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@vkalia Thanks for the nice piece! One of the more interesting things about shooting film v digital is that its easier to follow the progression of changes a photographer makes in creating what one hopes is the final image. You could actually see what the photographer was thinking - and of missed opportunities - or dumb luck. One of the things mentors would say is the a good photograph is "made" rather than taken.

Congratulations on the article! After all the endless technical discussions, it was much needed. It's like a breath of fresh air. Well done! I wish there was more discussion of the 'artistic' aspects of composing an image. Static or moving Images. Once the radius and entrance pupil are perfect and we have made peace with the edges, does it all end or is there still room for composition, camera angle and patience for the perfect moment? It is common to accompany published shots with technical data: aperture, shutter speed, etc., but almost nothing is known about the photographer's choices, which are the most important and define 'the photo'. It almost seems as if it is an unmentionable secret and that it is rude to ask the photographer "how did you do it?". A disrespect to him. "I took it because I am good at it" seems to be the implied and annoyed reply. Yet, between the immeasurable talent and the skill of the craftsman, in my opinion there are immensely large spaces that could be discussed here. Which is then what is taught in photography courses once the fundamentals are established: The language of photography.

Congrats guys!

Great read and comments. I feel the same way as on any trip it takes me a couple days to get into basically semi-decent exposures then a few more dives to look, watch, wait, adjust and all to try and capture something I visualize. I also confess I read but quickly tire of all the "measurbating" on lines of resolution per millimeter, edge sharpness of this lens / dome port, blah blah blah......Please.....Or maybe I'm just bored after shooting perhaps conservatively 100,000 frames from film to digital since 2001 (????) We need more discussion like this how an image makes one feel looking at it. These days I discount color, grain and other factors many (most?) shooter require in a photo to feel they succeeded. I've long been a fan of grainy B&W and here's an example of one photographer I really like his imaging. His insights truly inspire me! Keep diving and shooting :) https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/winning-travel-photo-contest-changed-life https://parley.tv/journal/2016/5/16/the-underwater-realm-photography-by-anuar-patjane https://matadornetwork.com/notebook/photographer-racking-awards-check-uses-point-shoot/

Thank you all for the overwhelming response. I wasn’t exaggerating when i said that i dont have much in the way of natural creative talent and it is all learned. The biggest watershed moment for me was indeed understanding the difference between “making” an image vs taking one, as @humu9679 said. “Making” implies you can work at it, instead of just seeing something magical. And yes, digital certainly has helped there. For all that people used to make fun of chimping, it was a great way to review shots, get instant feedback and improve. Atleast for me. And not having to worry about being limited to 24 photos a dive certainly is a big plus! 🙂 One thing that has helped me a lot if actually getting into street photography - it’s shaken me a little out of my usual way of looking at a scene by forcing me to look for details and find something interesting in the mundane. I am not particularly good at it, but find the process refreshing. Would love to hear from others about how they approach their picture taking as well - including your article on neutral space, @TimG. Cheers!

Thank you for taking the time to write this. Really resonates well with me, and welcome the insight into your thought process. As others have said, oh for the time to spend with a subject - it really does matter who you dive with, and how willing the group is to respect each other's needs. I find it very trying when I've found my subject, and then others decide that they'd like a go... I need a signal for "Find your own" - I don't think the middle finger gesture is totally conducive for sharing a beer later....!

Yeah, I do pretty much the same: let the DM know we’re staying put. Model boredom and irritation is always an on-going issue. Luckily my partner is not into jewellery but she does indicate repeats/go-rounds in terms of the number of expected cappuccinos. This is another non-PADI signal she has developed.

PS - in the interest of sharing our images and creative vision, perhaps we can have regular theme-based topics and people can share their photos related to that theme?

Thanks for a great article and raising this topic. Also, Tim please do your article on neutral spaces. I took the attached photo this week which I personally really like because it did involve a some effort to try try to create a certain feeling and memory of the moment.

