underwater photography - sensaciones.orgunderwater photography course with linda dunk martin edge...

50
UwP 1 June/July 2002 a web magazine a web magazine Underwater Photography Underwater Photography Kim Westerskov Bonaire Towards a fellowship Amsler photo course Bubbles Spawning damselfish Monochrome Novice digital Starting simply

Upload: others

Post on 20-Mar-2020

11 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

UwP 1

June/July2002

a web magazinea web magazine

Underwater PhotographyUnderwater Photography

Kim Westerskov

Bonaire

Towards a fellowship

Amsler photo course

Bubbles

Spawning damselfish

Monochrome

Novice digital

Starting simply

UwP 2

UwP 3

20 Towards a fellowship

by Anne Owen

23 Kurt Amsler photo course

by Andrew Bell

28 Bubbles

4 News & Events

7 New Products

10 Kim Westerskov

by Ross Armstrong

14 Bonaire

with Linda Dunk

Underwater PhotographyUnderwater Photographya web magazineJune/July 2002

e mail [email protected]

Contents

Cover photo byWill Posslethwaite

32 Spawning damselfish

by Alex Mustard

36 Monochrome

by Morris Gregory

40 Novice digital

by Anne & Jurgen Brauer

44 Starting simply

by Sue Hall

48 Classifieds

by Will & DemelzaPosstlethwaite

UwP 4

ScubaSafaris haveannounced anunrivalledopportunity todive the WorldWar II wrecks ofTruk Lagoon &Bikini Atoll inthe same trip!

They havechartered theTruk Aggressor II and taken allthe accommodation at BikiniAtoll for consecutive weeks,allowing you to first dive thewrecks of Truk aboard the TrukAggressor and then the wrecksof Bikini Atoll.

They have arranged the

Truk and Bikini combined withScuba SafarisApril/May 2003

trips so that you can do bothdestinations or either one - youchose! The saving made bycombining the two destinationsin one trip is £1055!

The cost is £5025 perperson in twin share and fulldetails are available from:

News, travel & events

3rd Annual San DiegoUnderSea FilmExhibition

We are very pleased toannounce the 3rd Annual SanDiego UnderSea Film Exhibitionon October 18 & 19, 2002 at thenew state-of-the-art, large-formattheater at the San Diego NaturalHistory Museum in Balboa Park!

Each evening’s programwill consist of fourteen to fifteenshort films of the underseaworld, submitted by bothaccomplished professional andaspiring amateur underwaterfilmmakers and videographers.

We hope that you will puttogether a film of five minutes orless of your best underwaterfootage, and submit it to us so

that it is RECEIVED no laterthan August 1, 2001 for possibleselection. Submissions arelimited to three films/videos perfilmmaker.

Films should have asoundtrack that compliments thevisual footage and may includenarration; although oftennarration can detract from thequality of the film and so shouldbe well written and spoken ifused at all. Filmmakers are alsoencouraged to consider narratingtheir works in person at theshowing if your work is selected.No film should be longer thanfive minutes in length; and atleast 50% of the footage must beunderwater.

Please insure that no part ofyour film infringes upon any

rights, whether music, visualfootage, personal, copyright, orany other legal right.

We are accepting mini-DV,VHS and Hi 8 tapes forconsideration. Please submit amaster copy if you are sending aVHS tape; or contact us if youhave questions regarding thesubmission of VHS masters, orother formats not mentionedabove.

Please send your entries to:UnderSea Film Exhibition

c/o Chuck Nicklin The DivingLocker 1020 Grand Ave., SanDiego, CA 92109 (858) 272-1120

Please include your name,address, phone, e-mail address,film name and length, and a briefbio.

Scuba SafarisPO Box 8, Edenbridge, KentTN9 7ZS, United Kingdom.E mail [email protected] 01342 851 196.Fax 01342 851 197www.scuba-safaris.com

UwP 5

Sunday 17th November -Monday 25th November 2002

BonaireUnderwater photographycourse with Linda Dunk

Martin EdgeTravels with my camera:Kungkungan bay

Friday 27th September - Sunday6th October 2002.

Linda will be on hand toreview your processed films andwill be encouraging participantsto ‘share your shots’ with thegroup!

Join the Master Craftsmanof underwater photography on atrip to the world famous home ofweird and wonderful creatures:Kungkungan Bay

Charles HoodThe Channel Islands ofSouthern California

Saturday 14th September -Sunday 22nd September 2002

6 days diving includingboth boat diving around Catalinaitself and all day shark divingtrips out into the Pacific Ocean.

Divequest underwater photography trips

DIVEQUEST The Ultimate in Underwater Photography Adventures ATOL

Protected 2937Telephone: 01254-826322 or e-mail [email protected] website: www.divequest.co.uk

Underwater British ColumbiaPhotographic SocietyCompetition 2002

The Underwater BritishColumbia Photographic Societyis again sponsoring aninternational underwater

photography competition. Lastyear's competition was a greatsuccess, with over 460 entriesfrom all over North America,Europe and Asia. Our 35sponsors donated liveaboardtrips, dive holidays,photographic equipment anddive gear that were awarded to22 talented winners in sevencategories. We would like toinvite you to participate in this,our fifth competition.

The closing date will be:25th October 2002, at 11pm inVancouver, BC, Canada.

The competition rules,categories and entry forms areavailable on theirweb site

http://www.ubcps.bc.caFor more information visit

email [email protected]

Indonesian Photo Workshopwith Mark Webster5-16th November 2002

North Sulawesi in Indonesiahas been gradually building afine reputation amongstunderwater photographers for itsamazing diversity of subjectsincluding the unique experienceof ‘muck diving’ in the LembehStraits.

The group will be staying atthe Tasik Ria resort and the divecentre (Eco Divers) is on sitewith its own boat dock and twonewly constructed spacious diveboats. The diving will be splitbetween the dramatic coral wallsand fringing reefs of theBunaken Marine Park and the

extraordinary macro subjects ofthe Lembeh Straits.

The workshop includes 7days diving during 10 days inManado. For full details contactOonasdivers and visit Mark’swebsite.

[email protected]: 01323 648924

[email protected]: 01326 318307

UwP 6

St. Abbs and Eyemouth“SPLASH IN 2002”

The annual photographiccompetition at the St Abbs andEyemouth Voluntary MarineReserve takes place on August24/25th 2002.

Photographs are taken onthe first day within the reserve.The images are then developedand the winner is decided at theslide show in the village hall onthe Sunday evening by votesfrom the audience.

Categories:1. Marine Life Portrait:

close up portraits of marinespecies.

2. Diver Scenic: underwaterscenery with diver in frame.

3. Reserve Atmospheric:underwater or surface shotportraying the reserve.

4. Humorous: any funnyaspect of the reserve/ inhabitantsor visitors.

There are prizes for the 1st,2nd and 3rd place winners ofeach category and other prizesfor best beginner, first andsecond overall winners.

Sponsorship has so far beenobtained from Scoutscroft DiveCentre and St. Abbs Dive Centre.Many more prizes still to beconfirmed.

The entry fee is £15, whichincludes the film, developmentand entry into the slide show onSunday evening.

For further details contactSarah Bowe,Marine Reserve RangerC/o Rangers CottageNorthfieldSt. AbbsColdinghamEyemouth TD14 5QPE mail [email protected]

Introduction to UnderwaterPhotography courseDates: 20, 22, 27 June 2002

A practical introduction tothe world of underwaterphotography for those who areinterested in this fascinating andchallenging subject. This is abeginners' course, requiringsome general photographicexperience. Participants must becomfortable underwater andhave basic camera handlingtechniques.Time: 10.30 - 5.30 (Sat),6.30 - 9.30 (Thurs)Tutor: Niki SianniFee: £130.00 / 110.00concessionsLevel: BeginnersContact: Photofusion 020 77385774

Save $2000 shooting GreatWhite Sharks and $1000 forBlue Marlin - but hurry!

Two of Amos Nachoum’sclients have had to cancel theirparticipation on the Great Whiteexpedition, South Africa andBlue Marlins in the Azores. Theyboth had to forfeit their deposit.

He is offering a credit onthis amount of $2,000 for thebrave souls that can make thisspeedy decision and join us inSouth Africa.

The Great White Shark tripdates are July 1 - ending on July14 in Cape Town

Cost - $6,200 - $2,000(credit)= $4,200 excluding ofairfare

Price includes eight days ofdiving activities with Greatwhites in Dyer Island andaccommodations in Gansbaai,plus four days in Simonstown forAirjaws (shark leaping out of thewater and Seal island).

There is also a placeavailable for the Blue Marlin tripin the Azores on August 27 -September 08. This is on offer at$1,000 off.

For more detail please go tohttp://www.biganimals.com/greatwhiteshark.htm

Amos Nachoum,2000 Broadway # 1204 San

Francisco CA. USA 415 9239865

http://[email protected]

UwP 7

The Sealife Reefmaster DC200 is rated to 60 metres (200ft) and houses a 1.3 megapixel camera with a 2x digital zoom.

The 8mb on-board memory can be supplemented by acompact flash card - a 32mb card will hold 64 high resolutionimages.

The system can be expanded to include a powerful externalflash, close up lenses and accessories.

The price in the UK is £499.99 inc VAT.For further information contact Sangers, Priory House,

Pitsford Street, Birmingham B18 6LX.Tel 0121 554 5540www.sealife-cameras.com

Sealife Reefmaster DC200

Building on thesuccess of their uniqueQuad Flash Inon havenow introduced aminiature strobe for bothfilm and digital users.The T Flash, named forits dual flash reflectors,offers conventional TTLautomation with theNikonos, most housedNikon SLRs and someCanon systems. For morecreative lighting no fewer thanten (?) manual power settingscan be selected. These settingsalso make the unit especiallyuseful for digital systems wherecontrolling the guns manually isstill the norm. They allow forfine tuning of the exposures tosuit personal taste. A slave isbuilt in. By adding a fibre opticcable the T Flash can be dockedto several of the Olympus ownlabel digital housings andtriggered from the cameras ownflashgun. This provides morechoice in lighting angles andgreater flexibility for avoiding

backscatter in low visibility. Thistakes these cameras out of thepoint and shoot catergory andinto the serious shooting arena.When cabled to a housed cameraa powerful light automaticallyilluminates the subject to assistwith aiming and focus when theshutter release if half depressed.An on board laser can also beused to confirm strobe aimingwith the digital cameras or fortimes when the focusing lightmight be intrusive. The laser alsouses less battery power and is

Inon Z-220New Miniature Strobe For Filmand Digital Users

easier to see in very brightdaylight.

The T Flash reaffirms Inonsreputation for combiningpracticality and innovation andlooks set for success. The TFlash costs £550.00 for the headonly.For further details contactOcean Optics,13 Northumberland Avenue,London WC2N 5AQ.Tel 44 (0)20 7930 8408.www.oceanoptics.co.uk

New products

UwP 8

Gates news

Gates new web site hasbeen launched – check outwww.gateshousings.com.

With the launch of the newsite, all housings (except Guppymodel) are now rated to 450 feet/138 meters. they’ve’receivedgreat response from tech divers ,many of whom are divingwrecks and caves to thesedepths.

They also have a new Multi

Port, anunderwaterchangeablelenssystem thatallows youto change from Wide Angle toMacro in the same dive. Gates isthe first to offer this type ofsystem for video housings, andthe response has been so goodthat they’re already backordered.

MXTENDER

Optical strobe cable systemfor the Sea & Sea MX-10

The MXTENDER is theinnovative fiber optic strobecable system for the Sea & SeaMX-10 produced by GBUndersea of the USA. Nowavailable in the UK throughOcean Optics this system willbring you a dramatic change toyour phots with the Sea and SeaMX-10 system. By increasingthe off camera distance betweenthe MX-10 camera lens andYS40a strobe backscatter cannow be dramatically reduced.

