Digital Photo Help - Low Visibility

I am wondering what is the best way to get a decent picture when shooting when the visibility is not perfect. Off of jacksonville, Fl we normally see anywhere from 20-80ft, but on average it is probably only 35ft. Using a flash always seems to just bring out the particles in the water as opposed to the subject. Should I attempt it without a flash?

Here are some recent pics to give you an idea of what I am looking at:

http://www.digitalfathom.com/view.asp?id=4

http://www.digitalfathom.com/view.asp?id=3

The single most important thing is get close; if you think you are close enough, get closer. You have to put as little water as possible between yourself and the subject.

The strobe should not be pointed directly at the subject, but off to the side of it. Try pointing the strobe straight ahead and just catching it with a little bit of spillover light. It sounds like it shouldn't work but it does.

But yeah, getting close is key. When you find a good subject, spend a few minutes taking shots, creeping closer, taking more shots, and repeating. Finally, on days when the visibility is really in the toilet, concentrate on macro subjects. You can still get good macro photos even in 8' viz.

I found that by adding a WA lens to my point and shoot I could get twice as close and still frame the subject correctly. This helped to reduce the backscatter. If you're using an internal strobe....buy an external one...this will give the ability to aim the strobe as suggested above. I also noticed that you're pictures don't appear to be white-balanced correctly. It appears your shallow enough and have ample ambient light. I would get a magic filter 72mm from Ryans Reef Photo for 20 bucks and cut it to place it inside my housing between the housing port and the lens. I've done this with my point and shoot and it works well. The only difficulty is getting the filter in and out. You use the filter without a flash. Later,

Gary