statements" with the pictures we were playing with. He wanted to turn them into "portraits of critters"

I wanted to tell stories. I had a picture of a very small moray in some growth. I took the picture thinking.. "Look at that tiny moray.. how huge the world is that it is trying to survive in! Look at the struggle for survival." He cropped it to create the portrait of the moray.. but you lost the size perspective and the purpose of the shot.. for me.

I take pictures to share with those who don't get the privilege of enjoying the underwater world. I take pictures to remember and enjoy my dives when I can not dive. I take pictures to capture the struggle of survival. I love to capture unusual moments and subjects.

Most importantly.. I take pictures to enjoy and if someone else enjoys them, that is a bonus but not the goal. I think it is about enjoying what you are doing .. trying to do it better measured against your own objective. Restricting how you achieve it because of someone else's bias is just plain silly!

 

[Puffer Fish]

What does it take to get "good" lighting in poor viz like we have most of the time in Monterey? 5-10f is an average and lots of turbidity [floaties] makeing for massive backscatter. Any recomendations?

I shoot a lot in those type of conditions...you need to:

1. Get close

2. I like to use one strobe in really bad vis.

3. Put the strobe way to the side...if you are shooting from around 18 inches away, you need to have the strobe off to the side around at least 15 inches. Closer and the stobes can be closer.

4. Point the strobe so just the edge of it's light lights up an object (pointed sort of behind it).

5. Make sure you take pictures of stuff without water behind them...

Looks like this: (no post processing)

Some of my clearest pictures are in under 10 ft of vis.