The MXTENDER has beendesigned with durability and easeof use foremost in mind. Itsstructural components areprecision machined of corrosion-resistant tempered aluminumalloy, then matte finished andblack anodized. The fiber opticfittings are machined ofcorrosion-proof 316 stainlesssteel. The MXTENDERintegrates perfectly with the MX-10/YS40 camera system,mounting easily in place andallowing you to quickly andsecurely move the strobe on or

off camera.The generous

length of opticcable releases thestrobe fromcamera to allowyou to handholdthe YS 40a strobeto the position you require forthat creative shot. As thistechnique requires the use ofboth hands it can feel a bit moredemanding, but can be fine tunedwith practice.

Off-camera flash control isideal when working in turbidwater coniditions, as is oftenassociated with UK divinglocals. With a little practice theMXTENDER can make shooting

“Don’t Take a Chance, Takea Gates!

For further details, contactGates Housings5111 Santa Fe Street

Suite HSan Diego, CA 92109858-272-2501858-272-1208 FaxEmail:[email protected]

in less than ideal visibility helpproduce excellent results in themost challenging of conditions.

For further details contactOcean Optics Tel 44 (0)20 79308408. E [email protected] visit their web sitewww.oceanoptics.co.uk

UwP 9

Digital Imaging for the UnderwaterPhotographer:by Jack Drafahl and Sue Drafahl

This is the definitive guide to using digital technologyto produce stunning underwater images. The Drafahlspresent the basics on using scanners, hardware andsoftware, printers and film recorders. The informationpresented in the beginning of this book serves as a primerfor the advanced tips that fill the balance of the book.Readers will learn how to balance color on their monitors,adjust contrast and brightness, reduce grain and repairflaws. Image composition and archival data storage iscovered as well.

Jack Drafahl and Sue Drafahl are a husband and wifeteam of professional undersea journalists, lecturers andmultimedia producers. They have written over 500 articles,which have appeared in, amongst others, Petersen’sPhotoGraphic, Rangefinder, Photo Lab Management,Outdoor Photographer, and National Geographic. Sue holdsa BA in Photographic Communication; Jack holds aMasters degree in Photographic Education. They havepatented two inventions related to underwater photography.Both Jack and Sue teach seminars worldwide on all aspectsof photography, both on land and underwater.

REVIEWS: “Neophytes will not get snowed withjargon and technicalities. The Drafahls draw on whatthey’ve learned in preparing hundreds of magazine articlesand lectures on the underwater world.” —Immersed

“Readers can learn how to eliminate backscatter,understand resolution and image quality, enhancefluorescence and macrophotography, and archive and

catalog images for safe storage andeasy access.” —Dive TrainingMagazine

PRICE: £29.95For further details contactOcean Optics,13 Northumberland Avenue,London WC2N 5AQ.Tel 44 (0)20 7930 8408.www.oceanoptics.co.uk

An underwater guide to Indonesiaby Charles Anderson

Judging by the number of articles I receive about diving inIndonesia this area could claim to be one of the most populardiving destinations in the world.

This 160 page hardback book is a lavishly illustratedidentification guide which incudes descriptions of the marinehabitats, coral reefs and behavioural observations such asrelationships, self defence and mimicry.

Measuring 23 x 16 cm, this book is the ideal travelingcompanion for those visiting the area and will provide them withextra knowledge to help appreciate and understand this diverseenvironment.

Peter Rowlands

UwP 10

New Zealander KimWesterskov is the onlyphotographer to have receivedfive first places in the prestigiousBBC/British Gas WildlifePhotographer of the Yearcompetition. I caught up withKim at his home in Tauranga totalk about his photographiccareer.

What got you started inunderwater photography?

I have always likedphotography. My parents gaveme a camera when I was abouteight or ten. I learnt to dive aspart of my PhD in marinebiology at Otago University -studying oysters. It seemed anobvious thing to try underwaterphotography and it became animportant tool in my research.The marine lab at Portobello hadlots of dive gear - and alsoNikonos cameras! This wasfortunate because I couldn’tafford any - so I borrowed theirsfor a decade or more. I’m verygrateful to them for this, and alsoto Bill Ballantine at the LeighMarine Laboratory foremploying me when I wasthinking “What do I do next?”

In 1981 I graduated fromOtago University and also hadmy first book published: ìTheSeas Around New Zealandî. Thisbook really helped get my careergoing. I took all the photos andwrote ten chapters. My friendKeith Probert (another marinebiologist at Portobello) wrote theother 20 chapters.

In I983 I married Vivienne

and the following year declaredmyself a full-time freelancephotographer and writer. Therewas no money coming in at all tobegin with, but I persevered, and

eventually it became ‘a goer’.It’s going really well these days.

Interview with Kim WesterskovBy Ross Armstrong

(Above) New Zealander Kim Westerskov(Below) Young humpback whale about to surface in clear tropicalwaters, South Pacific. This youngster - a baby really at 5 metreslength - later caught me with its long pectoral fin and carried mealong for awhile. I call it being “cuddled” by a whale. Canon F-1,Canon 20mm lens, in Mark Twain housing with fisheye port.Ektachrome Elite (EB) 100. f4 or 5.6.

UwP 11

How did your underwaterphotography develop?

There was one cleardecision that I madesomewhere in my twenties. Ihad persevered withunderwater photography to apoint where I more or lessknew what I was doing andwas getting reasonableresults. I was about to moveon to ‘the next thing’ butthought “Isn’t it time to stickwith one thing long termand see where it leads me?”So I stuck with underwaterphotography. It was a goodchoice - it’s been heaps of fun.Challenging but very rewarding.

I have always taken mostlyabove water photographs buthave somehow built up an imageof being an ‘underwaterphotographer’. In an averageyear I would do between 30 and50 dives. Never 100 - not yetanyway. So diving has neverbeen a huge part of my life, but ithas always been an important

one. I have tried to make everydive count by either divingwhere no one else has divedbefore, or with a whale or,somewhere special. My resultshave come not from hugenumbers of dives, but fromgetting the most out of each one.

What do you credit yourphotographic success to?

The reason for doing well inthe past was partly because I gotmyself to places that no one elsehad been to before. Anywherethat hasn’t got people soundsgood to me - and if it’s cold aswell it sounds even better. My

Denseunderwater forestof bull kelpDurvillaeaantarctica.SubantarcticAuckland Islands,New Zealand.Nikonos 5,Nikonos 15mmlens. EktachromeElite (EB) 100. f4or 5.6, autoexposure.

Blue shark, South Pacific. Canon F-1, Canon 20mm lens, in MarkTwain housing with fisheye port. Ektachrome Elite 100. f4 or 5.6.

UwP 12

patch is from Fiordland andOtago down through StewartIsland, the Sub-Antarctic islandsand Antarctica itself. I wouldlook at maps and wonder whichof these islands I could maybeget to. Nowadays I’m having torapidly upgrade my technical andcreative abilities, as well as justgetting to faraway places.

In 1991-92 I got a really bigcontract with ChristchurchInternational Airport who werebuilding a seven million-dollarAntarctic Visitor Centre andwanted a photographer inAntarctica to get photos. I hadalready spent four months therein 1981-82 and another 2-3months in 1990, so I knew thesystem and what was involved. Iknew how cameras reacted in thetemperatures of -30 to -50degrees (Celsius) below freezing.I took around 24,000 photosduring that time in Antarctica,including underwater, aerial, andfrom an icebreaker.

Do you consider yourself atechnical photographer orcreative or what?

Definitely not technical.However, there is a certainamount of technical knowledgethat you simply have to know -you can’t just be an artist withoutunderstanding your tools. I haveenough technical skills to get mypictures, and to figure out whatthe limitations of my equipmentare, and work within them. PeteAtkinson and Darryl Torcklerhave been very generous inhelping me with technicalmatters and I’m much indebtedto them.

Maybe underwaterphotography is like a triangle:‘technical’ in one corner,

‘artistic’ in the second corner and‘biology’ in the third. Thebiology is not just scientificknowledge but more of aconnection. I fit in easily withanimals: I admire them, don’thassle them, don’t get eaten by

“Aroha”. Bladder kelp Macrocystis pyrifera on shore. Limpets.Subantarctic Auckland Islands. Canon EOS-1. Canon 35-350mmlens. Ektachrome 100VS. Gitzo tripod.

Baby Southern Right Whale heading towards me. It passed withintouching distance [I didn’t touch it]. That big dark thing behind it isits mother. Winter breeding grounds, subantarctic Auckland Island.Nikonos 5, Nikonos 15mm lens. Ektachrome 100S. f4 or 5.6, autoexposure.

them. Every photographer willfit into this triangle differently aswe each have our particularstrengths. I’m somewhere in themiddle of the triangle, but nearthe biology corner.

UwP 13

Group of red starfish (Odontaster validus) feeding. Under sea ice,shallow sea floor, Ross Island, Antarctica. Nikonos 5, 28mm lens,close up tube, Velvia, Sea and Sea YS-200 strobe. f22,1/30

Diving in Antarctica, alongside the overhanging ice wall of a floatingglacier tongue. Erebus Glacier Tongue, Ross Island, Antarctica.Nikonos 5, Nikonos 15mm lens, Fujichrome RDP. f2.8, autoexposure.

do it? There is no magic formulaI know of - apart from doingsomething that you like andbelieving in yourself. Somephotos will work - ‘connect’-and some won’t. Learn fromboth kinds - and move on. Keepmoving.

Wide angle photographyhas always appealed to me.Wide-angle photos are basicallyunderwater landscapes. In themthere is usually a foreground -you can see something clearlyand have an appreciation of itscolour, texture and personality.But there’s also a sense ofdistance and some of that feelingwhich doesnít photograph easily- the experience of beingunderwater. That feeling ormood is what we are all strivingto capture and wide angle seemsto achieve this best.

What advice would you give toanyone thinking about tryingunderwater photography?

Do it. Enjoy it.

Sounds like great advice.We look forward to seeing manymore great photos taken by youin the future.

By Ross Armstrong

Do you think that there ismuch left to be done withunderwater photography?

There’s heaps still to do,and I’m working on somepromising leads at present. It isonly our lack of our imagination

and commitment that stops a lotmore happening.

What makes a good photo?

Connecting with people.Sounds simple, but how do you

UwP 14

Whether you are already anaccomplished underwaterphotographer seeking to perfect aparticular technique or explorenew ways of approaching yoursubject, or someone keen tomaster the basic building blocksof underwater photography, thereare some essentials that areneeded to make the creativeprocess easier and moreproductive, and in myexperience, one of these iscontinuity of location, conditionsand subject material.

I have struggled withpicture taking in wet places forrather longer than I would care toadmit, and have had plenty oftime over the years to consider,when in far flung places theshots are simply not coming upto scratch, what uncontrollablecircumstances I can blame formy lack of success. Excuses Ihave come up with haveincluded jet lag followinghorrendous triple- andquadruple-flight journeys thatleave someone in the prime ofyouth, let alone pushing on wellthrough middle-age, feelingbereft of a brain, let aloneinspiration visual ideasclamouring to be committed tofilm. Many is the time I canhardly remember when finally onlocation how to put the dive kit,let alone the camera geartogether, after a long-haul trip towhat I know, if I can only get myhead around it, is sure to be anunderwater photographer’sparadise.

Another source oftremendous frustration can bethat old coconut of being taken,either by RIB, dhoni, liveaboard,

you name it, to a terrific site thatyou know instantly you couldspend the rest of the trip, perhapseven the rest of your life on, onlyto be told that the RIB doesn’tcome back to that site until theday after you have left, or thatthe liveaboard’s schedule

involves a new dive site everytwo hours, and no, they won’tchange things just to suit you.

Other rich veins of excuseshave included currents well-suited to a wet-and-wildextravaganza, whose only use tothe photographer are to

Bonaire - a unique underwater studioBy Linda Dunk

Nikon 801s in a Subal housing, 16 mm Nikkor full-frame fisheye,Nikon SB25 strobe in a Cullimore housing, Sea & Sea YS30 slave. 1/60th F11. Fuji Velvia film

UwP 15

demonstrate at high speed what abountiful array of subjects he/shewill not be able to photograph,and the certainty that the excitinglight coupled with a calm surfacethat bends the wide-anglephotographer’s brain occurringat the beginning and end of theday will not coincide with thepreset dive times. Often thesepreset dive times are thosefavoured by every other diveoperator within 50 miles, so thatdivers can experience thecommunal pleasure that comesfrom shoaling in warm water.Then there is the possibility thatthose precious babies, yourfilms, may come back, if therehappens to be processingavailable, fried in the firstdeveloper. Finally, don’t forgetthe ever-present risk ofencountering an embryonicdictator or RSM masqueradingas a dive guide, and you can beeasily be excused fromproducing a half-decentunderwater photograph for the

rest of your life.However, it doesn’t have to

be like this - because Bonaireexists.