Images and thoughts on trying (pre-production) Retra Maxis in the Maldives in March/April. Quick summary - performed very much as you'd expect them to - mega powerful, good ergonomics. With specs that are very similar to Backscatter HF-1 (Retra can claim to be the most powerful strobe on paper - but basically max power on these is all but the same as FULL +2 on HF-1 in the real world). Dry weight same as HF-1, but fatter, so much closer to neutral underwater. Quality of light not as nice as Retra Pro Max, but I still produced very pleasing images (just a bit more care needed on strobe positioning). Alex

Is there a solid statistical analysis available how the numbers (e.g. 16 boats lost in 5 years) compare to other regions of the world? I mean that one needs to normalize these numbers to the sheer number of diving vessels that cruise in the Red Sea - I guess the number of vessels cruising there is many hundreds - with the number of vessels that cruise in other regions (usually a few vessels per region - and also there boats are lost from time to time). Only then a comparison of the numbers of accidents makes sense... My personal observation is that the safety protocols in diving vessels are poor in Egypt, but I did not observe that these protocols are any better in other regions of the world (e.g. our Safari boat in Raja Ampat 2020 did not even have a second emergency exit from the lower deck in case of fire)... Wolfgang

Hi everyone, We don’t typically attend dive shows as exhibitors. The costs for these events can be quite high, and we believe our resources are better invested in developing cutting-edge strobes and providing top-notch customer service. That said, some of our partners do represent Retra at these events. For example, PanOcean (Roland and Claudia Conrad) was at BOOT and carries our products. They’re a great source for anyone who wants to see Retra gear up close or discuss it further. If you have any questions or need assistance, feel free to reach out to us directly, we’re always here to help!

Love this eye-opening piece Davide, and love the accompanying footage. I've never seen Italy underwater before, so thank you for sharing this. This year almost 200 sq ft of marine life vegetation literally disappeared where I lived in less than a week. I raised my voice of concern but my local authorities weren't interested. It is lovely to see others caring. Keep up the great work Davide of showing how beautiful our underwater world is.

Thanks David for sharing this great article and deep insights from your long experience.

Thanks for sharing this Davide - this is a really informative and thought-provoking introduction to yet another aspect of the climate crisis, as seen through the eyes of an active and passionate observant. Fantastic footage as well, and while I'm not a fan of overheads in diving, watching it actually makes me want to gain the tools to observe this deeper environment while we still can... In the meantime I'm really happy to discover the depths of your backyard by proxy - even if you have been pushed into documenting them by less happy environmental circumstances... I think this resonates in me even more in that my first underwater memory - after someone taught me how to equalize my ears in a pool and my deeply unconscious/unaware parents (bless them! 😁) let their 8-year-old kid freedive with a one-kilo weight on a belt all day long to the point of almost blacking out - were actually fields of posedonia swaying in the shallows waters of the Balearic islands in the early 1980s... This is the environment which made me love being underwater, and it is deeply branded into my brain, but I unfortunately also saw the same fields of posedonia become patches then die out over the years, replaced by brown algae, and surrounding marine life become more discreet, and almost inexistant... A rapid evolution probably linked to the direct impact of the tourism/contruction/charter flights boom which happened around 1985 on the islands, but also probably to deeper, more insidious causes affecting the Mediterranean as a whole... It's tricky... As plane-hopping traveling divers and image-makers feeding the tourism-based development beast, we are also part of the problem. But then, for those who have access to it, there's also local diving, which has a much smaller footprints, and as is made clear in your piece, we also need people capable of documenting/sharing and basically shedding a bright (constant-output) light on the less visible underwater environment, the evolution/degradation of which will affect us all, somewhat paradoxically, on a much greater scale than land-based changes... I also think it's great to see this kind of testimony come from locals, deeply involved in the area, rather than visiting media personalities shining their spotlight on a given area's issues through single high-exposure projects before moving on to the next... cheers ben

Hi, nice shots. Missing some fish life. Br Markus

Well That's a great article by Vinnie and Vinnie has been quite humble in describing the kind of photographer he is. But having know him long enough, I would definitely add that Vinnie (Vandit) is a VERY VERY good photographer (underwater too). He does pen articles a little better though 🙂 🙂 Liked the read Vinnie. Diggy

