ScubaSteve
Wow.....what a DB
I have to back everybody else Larry.....those are some incredible shots. I have to say the action dolphin shots lead the way for me though. Awesome opportunity.
12-09 Monterey/Carmel pics
- Thread starter Larry C
- Start date
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Great Stuff Larry.
We've had nothing but rain and wind for the last ten days and the water is about the colour of pea soup. Hopefully the weather will improve in the next few days as the scales are drying out and I need to get in the water! It's supposed to be Summer!
We've had nothing but rain and wind for the last ten days and the water is about the colour of pea soup. Hopefully the weather will improve in the next few days as the scales are drying out and I need to get in the water! It's supposed to be Summer!
Bogie
Contributor
Beautiful pictures.
Do you have a suggestion for a beginner to get into underwater photography? Camera, housing, light that is not too expensive.
Thanks.
Do you have a suggestion for a beginner to get into underwater photography? Camera, housing, light that is not too expensive.
Thanks.
Gilligan
Contributor
All great shots Larry. The dolphin encounter was exceptional as are your photos of it. I'll never get to dive in those waters as I am too much of a "warm water wimp"
OP
Thanks Steve, Maddog & Bogie.
Bogie, you'll find a lot of good advice in this forum on camera/housing combos. Basically, if you want something that will grow with you, what you need is a camera that will allow you to shoot in manual mode as well as auto. You want to be able to control every aspect of the picture, including shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance. The other thing you want is the ability to focus pretty much right down to the lens. Having the availability of add on wide angle lens or a fairly wide native lens is useful. You can take decent pics with pretty much any housed point and shoot, but the more experience you get, the more you'll want to control every aspect of your picture. I haven't used any camera underwater other than the Olympus SP-350 that I'm using now. I've had it for almost five years, and learned some difficult lessons.
1. Get a decent strobe to start off with. Going cheap can seem like a good idea, but I spent more money replacing cheap strobes that didn't do what I wanted than I would have by just buying a good one to begin with.
2. 90% of the quality of your picture comes from the guy holding the camera, not the camera. You need to choose a camera/housing combo and learn to use it by practicing constantly, reading what experts say, and listening to others who have more experience. Don't be afraid to ask questions of those you dive with who are experienced UW photographers. Things like strobe angle, shooting angle, camera settings will make your pictures successful. I've never met a photographer who didn't like to talk about cameras and taking pictures, so don't be bashful.
3. The most important factor in getting good pictures while diving is being a good diver and knowing the behaviors of the critters you're taking pictures of. Chasing fish to take their picture only gets you lots of pictures of fish butts. While in Cozumel with a single divemaster and only my family, we watched three giant boatloads of divers jump in the water, at which time one young lady among them spotted a nurse shark we had been watching and started swimming after it. Within seconds there were 25 divers chasing after her and the nurse shark was long gone. Pretty quickly three divemasters were banging on their tanks and squawking their duck calls trying to get the attention of their divers. A little later, we ran across the same shark resting under a rock. We approached slowly and quietly and myself, my wife and son and the divemaster were able to observe the shark for several minutes from less than 3 feet. This was my first dive trip, and I didn't have a camera yet, but it was a perfect opportunity for a photographer.
Good luck. Check Alcina's "pink links" stickies at the top of the forum. You'll find good advice on a number of cameras. Read other "Newbie looking for first camera" posts here and you'll find lots of good advice. Then pick any popular camera/housing combo that fits your needs-a big part of that may be simply availability of both camera and housing-and don't look back. As far as strobes, I'd recommend either a Sea & Sea or Inon strobe, unless you plan to buy an Ikelite housing for your camera in which case you might want one of their strobes as well. One way to determine what camera to buy is to look at the Ikelite product list to see what cameras are the most popular to house. Usually those are going to be your best bet, whether you choose to buy a housing from the camera mfg. or from Ikelite, Patima, Fisheye, or any of the other aftermarket mfg. whose products you'll see advertised here.
PS Just noticed you're in Monterey. We can be found at the Breakwater pretty much any weekend. You're welcome to stop by and say hi. Just look for the Red Expedition with a Gray and White 19ft. Apex RIB behind it and the world's most beautiful pit bull princess hanging about.
Bogie, you'll find a lot of good advice in this forum on camera/housing combos. Basically, if you want something that will grow with you, what you need is a camera that will allow you to shoot in manual mode as well as auto. You want to be able to control every aspect of the picture, including shutter speed, aperture, ISO, white balance. The other thing you want is the ability to focus pretty much right down to the lens. Having the availability of add on wide angle lens or a fairly wide native lens is useful. You can take decent pics with pretty much any housed point and shoot, but the more experience you get, the more you'll want to control every aspect of your picture. I haven't used any camera underwater other than the Olympus SP-350 that I'm using now. I've had it for almost five years, and learned some difficult lessons.
1. Get a decent strobe to start off with. Going cheap can seem like a good idea, but I spent more money replacing cheap strobes that didn't do what I wanted than I would have by just buying a good one to begin with.
2. 90% of the quality of your picture comes from the guy holding the camera, not the camera. You need to choose a camera/housing combo and learn to use it by practicing constantly, reading what experts say, and listening to others who have more experience. Don't be afraid to ask questions of those you dive with who are experienced UW photographers. Things like strobe angle, shooting angle, camera settings will make your pictures successful. I've never met a photographer who didn't like to talk about cameras and taking pictures, so don't be bashful.
3. The most important factor in getting good pictures while diving is being a good diver and knowing the behaviors of the critters you're taking pictures of. Chasing fish to take their picture only gets you lots of pictures of fish butts. While in Cozumel with a single divemaster and only my family, we watched three giant boatloads of divers jump in the water, at which time one young lady among them spotted a nurse shark we had been watching and started swimming after it. Within seconds there were 25 divers chasing after her and the nurse shark was long gone. Pretty quickly three divemasters were banging on their tanks and squawking their duck calls trying to get the attention of their divers. A little later, we ran across the same shark resting under a rock. We approached slowly and quietly and myself, my wife and son and the divemaster were able to observe the shark for several minutes from less than 3 feet. This was my first dive trip, and I didn't have a camera yet, but it was a perfect opportunity for a photographer.
Good luck. Check Alcina's "pink links" stickies at the top of the forum. You'll find good advice on a number of cameras. Read other "Newbie looking for first camera" posts here and you'll find lots of good advice. Then pick any popular camera/housing combo that fits your needs-a big part of that may be simply availability of both camera and housing-and don't look back. As far as strobes, I'd recommend either a Sea & Sea or Inon strobe, unless you plan to buy an Ikelite housing for your camera in which case you might want one of their strobes as well. One way to determine what camera to buy is to look at the Ikelite product list to see what cameras are the most popular to house. Usually those are going to be your best bet, whether you choose to buy a housing from the camera mfg. or from Ikelite, Patima, Fisheye, or any of the other aftermarket mfg. whose products you'll see advertised here.
PS Just noticed you're in Monterey. We can be found at the Breakwater pretty much any weekend. You're welcome to stop by and say hi. Just look for the Red Expedition with a Gray and White 19ft. Apex RIB behind it and the world's most beautiful pit bull princess hanging about.
OP
Thanks Jim. Still looking forward to our tentative Philippines trip next summer. It's nice to get out of the dry suit and the 28lbs. once in a while and see the rest of the world.
Larry.
Those are outstanding Pictures!!!
Awesome Job Buddy, and thanks for making me jealous
Those are outstanding Pictures!!!
Awesome Job Buddy, and thanks for making me jealous
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