Americans have long beenfamiliar with the delights ofBonaire, but when I first had thegood luck to find myself on this

(Above) Nikon 801s in a Subal housing Nikon SB25 strobe in aCullimore housing, Sea & Sea YS30 slave. 105 mm Nikkor lens. 1/60th F11 Fuji Velvia film,

island fifty miles or so north ofVenezuela fifteen or so yearsago, it was not a locationuppermost in the consciousnessof the British market.

Bonaire is part of theNetherlands Antilles, withcompanion islands being Aruba

UwP 16

and Curacao, known in maritime parlance,according to a rather optimistic coastal skippercourse I undertook way back, as ABC. As a self-governing part of the Netherlands, the Bonaireauthorities had the great foresight to banspearfishing on the extensive reef system thatsurrounds the island and its uninhabited sister islet,Klein Bonaire, in 1971, and then to designate avast area of reef on the sheltered western side ofBonaire and all round Klein Bonaire as a MarinePark.

This action has resulted in the spectacularfringing reefs remaining largely pristine andteeming with marine life, including a variety ofunusual, but not too difficult to find, marinecreatures of interest to underwater photographers.These include seahorses, terrific cleaner shrimps inthe anemones, snake eels, secretary blennies,approachable squid, frogfish, heaps of juvenilespotted drums, and many more. The usual varietiesof grunts, schoolmasters, snappers, angelfish,moray eels and groupers are also available to havetheir pictures taken, and tend to be less fey than inother locations possibly due to their being used todivers and not being hunted.

Staying at a resort such as Captain Don’s,

situated on the western side of Bonaire, and facingKlein Bonaire, you have the tremendous benefit ofa house reef that can sustain you in terms of pictureopportunities for whole period of your stay, if youso choose to work that way. Captain Don’s pridesitself as being’“the home of diving freedom”, andindeed, you can dive whenever you want, day ornight, and it is not necessary to encumber oneselfwith a buddy - again, the choice is yours.

You can work the house reef entirely to yourconvenience, and although Bonaire is often said tobe a macro heaven, for a wide-angle devotee likeme, this has huge advantages.

After a shallow swim to the edge of the reef,the house reef off Captain Don’s slopes away atabout an angle of 45 degrees, and the sun rises inthe early morning up over the top of reef, perfectlypositioned for close-focus wide angle, usingforeground subjects on the reef slope to make upthe picture. Shoals of fish are often calm at thistime in the morning, as is the surface, and smallboats on fixed moorings can be brought into thecomposition. Alternatively, if a buddy can bepersuaded to get out of bed, the diver, torch, videolight scenario can be brought into play. Theimportant thing is that the sun is in the right placefor you, and that you can go back, each morning ofyour stay, and shoot, shoot and shoot again untilthe picture in your mind’s eye finally andsatisfyingly, makes it onto the film.

You don’t have to dive deep to find yoursubjects, visibility is usually very good, currentsamount to a gentle wafting at worst, the sun shinesa lot, and the reef inhabitants appear to be as muchcreatures of habit as Homo sapiens can sometimesbe, doing the same things in the same place at the

(Left) Nikon 801s in a Subal housing, 16 mmNikkor full-frame fisheye, Nikon SB25 strobe in aCullimore housing, Sea & Sea YS30 slave. 1/60thF11. Fuji Velvia film

UwP 17

same time, so enabling you to find them withoutwasting valuable dive/shooting time. You are alsoable to plan ahead and fit just the right lens foryour chosen subject, again maximising thepossibility of successful picture taking. However,there must be waves occasionally, in order tojustify an overheard remark when preparing for anight dive along the lines of “Honey, I don’t dowaves”....

(Right) Nikon 801s in a Subalhousing Nikon SB25 strobe in aCullimore housing, Sea & SeaYS30 slave. 60 mm Nikkor lens. 1/60th F11 Fuji Velvia film.

(Below) Nikon 801s in a Subalhousing, 16 mm Nikkor full-framefisheye, Nikon SB25 strobe in aCullimore housing, Sea & SeaYS30 slave. 1/60th F8. Fuji Velviafilm

Should you wish to be a little moreadventurous and stray from the house reef, boatsoperating an intelligent rota that avoidsovercrowding will take you to sites around KleinBonaire, the Salt Pier, and an array of otherlocations; you just sign up for where you want togo in advance on a first-come-first-served basis.The Town Pier is known world-wide as a nightdive to die for. Dive kit is kept close to the shorediving entry steps/jetty, so you don’t have to clumpabout for miles in the heat all kitted-up, and canstart your dive alert and full of enthusiasm ratherthan near collapse. Likewise, the rooms are nottoo far away either, so you won’t come back withone arm larger than the other and in permanentspasm due to all that unwanted training carryingheavy camera gear back and fore n times daily.

At Captain Don’s, the rooms are generous interms of space and storage, giving the underwaterphotographer plenty of places to secrete the oftenextensive range of bits and pieces, gadgetry, film,batteries, ports, chargers etc etc. You can setyourself up comfortably for those long hours ofcamera fiddling, with the benefit of air-conditioning if you choose to cool you down whenequipment malfunction rears its ugly head, andthere is sufficient space for those with more thanone rig to set it up ready to run without having toclimb over it/stub your toe on it during the nightwhen nature calls. Because you are not on a boat,using the night hours to go from A to B, enginesthrobbing away, anchor rattling up and down at 4am, you can look forward to a decent night’s sleep,that is if the excitement about today’s pics in thedevelopment stage and tomorrow’s opportunitiescan be quelled (a spot of alcohol in moderation

UwP 18

can be handy here - another thingeasily available in Bonaire).

Captain Don’s has anexcellent photo shop on site,enabling you to pop your film inhot from pressing the shutter,and get it back, reliablyprocessed, next day. This hasimmeasurable benefits for allunderwater photographers, andespecially for those participatingin a photo course, as you can notonly see that the kit is workingproperly, but you can also look atyour films, decide what you likeand don’t like about them,discuss successes and problemswith the tutor, take the remedialsteps, and best of all, go backand shoot the picture again andagain, until it all comes right foryou. You can improve yourtechnique almost exponentiallyas a result, mastering conceptsthat can take years to get one’shead round doing it on an ad hocbasis, in a very short time. Thisliberates you through improvedunderstanding from the shacklesof the nuts and bolts of kit, filmspeed, aperture, shutter speed,depth of field, lighting, andfocusing, and frees up your mindto concentrate on the end goal,the actual picture. As a result,you can progress to develop yourown style of underwater picturetaking.

None of this benefits fromisolation, and as part of a groupworking together on a commongoal, nothing is better thandiscussing one’s ideas withothers intent on capturing thoseelusive shots that have the gaspfactor that we all so keenly seek.

Such conversations can beaccompanied by the odd chilledbeer, rum punch or margherita asappropriate as the sun goesdown.

No course would becomplete, however, withoutsome more formalised teaching,and this can comprise, inaddition to individual chattingand tuition, maybe three of fourevening lectures, before or afterdinner, as the group chooses.The resort has excellentconference/projection facilitiesfor this activity, with air-conditioning that can be turnedup to arctic if needed to keepeveryone attentive after an activeday’s shooting. Tuition is not aone-way process, andopportunities are alwaysavailable for you to share yourwork with the group as part ofthe process.

Finally, if thephotography/diving becomes alittle too intensive, why not trysomething a little different for aday or two; hire a car and tourthe island (can be combined withshore diving as well, if yousimply can’t leave it alone), visitthe Washington-SlagbaaiNational Park, attempt flamingophotography instead (it’ll help to

put the underwater thing inperspective), or just laze by thepool. After all, it is yourholiday.....

Linda Dunk

Linda’s next photographycourse is in Bonaire, atCaptain Don’s Habitat, fromNovember 17th - 25th, 2002.Details can be obtained fromHilary Lee at Divequest, on(44)-01254-826322 (Tel), (44)-01254-826780 (fax), e-mail:[email protected].

A range of Linda’s work,including a series of fine artprints offered for sale, can beseen on her website atwww.lindadunk.com.

(Left) Nikon 801s in a Subalhousing Nikon SB25 strobe in aCullimore housing, Sea & SeaYS30 slave. 105 mm Nikkor lens.1/60th F11 Fuji Velvia film.

UwP 19

ToysToysToysToysToys

willwillwillwillwillsoonsoonsoonsoonsoon

serious

getgetgetgetget

The Subal housing for theNikon Coolpix 5000 is coming soon.

Underwater photography will turn a corner.

BahamasTurks & CaicosTobagoBonaire, VenezuelaLittle Cayman, BelizeHonduras, ThailandSipadan, MabulLayang LayangDerawan & SangalakiBali, Komodo, Wakatobi,Manado, Kungkungan BayPalau, Yap, TrukAustralia's Coral SeaPapua New Guidea, SolomonsFiji, Hawaii, Sea of CortezRevillagigedo IslandsCocos Island, The GalapagosKelp Forests of California

DIVEQUEST The Ultimate in Underwater Photography Adventures ATOL Protected 2937

Telephone: 01254-826322 or e-mail [email protected] website: www.divequest.co.uk

Plus Underwater Photography Group Trips and Courses with leading photographers:

Martin Edge, Linda Dunk, Malcolm Hey, Charles Hood, Gavin Anderson

UwP 20

Most of us who take underwater photographsgo through a phase of wanting to show our picturesto other people and be assured that we are taking‘good’ pictures. We show them to our friends, wego in for competitions, we try to get thempublished......and some of us go for RoyalPhotographic Society ‘Distinctions’.

Someone once asked me why I went to theRPS for ‘affirmation’ of my ability as aphotographer, when ‘surely, they can’t understandunderwater photography’. Well, OK, takingpictures underwater is hard and there are specialconsiderations to deal with like back-scatter,absorption of reds and the need to get very close tosubjects. But many other advanced naturephotography techniques are hard too - birds inflight or pitcher plants suspended high above theground in low light below the rain forest canopy.The basics for good images though are the same -good lighting, good composition and thephotographer’s ‘eye’ for an interesting subject - the‘wow’-factor. I felt that pitching myself against thebroad spectrum of Nature photographers would bea real challenge.

Like most underwater photographers I choseto submit work in the Nature category. Naturephotography is considered to be primarily recordphotography, which means to say that the subject isrendered in a life-like way, in its naturalenvironment. The trick, as with anything else inlife, is to know when it will be OK to break the‘rules’.

How did I get started? I first submitted a panelof 15 slides for assessment for the Associateship(ARPS) back in 1998 and having been successful, Ialmost immediately set my sights on the next level- Fellowship.

Since the comments about my AssociateshipPanel had been very encouraging, my first effortwas to add 5 slides, to come up with a 20-imagesubmission, which I took along to an AdvisoryDay. There, a group of experienced Assessors lookat your work and spend 10 or 15 minutesdiscussing each individual image, as well as thePanel as a whole. This was a sobering experience.Two things became clear. Firstly, the technicalstandard required of each image was higher than atAssociateship. Tiny flaws that had been tolerated at

Towards a Fellowshipby Anne Owen FRPS

Emporer Shrimp on Spanish Dancer, PNG.

Cropping in very tightly has removedun-interesting background and enhanced thedetails of the remarkable camouflage of theshrimp. Traditionally, you would avoid twosubjects, but in this case, it works.

UwP 21

the lower standard woulddefinitely not be overlooked thistime around. Secondly, that re-using a lot of images betweenAssociateship and Fellowshipwas not good enough. I wasessentially faced with producing20 brand new top class slides.

Like many amateurunderwater photographers, I onlyget to take photographs for 2 or 3weeks each year. On some trips,I’m lucky to come back witheven a few reasonable images.So producing a whole new Panelof slides felt as though it wouldtake a lifetime.