Thanks for that thoughtful response, @Luko. A few comments of my own in no special order: - Re the use of the term “artistic” - you are correct, it does come across as fairly pretentious. I was using it as a shorthand to denote an image where the appeal is not documentary in nature (as in, “here is a fish” or “here is a fish doing something interesting”) but where the composition, lighting, etc come together to create an image whose impact is greater than just the literal recording of the subject. Pretentious or not, elevating something relatively mundane into something that has an emotional impact on the viewer is art, atleast to me (although this defending this definition is not a hill i will die on 🙂) - Absolutely agreed re geometry and composition. Too many wildlife photographers - myself included - get so excited by what they are shooting that they forget the “photography” part of “wildlife photography”: ie, the images still need to be designed/composed, and there is often a ‘decisive moment’ that needs to be captured. Speaking for myself, when it comes to megafauna or really cool stuff, i get so excited by what i am seeing that my attention to those details diminishes. OTOH, on days when there isnt a lot of action happening, that’s when I am able to slow down and look closely at interesting photo ops - Speaking of “looking” and “art”, even as a staunch wildlife/nature person, I have to say that the creative requirements of street photography is the highest. Taking the most banal of subjects (people going about their daily life) and making into a compelling visual image requires immense skill. And i absolutely agree with you about looking at the work of accomplished photographers is a great way to develop the art of seeing. - There’s always been a bit of debate about quality vs quantity when shooting. I agree with you - ideally, one should be able to get everything right in terms of composition and then take the shot. Repeated shooting is a bit of a crutch. Certainly, “spray and pray” is not an effective way to take good photos. But there is merit to an approach that is in the middle - think about your composition, take a shoot, review and see what can be made better, and repeat. Over time, as the lessons from these review/repeat sessions sink in, the number of poor shots one takes reduces. There are a lot of shots i dont even bother taking anymore nowadays, because i know the results will be mediocre or worse. Cheers!

Thanks for your article, Vandit. Nice to read some photo writing that doesn't focus on fisheye angle definition nor on a rare camouflaged nudibranch (guilty of both). I'm parisian, originally a BW street/travel film photographer on a Leica M6 (darkroom addict as well) every bit to become a long time ago an afficionado of HCB, as a photo theorist, an image maker and a free person as well. So you got my attention there. I completely agree with you on the "artistic" effort you must first engage into photography. (However as a complete fan I don't like to use "artistic" for photo since dear Henri abandoned photo in his late days assessing he denied any form of "real art" lying into photo but rather looking into painting or drawing. A Photo just needs an eye and a finger, he explained. Eventually he didn't use any camera but spent his days drawing for the last 20 years.) It may not be a different take from yours though, I think the utmost effort should be applied on thinking and trying to visualize the context possibilities, the evolution of the scene and the expected result of your image before starting the shooting : visualizing sounds more Anseladamsish here but that's also what HCB recommended, being a Zen archer, ie anticipating and waiting for your scene to compose BEFORE shooting. The geometry inside your framing is paramount, this can be depend on either on a fixed (background, sides) or an evolving fish movement) context. Hence you should exercise your eyes into recognizing the immediate geometrics patterns or when it become something interesting. Oppositely, I am not an advocate of shooting hundreds of images of the same scene until you get it right, I'd rather stop and think, take some time to remember some photos or paintings that have very little to see with the scene I am shooting and try to get some inspiration. I remember for exemple taking an image of a turtle surrounded by snorkelers that I tried to get in position to remind a painting of Matisse. (Though only me finds the reference when I show this pic to others... skill gap with the original I guess... hahaha...) FWIW at my very humble level, I often realize that composition wise (ie . apart from lighting adjustment) my first frame in a series of 5-6 photos is the first take. I hardly take more than 7-8 shots on a single scene, I feel like I have no idea left. Personally I think the most efficient way would be to inspire yourself and your photo outside diving, browsing through photobooks of legendary land photographers (in that respect, Magnum is an excellent agency) or vistiing photo exhibs whenever possible. Anyway great topic and I'm totally in with your suggestion

And a small selection of shots taken with the Retra Maxi strobes in the Maldives Sony A1, 28-60mm, FCP Sony A1, 28-60mm, FCP Sony A1, 28-60mm, FCP Sony A1, Nikonos 15mm Sony A1, Nikonos 13mm Sony A1, Nikonos 13mm Sony A1, 28-60mm, WACP Sony A1, 28-60mm, WACP Sony A1, Tamron 90mm, MFO-1 Sony A1, Tamron 90mm Sony A1, 28-60mm, FCP

Thanks so much Tim, Chris, Davide and Rich for the lovely welcome. I'm so proud and excited to help you all. I've loved using many compact brands such as Fuji, Olympus, Sony, Canon Ixus, Canon G, Sea & Sea, Sealife and of course the incredible Olympus TG series plus Ikelite, Backscatter & INON strobes. I really am that geeky about them all and look forward to helping :) Hey @Mark Don - wow, so pleased that I helped to inspire you too. I'd love to see your images. Have a great Easter all of you!

