Getting ready for my next photo dive trip

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Kenr

Contributor
Messages
200
Reaction score
15
Location
South Florida
# of dives
500 - 999
Last April I attended a Scott Gietler’s underwater photoworkshop in Anilao, Philippines. This was my first serious attempt at underwater photography. I have a compact Panasonic LX5, Nauticam housing and two Inon strobes. In spite of my lack of understanding in taking macro shots underwater I did manage to get a few shots that I liked. After the trip I thought my biggest mistake was I wasn’t prepared or knew how my camera outfit really worked. It’s a different ball game shooting macro with a diopter, strobes and focus light. I thought I could just set my camera to aperture priority, f8, turn the strobes on to TTL and fire away. Boy was I wrong. First I couldn’t get the camera to focus and then exposure was hit or miss. Scott suggested we shoot in full manual and turn off TTL. Imagine the complexity in getting all of this to work while you are underwater dealing with currents and trying to figure out how your outfit works. Well, after 9 days and 50 + hours shooting underwater it started to make some sense. In retrospect a lot of what I went through was a waste of my valuable dive time and could have easily been avoided with better preparation.

I’m going back again with Scott’s group this coming April and I have started on a plan to approach it differently this time. I set up a macro photo studio in my house and am using it to figure out how everything works. It’s much easier to experiment and learn at home out of the water. The following are some of the things I am working on.

1. Re-read the manuals for my camera and strobes, cover to cover and know how everything works.

2. Experiment with the different camera defaults and create a default profile to use for your dives.

3. Practice focusing on different size subjects. This is actually much more complicated then it would appear. You have to learn how close or far your camera can focus at different distances, zoom values and lenses. Top side taking a photo of a subject at 10 feet away is no problem but when you are trying to focus on a ½ inch subject (or smaller) 6 inches away you have to know how to set it up. I did learn a thing or two underwater working with my wet lenses. On one dive I couldn’t get anything to focus. When I got back I discovered that all of the pictures had some very small sharp dots on them. I figured I must have gotten something;possibly some sand stuck between the port and the diopter or on the outside of the diopter. The camera may have been trying to focus on the sand. Another time I entered the water with my diopter on and all of my shots had a line running through them. There must have been some air stuck between the lenses. The lesson learned is to make sure the lenses are clean and loosen the diopter to make sure that no air is trapped between it and the port.

4. Practice shooting in manual mode. Experiment with different exposures and different strobe settings. Try dimming the lights and use your focus light. Learn how to gauge your exposure through your viewfinder or camera screen and compare what you see with your monitor. Sometimes I put on my mask to better simulate what I will see underwater.

5. Try different strobe positions and learn how to aim them. It may seem obvious aiming your strobes but it’s not as easy as it appears. Sometimes I think they are pointed at my subject but not always, for me it taking a little practice.

6. Read what the pros do. Scott has some excellent articles on his website. Martin Edge also has an excellent book.

7. Read and practice composition, lighting techniques, etc.

8. Take notes and bring them on your dive trip.

9. Practice and more practice.

It’s going to be different once you get underwater but it should be much easier making those adjustments once you get the basics figured out. I bet I am learning 10x faster at home then in the water. This is what I am working on now preparing for my next photo dive trip.

Happy New Year
 
I did Scott's May 2012 trip at Anilao. Great trip.

I would add that if your camera provides histograms, you learn how to use them and rely on them for exposure info while shooting. I have a D7000 and have it set to display the histo as each pic is taken.

Enjoy the trip.
 
I'm doing the Anilao trip this May. I have only just started shooting macro as up to now was concentrating on CFWA with my Inon UFL 165AD. Biggest challenge so far is getting really sharp focus. Even with the autofocus showing green when I shoot quite a few are soft. This may be due to shutter lag but I'm keen to get better results
 
I'm doing the Anilao trip this May. I have only just started shooting macro as up to now was concentrating on CFWA with my Inon UFL 165AD. Biggest challenge so far is getting really sharp focus. Even with the autofocus showing green when I shoot quite a few are soft. This may be due to shutter lag but I'm keen to get better results
At high magnification there is also an issue of motion blur. With shutter speeds around 1/500 this gets completely eliminated. For what concern depth of field with the UCL165AD I find the easiest way is to zoom to the max and set magnification area to small. With a good focus light this means there is only one distance where the camera will focus so when you half press and it says it is in focus it will be and the shots are crisp
Few examples in the flickr gallery with one or two UCL165AD stacked
Raja Ampat - a set on Flickr
 
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Thanks there are some really sharp shots there like the Head Details. I have been zooming about halfway so I will give full zoom a try. Also by 'magnification area' do you mean set AF focus area to small? Have you tried servo AF at all?
Here's a shot of a whip goby to illustrate what I mean by soft focus. This was shot at half zoom, 1/160 and f6.3. The photo has been cropped.
untitled-5.jpg
 
Thanks there are some really sharp shots there like the Head Details. I have been zooming about halfway so I will give full zoom a try. Also by 'magnification area' do you mean set AF focus area to small? Have you tried servo AF at all?
Yes set AF focus area to small so that it makes less confusion, servo AF never tried as on compact and high magnification I believe it would not work
With regards to your picture I don't see any motion blur and the slower shutter of 1/160 gives you a nice blue background if had shot at 1/500 it would have been black with the result of isolating the subject more
Aperture wise I would not shoot at f/6.3 with a diopter even if the S95 is a compact I prefer to shoot at f/8 so that the tail of your fish may come a bit crisper (assuming this is an effect you want)
So ISO80 f/8 shutter 1/125ish for blue background 1/500ish black background works for me
 
Hey Kenr I attended the workshop last April and am going again this year. Last year I only had one strobe and I just picked up a second so I'll be learning how to shoot with two strobes. I to shoot a point and shoot(canon s95) but in full manual. Any tips on using two strobes(mostly for macro).

PS:I'll be there April 25-May 5.
 
If you're shooting a fast shutter speeds, I.e., 1/500, be careful of max flash sync speed issues. This depends on the type and model of camera. For example with my D7000, my max shutter with strobes is 1/320. Read more about this in Ken Rockwell's web site.
 
Hey Kenr I attended the workshop last April and am going again this year. Last year I only had one strobe and I just picked up a second so I'll be learning how to shoot with two strobes. I to shoot a point and shoot(canon s95) but in full manual. Any tips on using two strobes(mostly for macro).

PS:I'll be there April 25-May 5.

I'll be there at the same time, maybe we will be on the same boat? Best to ask Scott or Mike for the tips, i'm still learning myself
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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