On the other hand, I haddozens of ‘almost-there’ slides -the ones where the framing is notquite spot on, or there’s anunfortunate bit of back-scatter, orwhatever. That led me to thinkabout submitting prints insteadof slides. Perhaps in the process,I would be able to do a bit oftidying up, and salvage some ofmy ‘almost-there’ slides intodecent prints. I had heard that

digital printing was capable ofproducing high quality images.The only real drawback to theplan was that I had no experiencewhatever of printing, digital orotherwise and I had never evenseen PhotoShop, let alone usedit.

Step one was to book into along-weekend digital imagingworkshop. I took along just twoslides to work on, and was veryfocussed about what I wanted tolearn, which was the basics ofscanning, cropping, colourcorrection and minor ‘editing’. Ibought exactly the sameequipment as the course leadershad selected - a Minolta DualScan and an Epson 1520Photostylus printer.

Step two was to startlooking seriously at my slides. Iscanned, cropped and didpreliminary editing on over 150possibles, then did A4 prints thatI scrutinised very carefully. Ibecome quite ruthless ateliminating images - focus not

pin sharp, disappointing colours,uneven lighting, boring subjectsand so on. This was a largely‘mechanical task’. At the sametime, I was trying to form avision of what the overall Panelwould look like.

At Assessment all 20 printsare displayed together, so thatyou have to consider the overallvisual impact. The prints have torelate together in some way. Idecided that my ‘story’ would bethe complexity of colour andpattern on the reef. I would keepeach individual image verysimple and rely on the groupingto paint the picture of theimmense richness of a coral reefcommunity.

I honed down my selectionto 35 images and worked hard oneach, adjusting contrast and toneand removing blemishes. At thispoint I realised that I was ‘tooclose’ and it was becomingharder to make decisions. Istarted showing my pictures tolots of people ñ friends,

Spine-cheek Anemonefish, PNG

Cropping the image to produce a vertical formattransforms an ordinary shapshot into a mush morepowerful image.

UwP 22

underwater photographers and other naturephotographers, in fact anyone who would take thetime to look. I wanted to find the images that mostpeople liked. This process was incredibly helpful.Some of my personal favourite were eliminated.For some reason although they appealed to me, no-one else was interested. On the other hand, someimages that I had almost dismissed, perhapsbecause they had been easy to take, were verypopular.

I was down to 25 images and faced withmaking a final selection. At this point, I went offfor more coaching, on how to mount and presentprints. Finally, I printed all 25 images, at full sizeon good quality paper. I spread them out on theliving room floor (easier said than done, as I’dprinted 31.5x25 cm images on A3 sheets) andshuffled them round. My aim was to choose the 20prints that would work best as an overall group.

I set out the prints in two rows of 10 printsand worked outwards from a core group of fourmacro prints that I felt were especially strong. Onethe top left hand side I positioned a group of threeprints, on the top right I balanced these withanother set of 3 prints. The outer ends of the rowwere ëanchoredí with strong verticals. In thebottom row, I placed other groupings that wouldcontrast and complement those at the top. I tried toensure that from a distance there would be anoverall sense of harmony, while each print wouldstand up to close scrutiny in terms of compositionand quality.

This all sounds very ‘by the book’. In fact, I

Colonial Anemone, Fiji

This image has benefited from eliminating some distracting out of focus highlights in the blackbackground surrounding the anemone.

broke lots of ‘rules’ as I went along. One imageshows two fish, bucking the conventional wisdomabout having an odd number of subjects. Severalimages have cropped subjects, against strongguidance to show images of complete animals only.Not all the pictures are in focus from front to back.

I was, of course, delighted to be successful. Ilook back on the whole process as a verystimulating, though nerve-wracking experience. Ilearned a great deal. Obviously I had to learn aboutprinting and PhotoShop, but what I learned aboutcomposition and attention to detail, hastransformed my photography in the water. I nowtake as many vertical compositions as horizontals. Ispend as much time looking at the background as Ido at the subject before pressing the shutter ñ if itísnot good enough, I will move on. I even thinkabout the use to which I might put an image whileI’m taking it!

In April of last year I was invited to join theAssessment Panel for Associateship andFellowship in Nature. The Panel meets twice a yearand it is a pleasure and privilege to view somestunning Nature photography from all over theworld. Underwater photography is reasonably wellrepresented, but I’m sure there are many others outthere who would enjoy the challenge of workingtowards a Distinction. If you are interested andwould like to know more, please feel free tocontact me.

AnneOwenE mail [email protected].

UwP 23

The dream for manyaspiring underwaterphotographers is to make a fulltime living from underwaterphotography. So competitive andspecialist is this medium thatonly a small handful of peopleachieve this status.

After many years ofcommitment into pushing hisown potential Kurt Amsler is oneof those people.

Thousands of hours havebeen spent underwater withcamera in tow in pursuit ofpushing the envelope to produceawe inspiring images to stay onestep ahead of thecompetition.His vigour and enthusiasm wasnoted by leaders in the divingindustry which directly securedhim a contract with the PADIEuropean College in Cannes toteach instructors how to conductunderwater specialty courses.

Kurt finds motivationthrough competition. To helpfacilitate this drive he takes timeout between assignments to teachpeople his own hard-earnedskills. It would be fair toquestion the wisdom of givingyour trade secrets away,especially when a full-timeincome is dependant on it but itis this sharing of information thatis exactly what pushes him to thenext level in his own work. For afew weeks out of the year Mr.Amsler takes time out from hisbusy schedule to teach advancedunderwater photography courses.Our class size consisted of onlysix students so led to more oneon one tuition with Kurt. Thisensured that his concepts werehammered across.

There were only four suchcourses last year, all held in asmall tranquil town called LesLecques located along theMediterranean Coast in France.The final course for 2001 wasorganised by Ocean Optics andwas the only one conducted inEnglish.

Over ten years the coursehas been fine-tuned to become avery efficient itinary consistingof 6 theory lessons and one divea day, with 5 boat dives in total.The assumption is that the

photographer is very familiarwith the equipment and has hadvaring degrees of success incapturing images underwater.Building on a pyramid style‘See, Hear and Do’ approach tolearning we were given examplesof specific types of underwaterphotography and then taughthow to avoid pitfalls, learn fromthem and achieve a higher levelof success. The course outlineand location was a very efficientway to work as our studio, thesea, was only a few minutes

Kurt Amsler photo courseby Andrew Bell

'Group Shot' - Kurt Amsler (both photos taken with a digital camera) (Below) 'Lecques Aquanaut Center' - Kurt Amsler

UwP 24

away. The classroom, complete with light boxes forreviewing photos and film lab, was located at ‘LaBastide’, a old country home rebuilt in to a hotel.This was also our accomodation for next six daysof the course. With the beautiful views of the‘Provence’ region before us we all agreed this wasa very nice part of the world to excel at ourunderwater photography.

To be taught by one of the best in the businesswas a unique opportunity and one that my fellowsix classmates and I could only gain from. Theexperience level amongst ourselves asphotographers was quite varied, from relativelyexperienced photographers to professionals. Whatwas certain was that although all the students knewhow to shoot a good underwater picture, Kurt wasgoing to take us all to the next level to takeexcellent ones. This course was to be full on andwe all needed to develop the attitude of wanting toapply ourselves to take full advantage.

Kurt’s photo workshop does have a fewprerequistes. Everyone on the course had to be anseasoned diver with boat diving experience andalready have a basic general knowledge inunderwater photography. We had to bring all of our

own photo and diving equipment, except for tanksand weights. Among the equipment required for thecourse we needed to bring our wide angle, midrange and macro lenses.

It was a Sunday afternoon when the coursebegan. Kurt kicked off by welcoming us and thenfollowed with the story of how he got into thebusiness and how he propelled himself to where heis today. With the intensive course outline laid outfor us it was quite apparent there would be no timefor lazing around soaking up the mediterraneansun!

During the course of the week we were to begiven ‘assignments’ by Kurt. A full lectureaccompanied by a slide presentation to helpfacilitate getting his concepts across. The firstlecture was an overview of the underwater cameraequipment that is commercially available,highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of eachsystem. A briefing followed for the ocean dive the

'P-38 Lockheed Lightning Fighter Plane' - AndrewBell. Nexus housing, Nikon F90, 16mm lens, f. 2.81/30 fuji 100 provia'Coral backlit' - Andrew Bell. Nexus housing,Nikon F90 60mm lens f. 22 1/125 Inon QuadFlash backlit with Sea and Sea ys30 fuji provia'Blenny' - Andrew Bell. Nexus housing, Nikon F9060mm lens f. 2.8 , 1/60, Inon quad flash fuji provia

UwP 25

following morning and we then ended the eveningby having dinner with Kurt.

Monday morning, and everyone is enthused tojumping in the water and use our cameras in anger.Before we were unleashed on the diving centre totake us out for our first dive Kurt re-briefed whatwe were going to shoot. The rule for the first divewas that there were no rules, we could shoot whatever we wanted and any format we desired,whether that be macro, mid-range or wide angle.The AQUANAUT Dive Centre in Les Lecqueswere to be our diving hosts and a fine facility itwas. The “H2O “, a fast comfortable dive boatefficiently took us to our photo locations. We didn’tneed to travel very far to the quality sites whichquickly dispelled any notion that the Med wasdead. This corner of the Mediterranean was in factteeming with life. We were certainly spoilt forchoice on what to photograph first.

Low on air and annoyingly out of film wereturned to the surface where the H2O dive boatwas waiting for us. The dive crew took ourcameras and gingerly placed them all safely in theirdesignated area and within 15 minutes we wereswiftly back at the marina. Back at TheAQUANAUT Dive Centre we cracked open ourhousings and handed our first roll of film exposedback to Kurt. Always the competitor, Kurt chose tocycle uphill a few miles back to La Bastide, as hewas training for a cycling race in the next fewmonths. The rest of us were not feeling asenergetic after our first and only dive of the day sowe went to lunch at one of the many bistros to be

found in Les Lecques. As September was the offseason for this small Mediterranean town we feltwe had the place to ourselves.

Back in the classroom early afternoon our fullday lectures would begin. Usually Kurt woulddebrief us about the moning dive and talk aboutthings that went well and challenges we foundduring the dive too. After a break another lecturefollowed covering varing aspects of underwaterphotography. Such topics covered were strobepositioning, equipment maintenance, basics of filmdeveloping, the marine environment, life

'Viewing and selecting photos from the morningdive for evaluation' - Kurt Amsler'P-38 flighter plane' Paul Webster Canon EOS 50in a Subal Housing 14mm sigma, 1/15s, f4, provia.'Scorpion Fish' - Gearoid Lane Nik V, 35mm lenswith Ocean Optics close-up lens F22, 1/90 secs,Sensia.

UwP 26

behaviour, wideanglephotography, macrophotography, fish photography,diver/model pictures, and evenwreck photography.

At this point in the day wecould not deny that Kurt wasreally trying to hammer theinformation across. In effect hewas encouraging new buddingcompetition. I got the sense thateveryone really wanted to bethere and was soaking it all uptaking everything that Kurt wasfreely willing to deliver to us.Over time I could senseconfidence building between myclassmates, and even myself?!?!Then Kurt would announce thathe was now going back up to thephotolab to get our processedfilms for review. You almostvirtually see that sense ofassurance spontaneouslyevaporate in the air knowing thatMr. Amsler was going to seewhere we had screwed up.

Light boards were lit up onthe side of the classroom for usto review our films and select thepictures which would be laterprojected for review by myfellow classmates and Mr.Amsler’s expert eye. Kurt wouldcompliment when the shot wassuccessfully achieved and

evaluate why certain shots didnot. The point was not just justabout achieving good underwaterphotos but to also understandwhy certain photos were notsuccessful, and use thatknowldedge to our advantagelater on.

