Techniques & Tutorials

Negative Space   The two main tips on starting underwater photography are Get Close and Shoot Upwards. The idea being that the closer you get, the less the water interferes with the image. By shooting upwards there is a better chance of increasing the impact of subject by separating it from a messy background.   Those two elements of guidance, especially the latter, can go a long way to improving image-making. But there comes a point for many underwater photographers where im

While I am mostly a wildlife/nature photographer, one of the most interesting books on photography that I have read in a very long time is "Magnum Contacts Sheets" - link below (and no, I don't get a commission if you buy it 🙂) https://www.amazon.com/Magnum-Contact-Sheets-Kristen-Lubben/dp/0500292914   This book shows the contact sheets of the photos taken by various Magnum photographers in trying to get their shot.   It provides an absolutely fascinating insight into the mindset

A wide-angle image of a reef, a wreck, a school of fish or pelagic can look pretty spectacular.  Adding a diver is even better for that Telling-A-Story type shot  The diver often gives an idea of scale, usually confirms the scene is underwater, and makes the picture one to which non-divers can generally relate.   The problem can often be, however, “the diver”. Viewed dispassionately, the diver may sometimes actually detract from the image. Legs and fins splayed all over the place, dang

I have been ask several times about what the MTL mode is on the Apollo III/III 2.0 strobes and have attached some real world examples. MTL is the continuous shooting mode up to 10 frames a second using fiber optic cords. The attached five images were taken with the Sony A7R V set to five FPS, at ISO-400, F/9 at 1/160th sec using the Laowa AF 10mm F/2.8 with the Marelux housing, 230mm dome and two Apollo III strobes with fiber cords. The time stamp for all five photos is April 17, 2024 at 12:21:4

Shooting a Snoot   Underwater photography is an absorbing form of photography. For some, it’s a technical issue of capturing fish portraits. For others an art form about capturing the beauty and mystery of the underwater world.  Whichever you aim for, it presents unique challenges. Everything moves: you, the water, and the subject.  Photography is all about capturing and controlling light. In the underwater world lighting and highlighting the subject is often impacted by either a