Technique

Managing underwater photography collections can be overwhelming, but with Adobe Lightroom's robust metadata features, organization becomes seamless. On his blog, Mike Jones outlines a systematic approach to metadata management, emphasizing the importance of consistent practices to enhance searchability and gain deeper insights into marine environments.   Key steps include:   Rating: Assigning ratings to evaluate image quality. Keywords: Applying terms to describe th

Without a doubt the Olympus TG Tough range have revolutionised the world of underwater photography for both snorkelers and divers in recent years, making incredible results achievable for the beginner as well as giving a vast variety of options to expand creativity.   But with so many options for accessory lenses and makes available, what should you be looking for if you want to start adding a creative wider angle to your images.                        This festive period I w

There's absolutely no doubt that smartphones are an incredible, cost-effective way to get started in underwater photography.  There’s nothing more exciting than being able to view and upload your images to social media as soon as you finish your dive, on a safety-stop or even whilst snorkelling .   Did I say started?  Let me take that back, as it is so easy to get addicted to using one, that you may just want to ditch your usual camera in favour of it.  Of course there are advantages a

Underwater Photography conjures up a vast array of subjects to capture, from the tiniest animals on the planet measuring just the size of a grain of rice to the largest creatures which have ever lived in our incredible blue planet.   But starting out as a complete beginner with such a huge choice of different compact camera systems to choose from and accessories, where on earth do you start to ensure that you come back from your trip of a lifetime with fabulous eye-catching images.

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

DIY Fibre Optic cables   Like most members, when I bought my first system that used fibre optic cables, I paid for the ones that the dealers sell. Reading various articles about fibre optics, I realised later that they were relatively easy to make and that DIY cables could cost a fraction of shop-bought. I gave it a go.   I thought it worth a write-up here on Waterpixels. And yes, they are really easy to make and are cheap.   The Cable   The best fibr

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

Disclaimer:   Thanks to Pietro Cremone, the Italian distributor of Nauticam, I had the opportunity to try out this interesting lens on a recent trip to Anilao for blackwater dives.   Blackwater diving is a form of night diving that involves exploring open waters off oceanic coasts. Unlike traditional night dives, which take place near the shore or in shallow waters, blackwater dives occur in deep waters, typically offshore over deep ocean floors. During these dives, divers im

Updates announced by Adobe for Lightroom Lightroom Classic 13.2, Lightroom 7.2 and Mobile 9.2 released These releases are primarily for new cameras and lens support, and a number of bugs are fixed in these releases. Lightroom Classic There are some additional features in Classic 13.2. These include: - Additional Sort Order options - Additional Filter and Smart Collection options - Some performance enhancements We would recommend it's safe to update to these versions i

Underwater photography is an incredible experience because it offers enthusiasts the opportunity to discover the underwater world in its most authentic beauty. To capture these extraordinary images it is essential to have the right equipment, and one of the key elements in underwater photography is the strobe.   SUPE Scubalamp is a company specialising in the design and production of underwater lighting equipment, including torches, strobes and related accessories. The company, a world

Last year I decided to go big - switching from the tiny RX100 to FF (FullFormat). In my case, it was the A7IV as the best value for money. But having made the decision on the camera model is only one step - lens, housing and port is much more difficult. But with the support of the nice guys here and the old forum, I am now the happy owner of a sleek combination that is tailored to my needs. But how do you know what you need? This article might help.       The most common type of camera

This article is a short version of the original post that can be found on my blog. The content is very much the same but this version is slightly shorter and has less opinions than the original. Those opinions are personal and potentially controversial and I do not want Waterpixels to be associated with them.   Warning this is an extremely technical article that I have written on request. If you are not familiar with optics, geometry, housings do not attempt to perform a calculation by

As a DIY Fiber Cable article was just posted, this seems like a good time to share this article on 3-D printing connectors for your DIY cables. The Connectors are really the heart of the cable, as the fiber is simply a manufactured item bought from a supplier.    One of weak points of most of these DIY's is getting the right connectors. The solutions range from buying connectors (at about $10 a pop or $20 per cable), re-using connectors from old cables (which may require drilling them