After the final dive of thecourse Kurt once again peddledoff with our exposed roll of filmand we wandered over to one ofthe bistros for lunch. Lunchalways seems to taste ten timesbetter after a salt water dive.Since I was acting as arepresentative of Ocean Opticswho had organised the course itdawned on me that it might be agood idea to ask how everyone

felt about the course.Gearoid Lane, from Ireland

said, “I found the course veryenjoyable and useful. Theclassroom sessions were quiteintensive, and Kurt was happy toimpart all of his tricks andtechniques. The diving in LesLecques was surprisingly good -I would have enjoyed doingmore than one dive a day topractice all of the theory a bitmore.”

Mikayo Langhofer, fromthe USA enthusiastically said,“Kurt’s workshop really canprovide you with the practicalknowledge to make the cameraan extension of your arm andeye”.

'Tompot Blenny' - Andrew BellNexus Nikon F90 f. 22 1/125Inon Quad Flash, Fuji provia .

'diver silouette with camera'Paul WebsterCanon EOS 50 in a SubalHousings, 14mm sigma, 1/60s,f8, Fuji provia

UwP 27

Aris Speggos, from Greece said, “It was agreat learning experience for me, and during ashort time I accumulated a great amount ofknowledge. He doesn’t hold back on his techniquesand style. On the contrary, he openly discussesthem and analyzes them with his students. I’mvery happy I attended.”

Paul Webster has had one of his imagespicked for the ‘Big Shot’ feature in UK’s DIVEmagazine. I was particularly curious what thisaccomplished underwater photographer felt aboutthe course. Paul pointed out, “people not reallycomfortable with a basic understanding ofphotography could feel the conversations gettingaway from them. It would have been nice toinclude more diving to put into practice what is

covered in the lectures but that’s not possible (evenunderwater photographers have to sleep sometime).It was an enjoyable and instructive course run by aprofessional.”

On the final evening of our course we selectedour best five frames to make a portfolio for acompetition within our class. The judges comprisedof the owners of our dive service AQUANAUTDive Centre and an accomplished local underwaterphotographer. All the judges have seen countless ofcaptivating photos of the local area so they werewell versed on what could be achieved in thesewaters. The tension was broken as the prizes werehanded out to the top three winners. Alas, I walkedaway empty handed, but still felt very happy atwhat we had all achieved as a result of the course.

The following morning was when we all saidgoodbye. There was a bit of urgency in Kurt’sdeparture as he had to get backto his home Switzerland, wherehe was to start his next photoassignment for a magazine.This time a photo shoot with thegreat white sharks in SouthAfrica. A busy man in demandindeed!

Andrew Bell

Define your imageDefine your image

Definitive workshops from the definitiveunderwater photography company.

Ocean Optics

Kurt Amsler is one of the elite few tomake a good living out of underwaterphotography. From natural historyphoto-essays to imaginativeadvertising shoots, Amsler’s imagesinfluence photographers all over theworld.

This world class photographer and teacher isnow set to share his successful techniques withclients of Ocean Optics.Kurt will host a one week workshop in SouthernFrance this September.Places are strictly limited. For full details callSteve, Andrew or AJ.

13 Northumberland Avenue, London WC2N 5AQTel 0207 930 8408 Fax 0207 839 6148http://www.oceanoptics.co.uk

UwP 28

No, this is not an articleabout an amazing scuba divingchimpanzee but some thoughtsand hopefully inspiration on theuse of bubbles in yourphotography. It was a young girlwho had just finished the firstpool session of her course thatset me thinking about this topic.Like many she was really thrilledwith the idea of breathingunderwater but beyond that thedancing of the exhaled air on itsway to the surface she foundvery beautiful. I had to agreewith the rest of the class that shewas right. It was the freshness ofthe idea that struck me. Often itis difficult to step back and lookat things clearly and in a newway. Invariably it takes someonewithout the accumulatedbaggage that we often callexperience to see the simplebeauty in things. For usconventional scuba guys bubblesare always with us. They are ourtracks in the snow, the only signsthat we1ve been there(hopefully) and can convey agreat deal about what it feels liketo be a diver to those who knowthe feeling and also to those thathave yet to try it out. Inspired bythis girl1s insight here are a fewideas I had.

The first shot I decided todo away with was that of a nearground diver between breaths. Inother words one in which thediver is the subject but notshowing how he is staying alive.A dead shot emotionally. Ilooked back at the pictures I usedto illustrate the use of reef hooksin issue 4 of UWP and realised

none of them showed a diverexhaling. The impact of thebubbles streaming away in astrong current would have beenfar better.

If we look at the two shotsof the diver 3staging12 herdecompression tanks whichworks for you? For me wherethere are no bubbles the kit ismore clearly in view as a sponsor

might wish but although there isaction it seems somehow muted.Where the diver is breathing outnot only do the bubbles fill someof the dead space but they trackthe diagonal and, moreimportantly, they show theconcentration in the task andhighlight the importance of thegas in these tanks on gettingsafely back to the surface.

Bubblesby Will & DemelzaPosslethwaite

(Above) Diver’sbubble rising to thesurfaceNikon F90X with60mm in Subalhousing with flat port,Fuji Velvia, 1/60th,F11, Sea & Sea YS90on TTL.

(Left) Wreck of theCarnatic“breathing”,Northern Red SeaNikon F90X with20mm in Subalhousing with compactdome port, FujiProvia 100 F, 1/60th,F11, two Sea & SeaYS120 strobes on halfpower.

UwP 29

Often divers are used more as a back drop to anear ground reef scene. Here the silhouette is allimportant but if we get the diver breathing out thesilhouette of his bubbles can add more than just anextra dimension. Take the next shot here that I call3meditations2. We were hanging in the blue justoff the reef at the Brothers in the Red Sea hoping tosee hammerheads and oceanic white tips. The divewas quite charged with adrenaline but when I sawour guide he looked totally at peace. His slow, deepbreathing emphasised this and as each breathdrifted up to the surface they placed him verymuch in deep space. There was so much going onin this scene that nothing in the fore ground wasneeded. Getting the diver fairly small wasimportant for the effect of isolation but by using hisbubbles the dead space is punctuated on thediagonal leading the eye from the dark depthsbelow the diver up past him and link him to thesunlight and surface in the far corner. Without thebubbles the shot is lifeless.

I find the best shots with divers are aroundwrecks. For many people this is the essence of

diving. The exploration of the history of the seaand how the underwater environment claims itsvictims. The shot here of the wreck of the Carnatichas the divers in the picture but only visiblebecause of their bubbles coming up through thestructure. As I watched this it struck me that therewas something more subtle in the picture where thewreck itself was perhaps being given life by thebubbles or perhaps those lives lost in the tragicsinking were haunting our presence? You mightagree with me or you might think I1m trying a bittoo hard here. I don1t mind which because all I1mtrying to achieve is to make you think how bubblesin the shot would work for you. Technical thoughunderwater photography undoubtedly is, the finalshot is still subjective in its appeal.

The last image takes me back to the girl in thepool and her fascination with the bubble itself. Asafety stop can flash by if you1ve got divers below.As the air makes its dash for the surface, expandingas it goes, the friction of the water and surfacetension bend the bubble into a great lens, splittingthe spectrum and reflecting the light. As you are

With and without bubbles. Nikon F90x with 20mm in Subal housing, Sea & Sea YS120 and YS90 Strobes,Fuji Provia 400 F ( my favourite film for wide angle in indifferent vis. (i.e. UK), 1/60th, F5.6, Strobes onfull.

UwP 30

“ Meditations “Nikon F90X with 20mm in Subal housing,Fuji Provia 100 F, 1/60th, F8, ambientlight.

shallow these shots can be taken with orwithout strobes. I haven1t managed it here but Iremember seeing a shot a few years ago where thephotographer got a perfect self-portrait in such abubble. He claimed it was just lucky. Here we areunderwater illustrating diving and divers, againwithout having them in the shot and also givingthe viewer another dimension (and perhaps adiving physics lesson!).

Like this bubble, you might think this is allfull of hot air, but I bet when you next take a shotwith a diver in it you will think hard about howhis bubbles will affect the final image.

Will & Demelza teach underwaterphotography at Cornish Diving

http://www.cornishdiving.co.uk

by Will & DemelzaPosslethwaite

UwP 31

123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901123456789012345678901234567890121234567890123456789012345678901212345678901

Uk are the small companywith big ideas.

The ideas that can give youthat competitive edge andmake that stunning vision areality.

We're unique in providing acustom service that designs andmanufactures the equipment youneed to get that winning shot orpull off that professionalassignment.

With 12 years in thebusiness you can beassured ourreputation isdeserved.

So whether youneed ring lighting,a medium formathousing ora 3D system,there's a company that can help.

Innovate.Get The UK Advantage.

UK.Turning Dreams into Images

UK GermanyAm Siechhaus 10D-65614 BeselichGermany

Tel 0 64 84 / 66 21Fax 0 64 84 / 68 [email protected]

UwP 32

At Visions in the Sea 2001, I was asked tospeak on the subject of “Capturing fish on theirbest behaviour” to give tips on how to photographthe natural behaviour of coral reef animals. Andalthough I dragged the talk out for most of an hour,in my opinion the key to this type of photographycan be summarised in a sentence. To learn as muchas possible about the subject before entering thewater.

Knowledge is everything. With understandingwe can select a common and easily approachablesubject, know how to recognise and predict itsbehaviour and select the optimum photographicequipment to capture it. Field experience is, ofcourse, invaluable; but with prior knowledge,quality field experience can be accumulated muchmore quickly.

If I had to recommend one subject, as an idealintroduction to taking photos that show a bit moreabout the lives of reef animals, it would be thereproduction of the whitebelly damselfish - WBDF(Amblyglyphidon leucogaster). In this article I willintroduce some aspects of its biology and relatesome of my experiences photographing this speciesspawning in the northern Red Sea, I hope these willbe of help when photographing this species.

The whitebelly damselfish is a widespreadspecies, tending to live on the upper parts of reefwalls and pinnacles from the Red Sea eastwardsthroughout the Indo-West Pacific region. Thisspecies lives in groups feeding on plankton broughtto the reef by the prevailing currents. The WBDF isgenerally unafraid of divers probably because of itscomparatively large size and deep body whichmakes it quite a mouthful for predators. As a resultit is possible to carefully approach this speciesclose enough for photography without disturbingits natural behaviour. This is ideal! In fact, often Ifeel that I should stop my photographic sessionswith this species because I fear that they will soonstart laying eggs on my port!

During the mating season, which in theNorthern Red Sea lasts from May to September,one can usually spot mating activity on almostevery dive. The start of the mating season in thisarea is probably controlled by water temperature,with things tending to kick off once it is above22sˇC. On a daily basis, the first dive of the

morning coincides with the climax of matingactivity, which is also a great time of day to strapon the macro lens, while waiting for brighter lightfor wide angle. But spawning will continuethroughout the day.

Furthermore, you should be able to catch theshow whenever you travel because studies have notfound any relationship between mating and thecycle of the moon and the tides in the NorthernRed Sea.

Males and females can be differentiated by thedifferent shapes of their genital papilla, or to gettechnical, their bits. However, when watching theirspawning it is easiest to tell them apart by theirbehaviour. Male WBDF defend nest sites on thereef, these are usually an area of dead coral or a

Photographing the spawning of whitebelly damselfish.By Alexander Mustard

Our subject, the whitebelly damselfish,Amblyglyphidon leucogaster. This male was easyto approach because he was guarding eggs at thetime. Nikon F100 + 60mm. Subal housing. YS120+ YS30 flashes. Fuji Velvia.

UwP 33

his standards, it is time to attracta mate!

While the male is busyworking away preparing the nestsite, the females tend to be up inthe water column in a looseaggregation feeding. This is ofcourse vital, because the femalesmust be in peak condition toproduce the energy rich eggs.Females periodically break offfrom feeding and wanderthrough the males’ territories.

seafan although man madeobjects are often favoured wherethey are available. The flanks ofwrecks, mooring attachments etcare often top of a male’sshopping list. Once a male hasselected a mating site, he sets towork with a bit of springcleaning, pecking away at thesubstrate. Males are territorialand will defend their permanentnest site throughout the breedingseason, and once the nest reaches

The eggs of the WDBF close to hatching. Nikon F100 + 105mmwith +2 diopter. Subal housing. YS120 + YS30 flashes. Fuji Velvia.raid.jpg -

A male stands guard while a female lays eggs behind. Nikon F100+ 105mm. Subal housing. YS120 + YS30 flashes. Fuji Velvia.