I get your point, Wolfgang but is statistical comparison really relevant in something like this? 16 boat sinkings in 5 years highlights your point on poor observance of safety protocols for dive boats in Egypt. Does it really matter whether that's better or worse than, eg Raja (where I'm off to shortly!)? Fact is it's bad. There has been such massive growth in the liveaboard business and competition in Egypt perhaps it's not surprising that corners are being cut. Back in the mid-90s, when I first dived there , there was a dozen or so boats out of Sharm. Now there are what seems like hundreds. Even Marsa Alam is now packed with liveaboards. I bet corners are being cut!

I made a designed an add-on fix for the Inon 330 "bastard button". It was actually the inspiration that prompted me to buy my first 3D Printer! Inon 330 UW Strobe - Button Lock by AwkwardSwine - Thingiverse

True, their lens are acrylic, quality is very low. Regarding the SSD + Divevolk case, theres a model LEXAR GO and would fit inside the divevolk + iPhone 16 pro, but is not recommended by divevolk to use underwater, this is what they reply to me. Small ssd are good options to save large video files while on vacations. Regarding the Iphone 16 pro or pro MAX, the blackmagic camera app will film up to 4K 120fps.

Hey @bghazzal Thanks for the thanks 🙂 - it copes very well as that is the set-up I use. I wanted to include it in here but I was aware that the article might end up very long. I used mine with my TG4 and attached it to an Oly housing to take split level shots. There was a little bit of vignetting but it still gave me an image which I was happy with here of Kimmeridge in Dorset, UK (low res attached) and was Highly Commended with it by the British Society of Underwater Photographers on my first attempt using an INON S-2000 strobe. Hope this helps. Go grab it and have fun I say, I still have mine here and still love it 🙂

Nauticam is absolutely right, there is no clear winner. WWL1b is slightly cheaper, but there is still a layer of water between the flat port and WWL. There can be bubbles here that the autofocus can focus on. If it is very cold, there may also be ice crystals. The WACP-C tends to be slightly better in terms of image quality, there can be neither bubbles nor crystals, but it is more expensive. Interceptor had problems with his port, and he generalized these problems to the WACP-C - which is not true. This does not do justice to the quality.

One additional comment: Longfins are the high shoes below the surface - they make beautiful legs, but it is necessary to have them in a good position.

Thank you Ben, Actually, the damage that can be seen now in every ocean is such that even those who dive in a vacation spot once a year notice the differences. Absurdly, it is almost harder to notice if you dive often. It is like parents who do not notice how much their children have grown because they see them every day then a friend or relative who has not seen them for a year comes along and exclaims Wow! But the most insidious thing is shifting baseline syndrome. People who start diving today think that the sea has always been like this. I thought so in 1990. This assumption that things have always been this way has a huge psychological impact on our perception of danger and change. Each generation assesses its surroundings with a different starting point. Not to mention the Mediterranean (I understand that in the forum it is partly incomprehensible to most), I was in the Red Sea in Sharm in 1993 and I can assure you that in Ras Mohammed and Yolanda reef was full of sharks. In 1998 I went on a cruise to Sudan and night diving was prohibited because of the danger of sharks. During the day, all dives within 30 meters were accompanied by dozens of sharks, and several times we had to shelter on the reef because the longimanus were particularly nervous. Of similar comparisons, Members in the forum will be able to make many more than I who have always been a local diver.

Thanks Davide! The photo gear space on Gaia Love is something I've never seen before, and a photo/videographer heaven! The personal rinse thanks are priceless, but in general all the spaces on boat are absolutely generous and well organized!

Hi Caolila, sorry for deleting the first issue of the post but I was editing it and got some problems. Pity you didn't find good conditions in Halmahera, I found the place wonderful and with no problems of viz or rubbish.. Cheers.

I see @Isaac Szabo got something to do with you photos... 😈

@vkalia I'm also a believer that "talent" is nurtured by one's interest, determination and circumstance. In the United States one hears of children who grow up believing "I'm not good at math," for instance. My suggestion is study and practice, and the same could be said of still photography, which I've studied for decades - and still learning - and videography, of which I am an absolute novice.

having operated for 15 years an IDC in Munsamdam oman this x-ray magazine is like a stab at my heart ..

We do need more creative/compositions articles. I’m going to work on a piece about using Neutral Space. My favourite compositional approach.

