AZTinman
Contributor
I just returned from a trip to San Carlos, Sonora, and my first real effort to do some underwater photography. My system is a Nikon D7100 which is housed in an Ikelite housing and utilizes two Ikelite DS161 strobes.
While I had done some test shooting with the system in a swimming pool, the learning curve for using the system was pretty steep. I lost opportunity to shoot some amazing subjects on one dive because I made a last second lens change just before the dive and managed to reassemble the housing without removing the lens cap from my Nikkor 10-24mm lens. Needless to say, my dive partners and I encountered some of the best photo opportunities of our dives during the one where my lens cap was on. The DS161 strobes worked very nicely in video mode as I used the strobes to light subjects for my dive partners who were shooting without strobes.
On another dive, I managed to muck things up by attempting to shoot with my strobe diffusers on and failing to open my aperture to compensate for the reduced, softer lighting. A large octopus put on a dazzling show for me, but I failed to get a single usable photo of it.
During the dive where I encountered the cooperative octopus, the D7100 image review and live view modes failed to work. After post-dive disassembly and reassembly of the camera and housing, I realized that I had done not ensured that the spring on the shutter release housing lever was engaged. Neither the image review or the live view mode will work if there is any pressure on the shutter release button. It’s also difficult to avoid depressing the shutter lightly to engage the autofocus without firing the system.
I’ve attached a few photos from the trip. Please keep in mind that I’m a newbie with this underwater photography thing. If you notice some lighting issues and/or backscatter problems, there’s a reason. It’s called lack of experience.
Next week, I’m off to San Diego to dive the Yukon and Ruby E, and Catalina to do some dives at the Casino Point Dive Park.
Fun stuff!
-AZTinman
While I had done some test shooting with the system in a swimming pool, the learning curve for using the system was pretty steep. I lost opportunity to shoot some amazing subjects on one dive because I made a last second lens change just before the dive and managed to reassemble the housing without removing the lens cap from my Nikkor 10-24mm lens. Needless to say, my dive partners and I encountered some of the best photo opportunities of our dives during the one where my lens cap was on. The DS161 strobes worked very nicely in video mode as I used the strobes to light subjects for my dive partners who were shooting without strobes.
On another dive, I managed to muck things up by attempting to shoot with my strobe diffusers on and failing to open my aperture to compensate for the reduced, softer lighting. A large octopus put on a dazzling show for me, but I failed to get a single usable photo of it.
During the dive where I encountered the cooperative octopus, the D7100 image review and live view modes failed to work. After post-dive disassembly and reassembly of the camera and housing, I realized that I had done not ensured that the spring on the shutter release housing lever was engaged. Neither the image review or the live view mode will work if there is any pressure on the shutter release button. It’s also difficult to avoid depressing the shutter lightly to engage the autofocus without firing the system.
I’ve attached a few photos from the trip. Please keep in mind that I’m a newbie with this underwater photography thing. If you notice some lighting issues and/or backscatter problems, there’s a reason. It’s called lack of experience.
Next week, I’m off to San Diego to dive the Yukon and Ruby E, and Catalina to do some dives at the Casino Point Dive Park.
Fun stuff!
-AZTinman