Once attracted to a nest thefemale will face upwards andstart to deposit eggs. Egg layingis a stop-start affair with femalesregularly taking breaks or beingchased away by the male. Anentire egg laying episode takeson average about an hour, whichusually fits in pretty well withmy dive profile, although layingcan stretch to over 2 hours.

Most females will onlyspawn with a single male on agiven day, and in the north RedSea an individual femalegenerally spawns every otherday. Desirable males quite oftenhave two or more females layingeggs at the same time! I ampretty sure that if you lookcarefully, you can see the cornersof the male’s mouth upturned atthis time. Apparently, theluckiest reported male had 5females in his nest at once!According to studies, the malegenerally waits until the femaleshave stopped laying beforefertilising the eggs.

Although I often see malesmoving along behind the female,apparently this is just toencourage her! The male willoften stand guard, chase offpredators or try to attract otherfemales once the first female isbusy laying.

A recently laid clutch ofeggs is pink, but they darken togrey in 2-3 days and then toblack after 4-5 days. The eggshatch during the night after 5 to8 days, with the time shorteningas the water warms up. Duringthis time the male guards theeggs both day and night,although males still feed onpassing plankton during thistime. Males are good guardiansand it is very rare for a clutch ofthese energy rich eggs todisappear before they hatch.

UwP 34

(Left) On rare occasions the nestof the WBDF may be raided by avariety of reef fish. Nikon F100 +17-35mm. Subal housing. YS120+ YS30 flashes. Ektachromeextracolour.

Males are also very easy to photograph at thistime! On only one occasion I have seen a nestraided by other fish. The raiders includedKlunzinger’s, birdmouth and even cleaner wrasses,as well as butterflyfish and angelfish.

After hatching the larvae drift amongst theplankton in open water feeding and growing untilthey metamorphose into juvenile fish and settle

(Below) A male WBDF cleanshis nest site. Nikonos RS +50mm. YS120 + YS30 flashes.Fuji Velvia.

back on the reef, about a month to 6 weeks later.Parental care of eggs laid on the reef is a just

one example of the ways in which coral speciesreproduce. The advantages of this strategy are clear- by looking after the eggs through the early stagesof their development the young inherit a muchbetter chance of survival. Also by dividing thework, with females producing the eggs and themales looking after them, the reproductive outputof the species is increased. You don’t have to beDarwin to see how natural selection would favoursuch a strategy! Although this is just one of the4000 or so species of fish that can be encounteredon coral reefs, the WBDF is an ideal tutor. It iscommon, approachable and during the matingseason you can find it at it on almost every dive -in short an ideal starting point for taking picturesthat show that bit more about the inhabitants of thecoral reef.

Alexander Mustard

The author has a PhD and works as amarine biologist at SouthamptonOceanography Centre. I would like toacknowledge Dr Denis Goulet whoseresearch on the reproduction of theWBDF has enabled me to take moremeaningful images of this species.

UwP 35

UwP 36

The underwater world is anenvironment full of colourfulfish, corals and other marine lifeso it’s only natural forphotographers to want toproduce their images on colourfilm. Indeed, that is how I beganmy underwater photography andI will still continue to contributeto the profits of Fuji etc bytaking lots of transparencies.However, having started out as aland based photographershooting both colour and b&w Idecided it would be interesting toexplore what could be done withmonochrome film underwater.

My main reasons for usingb&w film on land are that itallows me to concentrate onform, shape and texture and alsothat it can create mood andatmosphere in a picture whichcan sometimes be lost throughthe distraction of colour. Idecided that the underwaterworld would also lend itself tothe same kind of reasoning.

A further very practicalreason for using b&w film is thefreedom from using flash guns asthere is no need to try to restorethe colours that are very quicklylost underwater and of course thecurse of flash photography,backscatter, is no longer aproblem. Taking just the housedcamera on a dive without atangle of cords, arms and flashguns, all of which are just onemore thing to go wrong, is sheerbliss. I can concentrate on thepicture taking without having toworry whether the arms arepositioned correctly, if the flashsettings are correct or if the flashwill fire at all.

The underwaterenvironment presents its ownparticular problems forphotographers, whether shootingin colour or b&w. The main twofor b& w photography are thelack of definition and reductionin contrast the further objects arefrom the camera. A further one isthe need to separate the tones of

subject and background to avoida messy and confusingcomposition.The first twoproblems can largely beovercome by simply getting asclose to the subject as possible,usually by the use of a wideangle lens. The latter requires abetter understanding of howvarious tones will record on

My way with monochromeby Morris Gregory

Seal - Ilford Delta 3200, f11 on aperture priority, 24mm lens onNikon 801s in Subal Housing. Farne Islands, Northumberland.

Turtle - Ilford Delta 400 rated at 800 ISO, f11 on aperture priority,24mm lens on Nikon 801s in Subal Housing. Brisee Rocks, Praslin,Seychelles.

UwP 37

b&w film but, as withunderwater colour photography,setting the subject against abackground of water rather thanrocks or coral often produces thedesired result.

As far as subject matter isconcerned I much prefer tophotograph marine life thanwrecks, although b& w does lenditself very well to wreckphotography by they way inwhich it can add mood to thescene. In general I concentrate

on the larger creatures, such asturtles, rays, napoleon wrasse,batfish and the like that can befound in open water rather thanhugging the reef as this moreeasily allows for the separationof the subject from it’ssurroundings. Invariably I willuse my 24mm wide angle lens asit enables me to get close to thesubject while still providingsome space around it to put it incontext. An even wider lenswould be useful but I’ll have to

save up the pennies for that.Deciding on which film to

use is largely down to personalpreference but unless you intendto shoot in very clear, shallowwater I would suggest nothingslower than 400 ISO. Anythingless than this will leave littleoption but to use slow shutterspeeds and large aperturesleading to problems with camerashake and a lack of depth offield.

For my first attempts withb&w I tried Ilford XP2, a film Ihave used extensively on land soI was familiar with itscharacteristics. I find it to be avery good general purpose filmwith grain not being to intrusive,plenty of detail throughout thetonal range, reasonably sharpand pushable by a stop or eventwo without significantdegradation. I took a couple ofrolls on holiday with me toBathala Island in the Maldives.The island has it’s own verygood house reef and, when thecurrent isn’t running, it providesa safe, shallow environmentideal for conductingphotographic experiments. Idecided on a 24 mm lens in mySubal housing and clicked away.

In general the resultsweren’t particularly inspiring, asI had failed on many shots to paysufficient attention to my ownadvice and the subject justblended in with the background.However, a few weresufficiently good for me to thinkit was worth persisting with.

A short while after my firstdabblings with b&w I noticed, invarious magazines, the work ofPeter Hince and Julian Calverley,both of whom were producingsome very impressivemonochrome photographs usinghigh speed film, so for my nextattempts I tried some Ilford Delta

Stingray - Ilford Delta 3200, f11 on aperture priority, 24mm lens onNikon 801s in Subal Housing. Brisee Rocks, Praslin, Seychelles.

Moray Eel - Ilford XP2, f8 @ 1/125, 24mm lens on Nikon 801s inSubal Housing. The Jetty, Bathala Island, Maldives.

UwP 38

3200. Not surprisingly this filmis quite grainy but the grain iswell controlled and I have beengenerally pleased with the resultsit produces, particularly in lowlight conditions such as on a tripto the Farnes to photograph theseals. It was a fairly overcast daywith some light rain at times somy expectations weren’t high.For most of the dive I had tomake do with pointing my lens atthe odd inquisitive wrasse as theseals didn’t seem to want to play.Eventually I did spot one sealand it came into rangesufficiently long for me to takefour shots as it glided by. If I hadbeen using flash I would onlyhave managed to get one shot asthe seal would have been longgone by the time the guns hadrecycled, so yet anotheradvantage of using ambientlight.

Lately I have just begunusing the 400 ISO version ofDelta but I normally uprate it to800 ISO and compensate bygiving extra time in thedeveloper. This not only gives aone stop advantage over it’snominal rating but also providesfor slightly more contrastyimages without introducing toomuch grain. For me it is likely tobecome my film of choice forunderwater b&w.

As far as exposure isconcerned I normally put thecamera on aperture priority, setthe aperture to the highestpossible to give a hand holdableshutter speed and let the camerado the rest. In most instances thiswill give an accurate or at leastacceptable result, particularly asnegative films (both colour andb&w) have a better exposurelatitude than slide films. Onoccasion I might switch tomanual if I think the camera’smeter is going to be fooled by

some particularly bright or darkelement in the composition. Forinstance the underside of astingray is very pale and thiswould lead to underexposure if itformed a large part of the picturespace.

In such circumstanes Iwould meter from thesurrounding sea, looking slightlyupwards, as this can be usuallybe relied upon to give a mid tonereading, and set the cameraaccordingly.

A very specialist film Ihave tried, and so far failed with,is Kodak High Speed Infra Red.As its name suggests it’ssensitivity extends to the infrared end of the spectrum, whichwater absorbs very quickly so itdoesn’t penetrate more than afoot or so below the surface.Trying to use ambient light istherefore a pointless exercise soit’s back to flash, negating someof the advantages of b&wphotography. That said it’s aninteresting film which canprovide unusual, ethereal effectsresulting both from unexpectedtonal renditions and ghostlyoutlines due to having no anti

halation layer.I used it, rated at 400 ISO

(my usual starting point on land)with a deep red filter, toaccentuate the infraredsensitivity, on my 24mm lensand using twin Ikelite flashes.Unfortunately, at only ten metresor so in the warm, clear waters ofthe Seychelles I found it almostimpossible to see more than avague outline of anythingthrough the filter. I resorted topointing the housing in thegeneral direction of the subject,guessing focus and hoping forthe best. For my future attemptswith this film I will place redfilters over the flash heads whichshould give the same results butmake it easier to see what’s inthe viewfinder.

A few years ago I wouldhave taken the negatives into thedarkroom and spent a great dealof time and wasted a hugeamount of photographic paper toget the final print. Now I look atthe negatives through a lupe on alightbox and decide which onesto scan into my PC. I then usePhotoshop in a very conservativeway, removing any dust marks

Eagle Ray - Ilford Delta 3200, f11 on aperture priority, 24mm lenson Nikon 801s in Subal Housing. Shark Reef, Praslin, Seychelles.

UwP 39

etc and adjusting the tonalbalance, brightness and contrastbefore converting the image tocolour (RGB mode). A subtleamount of toning is added,

Raining Fish - Ilford Delta 3200, f16 on aperture priority, 24mmlens on Nikon 801s in Subal Housing. Shark Reef, Praslin,Seychelles.

usually to the whole image butsometimes one tone to thesubject and another to thebackground. The image issubsequently printed either on to

a glossy paper such as TetenalSpectra Jet or on a to a texturedpaper (e.g. Kentmere Tapestry)for an ‘artistic’ look . Overall amuch easier, controllable andrepeatable process than thedarkroom.

Shooting monochromeunderwater can be a frustrating,challenging but ultimatelyrewarding experience. Itcontinues to provide me with agreat deal of enjoyment and byit’s nature forces me to look atthe underwater world in adifferent way to colourphotography. I won’t be givingup on colour as it hold its ownfascinations but I wouldencourage others to try a fewrolls of b&w it could give yourphotography a whole new leaseof life.

Morris Gregorywww.morrisphoto.org.uk

Inon’s Quad Flash is one of the mostinnovative tools ever made available to

underwater photographers. The fourreflectors provide shadowless lighting withan ethereal quality all of it's own. Thecompact size is less intrusive thanconventional strobes and makes animalsmuch more approachable.

The Quad is packed with useful featuressuch as an automatically activatedmodeling light to assist autofocusing and

Nikon compatible TTL. To get creative thereare three manual powers and a built in shade lets

you block off two of the reflectors.Available with ports to suit both Subal

and Sea and Sea SLR housings. Quad from £995.00. Portsfrom £299.00. For a full review by award winning photographer, author andunderwater photography coach Mark Webster see UwP Issue 2 at http://www.uwpmag.co.uk

13 Northumberland Ave, London WC2N 5AQTel 020 7930 8408 Fax 020 7839 6148

http://www.oceanoptics.co.ukOcean Optics

Ring of Bright Water

UwP 40

We are a father-daughter dive team – instantconverts to the sea and to u/w digital photography.No more film! That was the biggest draw.

