About Me
About Me:
<p>Greetings, <br><br>I'm Ben, and have spent the last few years working as an instructor-guide in various locations, mainly in Indonesia (Komodo, Raja Ampat), Mexico (Sea of Cortez), Thailand (Andaman Sea), Japan (Hachijo Island), Maldives (South Ari Atoll) and Palau (Micronesia). <br>I am currently based on Okinawa main-island, where I shore-dive every second day to shoot underwater video.<br> </p><p>When it comes to underwater image-making, I love underwater video, focusing on documenting animal behaviour, especially schooling and predation, as well as juvenile forms, and I don't shoot stills.<br>As a former professional musician, I do try to take music seriously in clips and - with the unescapable weight of the years piling up on my weary shoulders - feel increasingly disconnected from phone screens as a main sharing and viewing platform, and with content geared for this medium...<br><br>Until recently, despite being in the water every day as a dive guide, I could only grab a few clips here and there on my faithful GoPro (4 to 7, with a UR Pro CY Filter), and was making the most of that.<br>However, longing for more manual controls and a boost in image quality, I invested in a very video-friendly compact camera setup (Lumix LX10) before the pandemic, taking it for some test spins on the odd day off...<br><br>In 2023, my wife and I finally took what turned out to be two-year extended sabbatical break from working in the diving industry, during which I spent every other day shooting videos in East Bali's macro paradise with the LX10, learning to work within the limitations of this great little camera.<br>In 2026, I have finally begun a slow upgrade to a Sony A7SIII-based kit.<br> Beyond macro, I'm now also very interested in shooting blackwater diving videos, but have only focused on (land-based) bonfire dives for budget and practical reasons. Another strong interest of mine is mixed-lighting medium-angle shooting, using filters.<br><br>Clips I’ve shot up to now, including more recent macro doodlings on the LX10, are here:<br><br><a rel="external nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/@afieldofblue">YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@afieldofblue</a><br><br>I started posting vertical clips on Instagram recently, and try to work within the format, but it is a platform I really don't appreciate and try to spend as little time there as I can: <a rel="external nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/afieldofblue/">https://www.instagram.com/afieldofblue/</a><br><br>My wife and I also created a non-commercial but extensive general information site on diving in Japan, offering a slightly different perspective: <a rel="external nofollow" href="https://bluejapan.org/">https://bluejapan.org/</a></p><p>cheers and happy bubbles!<br> </p>
<p>Greetings, <br><br>I'm Ben, and have spent the last few years working as an instructor-guide in various locations, mainly in Indonesia (Komodo, Raja Ampat), Mexico (Sea of Cortez), Thailand (Andaman Sea), Japan (Hachijo Island), Maldives (South Ari Atoll) and Palau (Micronesia). <br>I am currently based on Okinawa main-island, where I shore-dive every second day to shoot underwater video.<br> </p><p>When it comes to underwater image-making, I love underwater video, focusing on documenting animal behaviour, especially schooling and predation, as well as juvenile forms, and I don't shoot stills.<br>As a former professional musician, I do try to take music seriously in clips and - with the unescapable weight of the years piling up on my weary shoulders - feel increasingly disconnected from phone screens as a main sharing and viewing platform, and with content geared for this medium...<br><br>Until recently, despite being in the water every day as a dive guide, I could only grab a few clips here and there on my faithful GoPro (4 to 7, with a UR Pro CY Filter), and was making the most of that.<br>However, longing for more manual controls and a boost in image quality, I invested in a very video-friendly compact camera setup (Lumix LX10) before the pandemic, taking it for some test spins on the odd day off...<br><br>In 2023, my wife and I finally took what turned out to be two-year extended sabbatical break from working in the diving industry, during which I spent every other day shooting videos in East Bali's macro paradise with the LX10, learning to work within the limitations of this great little camera.<br>In 2026, I have finally begun a slow upgrade to a Sony A7SIII-based kit.<br> Beyond macro, I'm now also very interested in shooting blackwater diving videos, but have only focused on (land-based) bonfire dives for budget and practical reasons. Another strong interest of mine is mixed-lighting medium-angle shooting, using filters.<br><br>Clips I’ve shot up to now, including more recent macro doodlings on the LX10, are here:<br><br><a rel="external nofollow" href="https://www.youtube.com/@afieldofblue">YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@afieldofblue</a><br><br>I started posting vertical clips on Instagram recently, and try to work within the format, but it is a platform I really don't appreciate and try to spend as little time there as I can: <a rel="external nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/afieldofblue/">https://www.instagram.com/afieldofblue/</a><br><br>My wife and I also created a non-commercial but extensive general information site on diving in Japan, offering a slightly different perspective: <a rel="external nofollow" href="https://bluejapan.org/">https://bluejapan.org/</a></p><p>cheers and happy bubbles!<br> </p>
