PHOTOGRAPHY by Valda Butterworth
The branch’s own professional photographer Valda Butterworth gives some tips and shows how it can turn out with a little practice…..
Look out for more of her work in DIVE, DIVER and other mags!
UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY
The main reason why I took up underwater photography was in a vain attempt to recreate some of the wonderful things I have seen diving. How do you describe your first view of that shipwreck, her bow looming out of the gloom or a 20metre high wall covered in deadmen's fingers?
However photography underwater is not simple, the only easy thing to do in fact is make mistakes and lots of them. The idea of this article is to give you some tips I’ve picked up. I’ll try to stick to general rules that can be applied to any camera from disposable to very expensive land camera and housing (as much as possible!)
Work within the abilities of the camera. If it is a disposable camera use it in very good light conditions in a few metres depth only and your results can be very nice. On the whole results in British waters will be poor with these little cameras unless the conditions are exceptional. The little snapshot cameras on the market can be depth rated to 40 metres but again the results at this depth can be disappointing due to lack of light even though they have a flash so again I would recommend these cameras in shallower depths, good viz and can produce super pictures in tropical waters. Sea and Sea do offer a good range of camera equipment which can be built upon to give good systems. These can cope with more demanding conditions and are quite affordable (in diving equipment terms!)
The new kid on the block is the digital camera and housing. These can be quite reasonable in price and although I have little experience of this form of photography I have seen other people photos and the results are very pleasing. There are other cameras on the market such as the Nikonos systems and housed cameras I would only recommend these to those wanting professional results and who have a large bank balance.
Here's my top tips...
Try at all times to avoid pointing the camera down at the subject, whether a fish or a diver. This has the result of creating a rather 2D effect which is really dull and unimpressive. Point upwards, which can give a nice silhouette against the sun (called a sunburst) or photograph on a level with your subject which gives a better 3D effect.
If your camera is equipped with a flash unit of some kind be aware of the effects of dreaded backscatter. Backscatter is when the light emitted for the flash unit bounces off particles in the water, (something we have a lot of in British waters!) The result is a photo resembling something taken in a severe snow storm, large white blobs all over the place which just obscures your subject. There are several ways to tackle this problem:
Get closer to your subject i.e. decrease the amount of particles between the camera and the subject, and so decrease the backscatter. This can be done nicely with the use of macro lenses (for close up photos) and wide angle lenses (for general views and portraits).
Don’t use a flash. Only really possible with good ambient light and even then the subject’s natural colour is lost without the light up effect of the flash.
Angle the flash head if your camera will allow you to. This still will create a backscatter effect, but at a completely different angle to the lenses angle of view, so it will not appear in the photo.
Only take photos in 30 metres+ viz i.e. virtually no particles to cause backscatter! Very nice if you aren’t a British Waters diver
Use a digital camera, as these cameras can produce photos without flash in much lower light conditions .
Get your buoyancy spot-on. If you thrash about on the bottom you are going to increase the particles in the water 20 fold.
Experiment, if you find a good subject take more than one photo, take several with different settings and at different angles. It’s amazing the difference it can make.
Study your subject. Take the time to watch your subject e.g. a fish, this way you can successfully stalk it and get as close as possible. If you are really successful at this you can get several photos with out hassling the wildlife too much.
Consider using slide film. The colour intensity is excellent which helps in underwater photography where colour is lost due to its absorption in the water. This probably won’t work well with smaller point and shoot camera however
If you are new to diving do not race out and get a camera. Practice your skills and become a good diver before taking in extra equipment. This way you’ll get better pictures and preserve the environment you dive in.
Finally don’t get obsessed like me, into taking underwater photos ; it ruins your diving and your bank balance!