Eliminating film means eliminating the waitto see your pictures and to learn from yourmistakes. Instant underwater picture review leadsto an incredibly steep learning curve. And you arenot limited by a 36-frame film since digital disksallow you to take well over a hundred high-resolution shots. You merely click, review;recompose, click again, review; change thelighting, click again, review; change your position,click once more; review; change the lens, clickagain, review ... you get

the idea. You also get essentially zero-wait,zero-cost developing and distribution across theInternet to friends and family worldwide.

In this article we describe our equipment andshare some pictures from our first two digitaloutings, in Bonaire (December 2001) and Cozumel(April 2002).

Ours are no “pro” pictures at all, but as first-time u/w photographers, we are mighty pleasedwith the results.

We (i.e.Dad!) spent some real money inOctober 2001 for an Olympus C-3040Zoom digitalcamera, plus an Olympus-made PT-010 housing.The camera has a 3x optical zoom, and the housingcomes with a diffuser that disperses the light fromthe camera’s powerful internal strobe. The cameraalso has a macro-mode for close-up pictures, andthe fifty dollar 128MB SmartMedia disk allows usto take more than 160 high-resolution(2048x1536=3.15MB) pictures, taken either as JPGor TIFF files.

The high-capacity, rechargeable batteries lastfor a two-tank jaunt, especially when the power-hungry camera screen is turned off in-between

The Novice Digital Photographerby Jurgen and Anne Brauer

shots. Further, the camera has a video and audiomode (it is fun to hear your bubbles while youwatch your video of a feeding sharptail eel). Youcan also switch from color to b/w photography, andyou can have the thing run fully automatic or youmay set aperture a/o shutter speed manually as youbecome more advanced in photography itself.Moreover, you can change film-speed, white-balance, strobe-intensity, picture resolution, andplenty of other things – all underwater! Indeed, thelist of options is overwhelming at first. What youare buying is a sophisticated camera withexpansion options, and most of the expansionmodules are already built-in!

After buying the camera, we spent a fewweekends taking land-based pictures to learn aboutphotography, and of course to become familiarwith the camera itself. Once in the water, of coursewe made the beginner’s mistakes such as wronglighting, ill-focused subject, and not following therule-of-thirds. Solution: review and retake! Let usadmit to one advantage we had up-front, however.By the time we dove Bonaire, we were closing inon a hundred dives each, meaning that we had agood feel for buoyancy control, surely a criticalphotography element. We also had a good feel forpatience: creep up slowly to the critters. In short, itsurely helped the photography to be budding u/wnaturalists and to be comfortable in the water. Ifyou are new to diving, your first pictures may notturn out quite as well, but if you are a reasonablyexperienced diver and are merely new to u/w

(01-Schoolmaster.jpg)

UwP 41

photography, we bet you will do just as well, bejust as pleased, and impress your friends andcolleagues just as much as we did.

(Let’s look at a few sample pictures. Take theschoolmaster (01-Schoolmaster.jpg) shot. Ofcourse we cut off the tail, and a “real”photographer is not supposed to do that. But thecolors are exactly the way they looked underwater.The fish is nicely caught in the diagonal, and thebackground is blurred out to draw the eye evenmore to the fish. As a first-time shot, wouldn’t yoube pleased with it? Note that there is no lightingexcept for the internal flash, diffused through thehousing.

Next, while Jurgen was hanging onto hiscompass to navigate the traverse in-between adouble-reef formation at Bonaire’s southwesternedge, Anne took the picture of a curious, loneYellowtail Snapper (02-YellowtailSnapper.jpg) atabout 40 or 50 feet depth. The focus is smack onthe eye, the colors are natural against an almostblack background, the flash reflects pleasingly offto the picture’s lower left, and the snapper’s lipsare well-defined. As a first-time shot, we were verypleased with it.

Perhaps our single-best Bonaire shot is of anunconcerned Balloonfish (03-Balloonfish.jpg). Wehad run into a professional u/w photography couple(Renate and Roland Kraft) who, upon seeing ourfirst pictures via the laptop we brought along,advised us to take an ordinary dive light for extralighting, even during day dives. Ah, yes, of course!So we did. Anne held the light and followed theBalloonfish, and Jurgen caught it on digital “film.”The colors are very natural, warm, and pleasing, as

(02-YellowtailSnapper.jpg)

(03-Balloonfish.jpg).

they are on the assembly of Christmastree worms(04-ChristmastreeWorms.jpg).

What about u/w digital macro-photography?Simply push the “macro” button, settle down,compose your shot, and use the digital zoom asdesired. Look at the Redbanded Shrimp picture thatAnne took (05-RedbandedShrimp.jpg).

(04-ChristmastreeWorms.jpg)

(05-RedbandedShrimp.jpg)

UwP 42

The external dive light (a Princeton Tec“Shockwave,” using eight C-batteries) serves as amodeling light to allow the camera to focus, but italso makes the colors appear very natural and softas compared to the harsh strobe-flashes onesometimes sees on u/w photographs. The detail onthe shrimp’s claw arms astonished us. Look closelyat how well each hair on the claw arms is defined.We can’t stress enough that these are in fact first-time pictures!

Flushed with pleasure, and in view of anupcoming drift and shore-dive week in Cozumel inApril 2002, we next decided to order a macro-lensand a wide-angle lens, both of which mount on thehousing via a screw-on adapter ring. We foundwide-angle photography exciting but difficult,

especially in thedrift-diveconditions offCozumel. One ofthe first wide-angle shots wasof son (brother)Leon (06-LeonBrauer.jpg).Note the double-thirdscomposition(horizontalthirds andvertical thirds).At first wethought thislooks like

magazine-cover material! It’s an unexpected shotand it’s funny to boot, but the picture was rushed abit and the focus is not on the head. Next timewe’ll get it right.

The Slate-Pencil Urchin (07-SlatePencilUrchin.jpg) and the Glasseye Snapper

(08-GlasseyeSnapper.jpg) are, we believe, betterthan what the gurus themselves offer (Humann/DeLoach, Reef Set, 2002). No backscatter,complete clarity, the picture frame fully filled, andevery detail of the animals well defined. Even the

pea-sized juvenileSmooth Trunkfish(09-JuvenileSmoothTrunkfish.jpg) iswell caught. Truthbe told, though: weused AdobePhotoshop to cropthe picture, thenused autocontrastand fillflash, andadjusted thebrightness. (Buthow manypublished film-based pictures arenot adjusted in

some way as well?)As regards u/w night photography, we

managed a few good shots as well. The octopus(10-Octopus.jpg) moves along the light diagonal

(06-LeonBrauer.jpg).

(07-SlatePencilUrchin.jpg)

(08-GlasseyeSnapper.jpg)

(09-Juvenile SmoothTrunkfish.jpg)

(10-Octopus.jpg)

UwP 43

cone, and the balloonfish (11-Balloonfish.jpg)appears to float in the star-lit heavens as thenormally irksome backscatter is here used to goodeffect.

Of course, the camera is perfectly suitable forland use as well. After a morning dive, we noted arare natural phenomenon, a rainbow-halo aroundthe sun and caught it as well (12-HaloSun.jpg). Or,

lookingout acrossCozumel’sinternationalpier, youcan enjoya simplesunset inwhich theclouds“cradle”the sun torest (13-

Sunset.jpg).The camera, housing, disks, travel pouch,

extra lenses, and adapter ring cost about $1700.Camera prices are dropping, while features andpowers increase. Ask any film-based photographerto add up the cost of camera, accessories, film,

mailing,anddeveloping,and you’llfind thateventhough thedigital up-front costis higher,it’ll sooncome out

cheaper and faster.Well, then, aren’t there any draw-backs to

digital u/w photography? Yes, one in particular: onour camera there’s about a one-second shutterdelay. To capture nimble fish, you either need toanticipate where they’ll be a second after you pressthe shutter or you need to pan the camera alongwith the fish, hoping that they’ll stay in focus. Wephotographed tiny blennies, but not in action (14-Blenny.jpg)! This is a major drawback indeed, butone that will lessen over time as digital camerasadvance technologically. Remember, we aretalking about the private pleasures of amateur u/wphotography, not about making a living of seeingyour stuff published in all the world’s scuba divingmagazines.

Anne and Jurgen Brauer email [email protected]

Some of their Bonaire and Cozumelpictures are posted at

http://www.aug.edu/~sbajmb/Best-of-Bonaire-2001-Web/index.htm

http://www.aug.edu/~sbajmb/Best-of-Cozumel-2002-Web/index.htm

Their next trip is to the Azores.

(11-Balloonfish.jpg)

(12-HaloSun.jpg)

(13-Sunset.jpg).

(14-Blenny.jpg)

UwP 44

For camera-less divers who would love totake photographs of their underwater adventures, itcan be difficult to know just where to start. Itseems that every dive boat has a photographerthese days, sporting the latest line in enormousmetal housings with enough strobe power toilluminate Wembley Stadium. The 2 questions thisbrings to the novice’s lips are “What is in thereexactly?” and “How much?!”

Housed SLR camera systems are the choice ofprofessionals. Fully automatic and horrendouslyexpensive, they have been known to make grownmen weep hysterically when the F word (flooding)is mentioned. Dome ports, ring flash, rear curtainsync - even the jargon sounds complicated andcostly, deterring the interested diver who wants totake pictures of a better standard than a cheapunderwater point and shoot camera, but doesn’tknow where to start.

But there is another option! The Sea and SeaMotormarine II ex is a sealed underwater camerawith optional detachable flash and a choice ofadditional lenses from macro to wide angle. Simpleto set up, light and portable in transit, neat andcompact underwater, and with excellent qualityoptics, it is a versatile entry-level system that canproduce stunning pictures without the cost andfrustrations of an expensive housed camera system.

The Motormarine basic camera has a 35mmwide angle lens as standard, which can betransformed into anything from 20mm wide angleto 1:1 macro with a range of additional bayonetmount conversion lenses. As the conversion lensesneed water between them and the camera lens tofocus correctly, this means that a full range oflenses can be taken on a dive to cover everythingfrom pygmy sea horses to whale sharks - definitelynot an option with housed systems. Mounts areavailable which allow several lenses to be takenunderwater together, although additional security(e.g. a cord tied around the lens and onto the strobebracket) may provide an extra safeguard againstdropping a lens into the blue on a sheer wall! Andas the Motormarine is light and small, it can getmuch closer to objects - say a nudibrach hiding

Starting simplyBy Sue Hall

deep in a coral - than a housed system, and withouttrashing the actual thing you are trying to get a shotof. With the macro lenses, as long as the object isaligned within the spacer bars provided then that isthe picture you will get. This means you don’talways have to get down with the camera to lookthrough the viewfinder (the focal length is pre-setaccording to the macro lens used).

I have generally found that one strobe (aYS60) provides sufficient lighting for myphotographs. A bracket is provided which joins thestrobe to the right or left of the camera and allowsthe strobe to be angled down at the subject.However, greater versatility can be had bydetaching the strobe and manually pointing it at thesubject - a spotter torch on the strobe makes

Grouper; Little Cayman; Velvia; 20mm wideangle; 1/60s, f5.6

UwP 45

Nudibrach; Lembeh Straits; Velvia; 1:1 macro; 1/60s, f16

Cleaner shrimp; Sulawesi; Velvia; 2:1 macro; 1/60s, f16

Devilfish; Lembeh Straits; Velvia; 2:1 macro; 1/60s, f16

accurately aiming the strobe a lot easier. Differenteffects can be obtained by placing the strobe atvarious distances below, above, and at the side ofthe object. It’s all suck it and see, and it’s all fun!

