I would expect that here on WP, the folks who often read the boards get some good ideas in both photo and video and say to themselves "Hey, that is something i should try"
Question is, how often does this actually happen? When you go out on a dive or a dive trip do you find yourself trying these new ideas you read about? Or do you have ideas of your own that you try out? Or do you just fall back on the same ol routine and take WA pics on a WA dive and macro critter pics on a critter dive?
Obviously some of us dive more often than others and can try different things underwater more often than others but what about on land? Do you just take snapshots or really try to do different things?
Do folks who only get to do one or two trips a year spend it "getting the critters"? OR do you specifically work on capturing something different?
M
As a relative beginner who doesn't dive with a camera very often - a few times a year - my approach is trying to capture the same sort of pics I see from the best photographers here. Once I master the basic rules of composition and lighting to consistently produce excellent results UW, I'll think about breaking the rules.
That said, within that framework I try to be very specific, and try different things. I usually try to give myself an assignment when I shoot, on land or UW. My assignment might be technical (i.e. motion capture using rear curtain sync, shooting macro to get blue/black backgrounds), or subject-specific (i.e., cleaning station pics, reefscapes), or just goofy, like capturing everyone yawning at family gatherings (that one made a great slide show, actually, though my jaw hurt from all that seed yawning). Pros have a huge advantage over most of us amateurs, in that they're almost always diving on assignment, be it their own or someone else's. Knowing exactly what I want is half the battle, then it's just taking enough pics to get it.
I find the more general my assignment is, the worse my pictures are, and the less creative. I also find I'm far more patient when my objective is clear - if I'm down there to shoot one thing, I don't feel compelled to rush around the reef and see all the other things I'm missing. Sometimes I relax and do snapshot dives, absolutely, but they serve the same purpose (and are about as good) as any vacation snapshots - they remind me of where I was and what I saw, and that's about it. Most of the time though, I try pretty hard not to dive just to "get the critters"; I could buy a book with better pics for a whole lot less.
Hopefully that didn't too pedantic and pompous - just my two cents.
