Here's the thing about underwater photography

[Blackwood]

RAW is laborious and boring and often artificial in appearance when run through all of the programs and manipulated.

To me, making minor adjustments in a RAW software package (I prefer Lightroom) is far easier than navigating cumbersome menu systems to change camera settings on a per shot basis, especially underwater.

Hell, I'd probably need to reference the user guide to even figure out how to do some things.

I know how to set my shutter speed, aperture, and sensitivity in camera, and how to work my flash. I know how to select metering type, etc.. Everything else (sharpness, color balance, etc.) is for later.

 

[Nemrod]

To me, making minor adjustments in a RAW software package (I prefer Lightroom) is far easier than navigating cumbersome menu systems to change camera settings on a per shot basis, especially underwater.

Hell, I'd probably need to reference the user guide to even figure out how to do some things.

I know how to set my shutter speed, aperture, and sensitivity in camera, and how to work my flash. I know how to select metering type, etc.. Everything else (sharpness, color balance, etc.) is for later.

Well, I gave my view, it is what it is. You are probably a back loader guy on a tractor and I am a front loader sort. I guess we will just not agree. If you are happy with your results and enjoy the process, then I am happy for you too.

N

 

[diver 85]

Being @ the RIGHT spot @ the RIGHT time also helps-----Example: below is a (very bad---but it's one) pic of 2 manta rays that I would have loved to been closer to & had my camera ready for(we were descending to the bottom to start the dive & I was just getting everything 'together')....BTW, out of 9 divers taking pics that morning, I had the ONLY shot of them, this lone one--everyone else was either behind me & later in the water OR didn't have their act

mselves setup & ready to fire....

 

[Blackwood]

Well, I gave my view, it is what it is. You are probably a back loader guy on a tractor and I am a front loader sort. I guess we will just not agree. If you are happy with your results and enjoy the process, then I am happy for you too.

N

In general, I'm a "do it right from the beginning" sort of guy.

When I got my first DSLR (three ago) I was very diligent about metering when necessary and adjusting WB for differing light conditions. "Uh oh, a cloud went over head, hold on lemme fuss with this thing."

It became very cumbersome; I was spending more time doing that than actually enjoying whatever activity I felt like taking pictures of. That pretty much pushed me towards making those adjustments in post.

As I became more familiar with RAW formats and workflow, I started making connections to the work I've enjoyed doing in the darkroom since I took my first photo class back in highschool. Then it became more than the chore of getting it right. It became part of the fun.

 

[RonFrank]

On the other hand, most digital sensors have far less resolution and dynamic range than your average piece of 35mm film (super-high-ASA stuff notwithstanding).

I find quite the opposite to be true, and have giving this topic a lot of study going beyond just 35mm in both film and digital.

This is a *tip* of the iceburg point where things get technical fast, and somewhat disproves the premis of the first post.

Photography can be very technical, and the fact is there are many aspects to this *simple* art including advanced technical discussions of dynamic range and resolution comparing various sensor design, sensor size, processing algorithims, opmizitaion schemes, compression... the list is long, and a basic discussion area is not the place.

There are hundreds of books dedicated to composition, shooting, printing, retouching, image manipulation, etc. Photography can get quite advanced fast even if much of the world just wants to push a button, and hand a card to a King Soopers employee for printing!

 

[Peter Guy]

If I see an outstanding underwater photo or video, I realize that it is outstanding not because the photographer or videographer is great but rather because the subject... our underwater world... is great.
...
But really, when it comes down to it, that stuff isn't very hard get decent at with practice. The technical part of photography is actually quite simple....

I disagree with this statement.

I take pictures while underwater and some of them I like, some of them people have told me are very good. But for the good shots, it is NOT because they are either technically good nor because the nudi is particularly attractive. To my mind, the really GOOD shots are because I saw something that made me go "Yes."

Several years ago I had the good fortune to take an 11 day trip down the Grand Canyon. There was a professional photographer on the trip. He'd take quite some time to set up his shots and one day, while watching him, I asked, "What do you are shoot?" By that I thought I meant, do you specialize in water, hills, broad landscapes, etc. His answer though floored me. He replied "I shoot light." It took me a while to play with his answer before I finally understood it.

His answer also applies, and sometimes with a vengence, to UW photography.

You may have the greatest subject, with the best techincal skill, but if you can't "shoot the light" it will not be a great image -- it will just be "a been there" photo.

A great photo IS because the photographer is a great artist who can "see the light" in ways I can only dream.

 

[diver 85]

I disagree with this statement.

I take pictures while underwater and some of them I like, some of them people have told me are very good. But for the good shots, it is NOT because they are either technically good nor because the nudi is particularly attractive. To my mind, the really GOOD shots are because I saw something that made me go "Yes."

Several years ago I had the good fortune to take an 11 day trip down the Grand Canyon. There was a professional photographer on the trip. He'd take quite some time to set up his shots and one day, while watching him, I asked, "What do you are shoot?" By that I thought I meant, do you specialize in water, hills, broad landscapes, etc. His answer though floored me. He replied "I shoot light." It took me a while to play with his answer before I finally understood it.

His answer also applies, and sometimes with a vengence, to UW photography.

You may have the greatest subject, with the best techincal skill, but if you can't "shoot the light" it will not be a great image -- it will just be "a been there" photo.

A great photo IS because the photographer is a great artist who can "see the light" in ways I can only dream.

have to disagree with the yes part, partly---here's why:in shooting these 2 shots, none of them went yes till I got home & did some blowing up---both @ the time seemed very mundane..

 

[DiveMom1]

Don't sell yourself short ... cheap little point-n-shoot cameras have some limitations, but you can get some pretty nice shots with 'em.

Here's an example of something you can do with a small setup that you can't with a larger one ... I got this pic by placing my camera into a tiny opening in the octopus den and panning a half-dozen shots. I couldn't even see what I was shooting at the time ... this shot would be impossible with my current, larger setup.

... and most P&S models today are excellent at macro photography, because you can get the camera right in close to the subject, reducing both color filtration and backscatter ...

Those were taken with a simple little P&S, stock housing and no strobe ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Wow Bob.. your photos are AMAZING!! Here is a photo I took the day I got my P&S in HI. Of course I hadn't read the manual yet.. just got lucky.
OOps! I can't post photos from my HD and I don't have a site yet. I got a good pic of a moray but now it's less quality in murky water.

My P&S won't do manual or let you set WB [or anything else]

I guess the best is just keep practicing since the photos are for my own pleasure. Thanks for all the inspiration.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Wow Bob.. your photos are AMAZING!! Here is a photo I took the day I got my P&S in HI. Of course I hadn't read the manual yet.. just got lucky.
OOps! I can't post photos from my HD and I don't have a site yet. I got a good pic of a moray but now it's less quality in murky water.

My P&S won't do manual or let you set WB [or anything else]

I guess the best is just keep practicing since the photos are for my own pleasure. Thanks for all the inspiration.

Thanks ... you do get better with practice. The main thing is to "see" the image you want in your mind's eye first, then position the shot and be able to hold still for a few seconds while you take it. Having good buoyancy control helps you "sneak up" on critters that might otherwise get scared away.

Until I got my current setup (still a P&S, but a really nice one) I couldn't do manual either. The camera I used for those two shots I posted had two modes ... Auto and Off. If it had a WB feature, I never managed to find it.

Just keep practicing. The best part is, it gives you an excuse to dive a lot ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Hoomi]

Just keep practicing. The best part is, it gives you an excuse to dive a lot ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

We need an excuse?