The down side of the Motormarine is that therefinements of a housed system (e.g. a Nikon F90in a waterproof housing) are not available. TheMotormarine is not a SLR camera, but has a wide-angle viewfinder as an additional extra, whichmakes framing a picture whilst wearing a divingmask a lot easier. And with advances in computersoftware and photo scanning, something that turnsout a little wonky in print can be made to obey thelaw of thirds very easily with a little judiciouscropping! There is no built-in light metering, and f-stop, shutter speed and distance are adjustedmanually. Although this can be a bit of a distractionwith wide angle, it does make the user think aboutlight, depth of field etc, and is a goodapprenticeship should he move on to a housedsystem later. Even the highest paid professional’smantra is “bracket, bracket, bracket”. As a rule ofthumb, a good starting point for wide angle is 1/60th of a second at f8; however this will varyenormously with film speed, cloud cover, time ofday, depth, and whether the subject is set againstsilver sand or dark rocks. If there is someone elsediving in your group with a housed system, askthem what their metered settings are (an interestingprocess underwater!) - it will give you a good

starting point, bearing in mind they will alter withfilm speed. (With macro, depending on the

lens used, the settings will be f16 or f22 becausedepth of field is not an issue - there are some goodguidelines provided with the camera and lenses,and it is really worth reading them.) Fromexperience, I have found that it is good practice tohave at least one roll of film developed at the startof a dive trip. It can be quite expensive, but it willshow if you are getting the exposure settings right,and if not whether you are under or over exposed -which can save a lot of disappointment when youget home!

The Motormarine systems can often be foundfor hire at dive centres both at home and abroad,and cost around £25-£40 per day to rent. A quick

UwP 46

Reef; Little Cayman; Velvia; 20mm wide angle; 1/60, f5.6

browse through dive magazines shows someexcellent second hand bargains to be had, with acomplete system (camera, strobe and lenses) forabout £500. My own photographic portfolio hasbeen acquired through rental equipment, and thegenerosity of my photography dive buddy and bestfriend Val Fox, who has loaned me her completeMotormarine system when not using it herself.

But a word of caution - underwaterphotography is addictive. And the more you gethooked, the less people want to dive with you.Even Best Buddies will sigh reluctantly when youmention taking the camera on a dive, complainingabout the time you take to grease your o-rings, orto line up a shot, or the gestures you makeunderwater when you want them to pose naturallyin a picture.

The answer? Get them to hire a MotormarineII and see how easy it is for themselves!

Sue Hall

13 Northumberland Avenue, London WC2N 5AQTel 0207 930 8408 Fax 0207 839 6148

Web sitehttp://www.oceanoptics.co.uk

Flash OperatorsCome out of the dark ages

Finally an underwater flash range that delivers theperformance you’ve come to expect fromprofessional studio lighting topside. Packed withfeatures to compliment the most creativephotographer, Subtronics also boast user friendlyfeatures for the beginner.

These high power, wide angle strobes offer toughaluminium construction, ultrafast recycling of 2 to 2.5seconds, 7/10 watt switchable modelling lights, Nikon dedicated TTLautomation, 7 manual powers, slave, test and SOS, smart chargers with 2hour recharge and optional laser aiming and colour temperature adjustment.

We’d ask you to compare. But there’s nothing to compare to. And with pricesstarting at just £799.00, that includes the price.Check them out at http://www.oceanoptics.co.uk/subtronic.htm

Subtronic. Simply awesome.

Ocean Optics

UwP 47

Guidelines for contributorsThe response to UwP has been nothing short of fantastic. We are looking for interesting,

well illustrated articles about underwater photography. We are looking for work from existingnames but would also like to discover some of the new talent out there and that could be you!

The type of articles we’re looking for fall into five main categories:

Uw photo techniques -Balanced light, composition, wreck photography etc

Locations -Photo friendly dive sites, countries or liveaboards

SubjectsAnything from whale sharks to nudibranchs in full detail

Equipment reviews -Detailed appraisals of the latest equipment

PersonalitiesInterviews with leading underwater photographers

If you have an idea for an article,contact me first before putting pen to paper.

My e mail is [email protected]

How to submit articlesTo keep UwP simple and financially viable to produce we can only accept submissions by e mail

and they need to be done in the following way:

1. The text for the article should be copied from your word processing file and pasted into the bodyof the e mail.

2. Images must be “attached” to the e mail and they need to be:Resolution - 144dpiSize - Maximum length 15cm i.e. horizontal pictures would be 15 cm wide and verticals would be

15cm.File type - Save your image as a JPG file and set the compression to “Medium” qualityThis should result in images no larger than about 120k which can be transmitted quickly. If we want

larger sizes we will contact you.3. Captions - Each and every image MUST have full photographic details including camera,

housing, lens, lighting, film, aperture, shutter speed and exposure mode. These must also be copied andpasted into the body of the e mail.

We pay a flat fee of £50 (+VAT if invoiced).I look forward to hearing from you.

a web magazinea web magazine

Underwater PhotographyUnderwater Photography

UwP 48

FOR SALE.Comprehensive Nikonos V

camera system including camerabody, the fabulous Nikonos15mm wide angle lens andviewfinder, 28mm (brand new -unused), 35mm Nikonos lenses.Nikonos Close-up Kit includingcase and framers etc. SB105strobe including arm and case.Price £2,200. Call Mark on 0208763 0432 or [email protected]

Classifieds

Martin Edge, author of thebest selling instructional book‘The Underwater Photographer’guarantees that he can improveyour images. Martin hasscheduled two weekend coursesfor 2002. The dates are 23/24thFebruary and 16/17th March. ANikon SLR and Housing courseis planned for 2/3rd November2002. Limited spaces available.

Using an indoor heatedswimming pool in aBournemouth Hotel, theweekends are structured to theneeds of each individual. Yourown camera equipment ispreferable but hire facilities maybe available. E6 film processingis included in the course price of£165.

For more details PhoneMartin or Sylvia on 01202887611 or [email protected]

Photo coursesFor SaleSubal Ports and Strobe Housings60mm macro port with auto/manual focus switch. £250including gears. 24-50mm zoomlens port. £220 including gearsSubal housings for Nikon SB28Speedlight. £250 including synchcordPhone Guy on 02920 702440 or07967 682587, or [email protected]

For saleNikonos 111 camera £250.Nikonos 35mm lens £80.Nikonos 28mm lens incviewfinder £200.Nikonos 28mm splash lens £400.Contact Tel. 01277 363 296(Essex) or [email protected]

For SaleAquatica Sport II Housing withDome Port. Set-up for 90X butcan fit N/F 50,70,90 & F601/801s. 2 years old, with Nikonosstrobe connection. AlsoMotormarine IIEx with YS50strobe.Any reasonable offer considered.Contact:[email protected] 07957 709847

For saleAn F80 looms and so the

801 home has to be sold, sadly. Acaring new owner is sought, andwe can exchange contracts for£550, which will pay for theSubal body, a Subal macro portand a Williams fish eye port(currently sunning a Sigma16mm ). F80 wishes to move insoon. Email Peter [email protected]. Tel07786961021 or 01326 375161

For SaleComplete Mamiya mediumformat ( 120 film 6 x 7 cmimage ) underwater camerasystem.Ocean Optics RB67 housing.all gears & accesories included2 ports 1 fisheye, 1 Correctionport ( Peter Scoones type )Mamiya RB67 camera body37mm fullframe fisheye lens90mm lens ( for macro & normal) 2 film magazines ( 120 &70mm ) 2 Oceanic 2003 Strobeswith EO connectors. Flight case(holds everything above )Everything for £2000. - Yes youread it correctly. Contact JohnButler at [email protected] phone ++ 47 70 13 82 60monday - Friday, between 8a.m. - 3 p.m.

For saleNik V (orange body) with 35mmlens £500, Ikelite MS strobe£150, Ikelite Substrobe 225spare battery pack fast andstandard charger £200, sync cord£45 (foc with strobes). LargePelican carrying case £40. All inexcellent condition.Contact Dave Robson 07885 789561, [email protected]

For saleSony DCR-SC100E digitalvideo. LMI travel set -aluminium housing withpowered handles. 2 Sunray HIDlights with 4 NimH batteries andcharger in carrying case. Camerawith leads, spare battery andcharger. Cost £5250, sell for£2750. Spare camera £500.Contact Dave Robson 07885 789561, [email protected]

WANTEDUnderwater housing for a NikonF801s camera. Preferably Subalor Nexus but anythingconsidered. Contact:[email protected]

UwP 49

Book a classified in UwP

A classified advert in UwP will be downloaded over 35,000 times by underwater photographers worldwide. Youcan sell or buy your equipment for a flat fee of just £5 (or £10 with a coloured box surround or £15 with apicture) payable by Visa, Mastercard or cheque.Your advert can include up to 50 words and will be read by over 35,000 underwater photographers.

No other magazine can offer such a concentrated circulation.

We recommend that you use e mail as your contact address.

E mail the text of your advert to [email protected]. You can include your credit card number and expirydate or fax it to 020 8399 5709 or send a cheque payable to:Ocean Optics Ltd,13 Langley Avenue, Surbiton, Surrey KT6 6QN

Opportunities

Sailing/diving the tropicalPacific

Photographer sailing from NZ toTonga, Fiji, New Caledonianeeds an underwater model/sailing companion for adventure.Check out the photos athttp://communities.msn.com/PeteAtkinsonEmail: [email protected]

For SaleCanon Housing/SLR.

SeaCam Pro housing CanonEOS5, double strobe connection,moisture detector, SeaCamSeaFlash 350TTL, allconnectors, gears, arm, chargers,cleaning kit, spares; dome ports,carry case: Canon EOS5 , Canonlenses (USM) Macro 50mm,Wide Angle Zoom 20-35mm,100-300mm, Flash 300EZSpeedlite; camera bag: £4,500.Contact:[email protected]

For saleNikkor 20-35mm £650 incVATContact Peter Rowlands020 8399 5709 (UK) or e [email protected]

For saleSea & Sea Motormarine IIcamera system. MM-II Camera +Sea & Sea flashgun. 20mmwide-angle lens. 2:1 & 3:1 close-up lenses. Optical viewfinder.Lens caddy. Close-up flashgunmount. Pelican case. All in vgc.£500. Email [email protected] ortel. 0151-794-5224

FOR SALE2 Ikelite Substrobe 150 TTLflashguns £200 each. Buy bothand get a dual sync chord thrownin for free!Phone Jim on 01342 851 196 oremail [email protected]

For SaleOceanic Hydro 35 housing,

dome port, leak detector, NikonF2, motordrive, action finder,Nikon Micro-Nikkor 55mm/2.8,Oceanic 2003 [new batteries]with arm, Sekonic L86 & L164exposure meters. Ikelite housing,unused, for Minolta SLR withdomes etc plus Ikelite flashgun.

Offers to Mike Ballentyne01452 814338,[email protected]

BARGAIN OF THEMONTH

For saleSea & Sea 12mm

Fisheye lens andmatching viewfinderfor Nikonos. MintCondition. £500.

David BarkerTel 01732 883037

(evngs)E-mail

[email protected]

UwP 50

Improve your imageSubtronic

Subal

Offering the most versatile macro system in the world

today, Nexus make possible extreme close up photographyunavailable from any other housing line.

BonicaThe Snapper builds into a neat system

capable of creative pictures down to 150 ft,even in low visibility. It’s so simple to use and,with prices starting at just £129, it’s stunningvalue for money. This really is a breakthroughin price and performance. There’s no betterintroduction to underwater photography.

The legendary housing of choice formany of the worlds top underwater imagemakers.

Now available for the Nikon F100. These are the ultimate strobes. With fast 2second recycling, optional laser aiming light andcolour temperature control, prices start at just £749.

NexusNikonos

The classic underwater camera.We stock the range and have a fullyNikon authorised workshop facility.

Ocean Optics13 Northumberland Avenue, London WC2N 5AQTel 020 7930 8408 Fax 020 7839 6148

Visit our web site for the latest news and special deals

http://www.oceanoptics.co.uk

Our aim at Ocean Optics isto keep you shooting.

That’s why we provide afull servicing facility in our

own workshops for allNikonos, Nexus and Subal

equipment we import.We even have loan

equipment for thoseimpossible deadlines!

If you choose to bean Ocean Optics client,you will benefit from the

best support in thebusiness