Very well said. For most of our dives I wish for even 5 minutes to work a subject! Unfortunately my dive buddy is not so patient. But then she gets cold and heads up to the boat, so the final 15 minutes or so I’m on my own in shallow water, which often leads to images I like.

Super piece Thanks!

We’ve all been in that If Only I’d moment!

Here are two examples of totally blowing the shot by NOT thinking about negative space. Both are ruined by cutting off parts of the animal or coral due to being obsessed with being as close as possible and getting the eyes in focus. The second shot could have been spectacular with three way symmetry if I’d just backed off a cm. I am still kicking myself for not seeing it at the time.

Great article Tim. I need to constantly remind myself to look for those opportunities.

Yes, I remember that thread on WP...

Hey, you joke. I've seen it done. I've seen spectacular pics of a nudi crawling along a mirror. Shades of Apocalypse Now?

For me, there is one iconic photograph that stands out - David Doubilet (I think it was him) had a photo of a pod of orcas that were making a bee-line for the ocean, after having been trapped in Antarctic ice for a while (courtesy of an ice-breaker opening up a channel for them). There isnt much to the image in terms of fancy lighting and such - just a line of orcas. But the moment that was captured…. ooof. Despite the still, you got an immediate sense of the sense of purpose with which those orcas were hauling ass. A perfect example of what @Luko was saying about just capturing the magic moment perfectly. For the life of me, I can’t find that photo anywhere online. PS - thanks for those links. Some gorgeous images there. And a reminder to me to get out of my shooting habits - i would likely never consider taking such wide angle shot from such a distance. Maybe i will try something like that in Egypt in August.

Damn, Diggy, you making me blush now. 🙂 Been a while since jumping off the boat to rescue an idiotic golden retriever puppy, eh?

Ha, funnily enough, i am also just starting to try out videography. Just with a GoPro and video lights mounted on top of my housing, but it’s been an interesting - and fun - experience. One thing i have noticed is that i find it very hard to do both. When i try to get both photos and videos on the same dive, I end up with mediocre shots on both sides (well, for the latter, it is graded on a curve: my videography isnt any great shakes anyway, so it would be mediocre regardless).

Yeah, it’s a challenge for sure. Most of the time, even with my wife hanging around and modeling for me, i dont get as much time on a subject as i would prefer. Occasionally, if the subject does warrant it, i will find a way to make the time - either go back to the dive site and/or tell the dive guide that i am going to be planted just here and will see them later.

It's how airlines like to keep us entertained - nothing like an exciting game of Baggage Bingo! Fun for a whole family! 🤣

Hi, Nice report. Visited and dived Providencia 2019. 2019 it was necessary to hold a domestic return ticket from Bogota to San Andres otherwise you could`nt fly. Do`nt know how the officals handle this fact these days. I just had a look on my UW-Pics. UW flora and fauna at that time look quiet similar compared to your current pics. What i disliked 2019 was that local dive guides fed the sharks. Infrastructure 2019 good but not really touristy. We just flew to Providencia and choosed a guesthoue/hotel. Also a certain choice of restaurants and dive shops were available. Pitty that the storm destroyed nearly everything and there is not enough government efforts to support the locals more to rebuilt. Maybe some keen divers will visit Providencia to support the business of local people of Providencia. Br Markus

This is a very difficult topic. The issues of feeding animals in nature photography have been discussed for decades. Due to the fact that there are significantly fewer underwater photographers, it started here later. At the same time, the very fact of protecting marine life is even more pressing. People far from the sea do not pay attention to what is happening under water. And now the question is not even that feeding in certain places changes the behavior of animals. The problem is that soon there may be no more of these animals left (and no fish either). Therefore, attracting attention (including through underwater photography) is now critically important. An example from personal experience: Philippines. When you dive in some places you are told that the use of gloves is not allowed as it can damage the corals. In my experience, one fishing boat that forgot to remove its anchor destroyed more coral than all the underwater photographers combined (for all time). Examples from history: On the one hand, tourism in the Red Sea causes a lot of damage to the reefs. On the other hand, in the south where there is no tourism, fishing with dynamite has destroyed almost everything. The Queen's Gardens remained almost shark-free until the advent of tourism. And there are many such examples. Of course, a strict violation of ethical standards during underwater photography is not acceptable. But things like feeding... especially if it goes hand in hand with learning and advocacy like in Fiji. This is the best option we have.